Spring And Damper Assembly

The spring and damper assemblies are attached to cast brackets on the lower control arms and to the rear floor side member assemblies via the 4 studs in the top plate. As on the front suspension, there are three variants of spring and damper assembly:

• A conventional oil damped damper.
• On vehicles with the adaptive dynamics system, a continuously variable adaptive damper.

For additional information, refer to: Vehicle Dynamic Suspension

Different combinations of springs and dampers are available depending on the vehicle model. The conventional and adaptive dampers are of a similar construction.

The dampers are a monotube design with a spring seat welded onto the damper tube. The lower end of the damper has a bushed mounting which locates in the lower control arm and is secured with a bolt.

The damper functions by restricting the flow of hydraulic fluid through internal galleries in a piston, providing damping of undulations in the road surface.

The damper piston is connected to a damper rod which is sealed at its exit point from the damper body. The threaded outer end of the damper rod locates through a hole in the top mount. A self locking nut secures the top mount to the damper rod. On adaptive dampers an electrical connector is incorporated into the outer end of the damper rod.

The damper rod is fitted with a spring aid which prevents the top mount making contact with the top of the damper body during full suspension compression and also assists with the suspension tune.

The spring rate of the coil springs can differ between models and are color coded for identification. The coil spring locates on a spring packer and a lower spring seat which is integral with the damper body. The spring locates in an upper spring seat which is located on the underside of the top mount.

The top mount has 4 studs which locate through mating holes in the vehicle rear floor side member and are secured with self locking nuts.