Rear Springs Advice

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NewbieWithA90

Member
Posts
33
Location
Derbyshire
(searched but nothing quite matches my query)

The rear springs on my 90 have sagged quite a bit now so I want to replace them. Trouble is they're so rusty and flakey I can't see what colour they are. My fronts are yellow/yellow which are Defender 110 springs. I don't want to loose any height so should I look at 110 rears to match the front?

I don't do proper off roading but do go over fields / bumpy ground quite often. I also tow a trailer which can get fairly heavy. So am I right in thinking I should get the heavy duty ones?

Lastly, occasionally I catch the underside on the off bump in fields. Only heard it a few times but it's like a twanging sound so I think it's the exhaust. I've read all the arguments about lifting and don't really want to get into that but would 1" spacers be any good?

If anyone can give me some advice that would be great. I see some people say the only thing Britpart do well is springs and others say they're rubbish. So examples of your setup would be useful.

Thanks a lot everyone ☺️
 
NewbieWithA90 said:
(searched but nothing quite matches my query)

The rear springs on my 90 have sagged quite a bit now so I want to replace them. Trouble is they're so rusty and flakey I can't see what colour they are. My fronts are yellow/yellow which are Defender 110 springs. I don't want to loose any height so should I look at 110 rears to match the front?

I don't do proper off roading but do go over fields / bumpy ground quite often. I also tow a trailer which can get fairly heavy. So am I right in thinking I should get the heavy duty ones?

Lastly, occasionally I catch the underside on the off bump in fields. Only heard it a few times but it's like a twanging sound so I think it's the exhaust. I've read all the arguments about lifting and don't really want to get into that but would 1" spacers be any good?

If anyone can give me some advice that would be great. I see some people say the only thing Britpart do well is springs and others say they're rubbish. So examples of your setup would be useful.

Thanks a lot everyone ☺️
Click to expand...
I would just use the standard springs. Heavier ones give a very hard ride, and are not really needed.
The colour bands on the springs are quite small, just little flashes, applied quite randomly with a brush.
If you take the springs off, and wash them, you may be able to see bits of colour.
Britpart springs are fine, you will probably get the same springs if you buy genuine.
Spring chart link below,

http://www.red90.ca/rovers/springinfo.html
 
Thanks both, I'll go for some Britpart ones then. With the ones on now being for a 110 - will they still be the same height? So I won't be sitting lower at the back if I get ones for a 90?
 
NewbieWithA90 said:
Thanks both, I'll go for some Britpart ones then. With the ones on now being for a 110 - will they still be the same height? So I won't be sitting lower at the back if I get ones for a 90?
Click to expand...
If it was me, I would get new standard springs all round. They aren't a vast amount of money, and you don't know how much the front ones have sagged either.
Usually, you will gain about 2 inches of height just from replacing a worn spring with a new one of the same type.
I think you will be pleased with the result, I was when I changed all the springs on my Ninety.
The other thing that is worth thinking about is whether to fit dislocation cones while you are doing the job.
They are not really needed except for heavy off roading, but they aren't expensive either, and no problem to fit at the same time.
 
Turboman said:
If it was me, I would get new standard springs all round. They aren't a vast amount of money, and you don't know how much the front ones have sagged either.
Usually, you will gain about 2 inches of height just from replacing a worn spring with a new one of the same type.
I think you will be pleased with the result, I was when I changed all the springs on my Ninety.
The other thing that is worth thinking about is whether to fit dislocation cones while you are doing the job.
They are not really needed except for heavy off roading, but they aren't expensive either, and no problem to fit at the same time.
Click to expand...
I never knew that, I replaced my 110 springs 8 years ago and wasn't looking for any lift but was surprised to get exactly that. FYI I opted for progressive on the back as its a 110 CSW.
 
I'd also purchase new hardware whilst you're at it - the galvanised retainers etc. are cheap and worth every penny IMHO..
 
Do check the diameter of the springs you have, as Flossie says 110 rear springs will not fit a 90 unless someone has welded on some replacement 110 spring turrets for some reason.
Plus one for not fitting heavy duty springs for general use and not for trailer towing, the load on a properly set up trailer draw bar is well within the capability of standard springs.
 
NewbieWithA90 said:
Thanks both, I'll go for some Britpart ones then. With the ones on now being for a 110 - will they still be the same height? So I won't be sitting lower at the back if I get ones for a 90?
Click to expand...
Depends on a lot of things. You have asked more than one question.

I’d recommend flat dog springs. They can and do vary by brand. I’d personally probably not go Britpart.

There are lots of spring rates too. How much weight do you haul? Is it a pick up or county station wagon? What sort of things do you tow?

Lifted can cause issues when towing. But suspension is a package. If you off road you may want more suspension travel rather than just a lift.

Spring packers will generally reduce shock travel and off road performance. But depends on the shocks and/or mounts too.

If you aren’t sure what springs you have. Buy a set of 4.

110 rear springs don’t fit a 90.
 
Thanks for the responses - I think by reading everything I'll be best doing all four springs as a whole as suggested. Been underneath again and definitly can't see anything to identify the rear ones.
300bhp/ton said:
There are lots of spring rates too. How much weight do you haul? Is it a pick up or county station wagon? What sort of things do you tow?.
Click to expand...
It's just a normal 90, not a county or anything. I tow an Ifor Williams cattle trailer (small ish one) and a normal trailer. I don't really know what weights as it varies a lot but the trailers are well balanced so they're not pushing all the weight down onto the towbar.

Height wise sometimes I could just do with a little bit extra to get over a bad gateway or ditch type area. I manage but like I say sometimes I hear a twang. Its more height than actual travel I think. I've avoided a lift until now because of the other things that might need changing with it, thats why I was curious about blocks, but I'm really not sure?
 
I've you buy new springs get dampers too because the bottom nuts rarely come off clean front or rear. New turret rings and nuts too if you do the fronts and a good poke at the turrets as they rot out. Brake pipes rot where they run behind the turrets. Could turn out to be a big job !
 
NewbieWithA90 said:
Thanks for the responses - I think by reading everything I'll be best doing all four springs as a whole as suggested. Been underneath again and definitly can't see anything to identify the rear ones.

It's just a normal 90, not a county or anything. I tow an Ifor Williams cattle trailer (small ish one) and a normal trailer. I don't really know what weights as it varies a lot but the trailers are well balanced so they're not pushing all the weight down onto the towbar.

Height wise sometimes I could just do with a little bit extra to get over a bad gateway or ditch type area. I manage but like I say sometimes I hear a twang. Its more height than actual travel I think. I've avoided a lift until now because of the other things that might need changing with it, thats why I was curious about blocks, but I'm really not sure?
Click to expand...
tbh - you really shouldn't be running out of ground clearance all that easily with a 90. I do some pretty serious off road work and have almost never touched the underside. The diffs might occasionally get impacted, but the only way to increase this clearance is taller tyres. A suspension lift would only lift the chassis.

I'd suggest taking a look and trying to figure out what the noise is you are hearing.

If you do lift, then the normal is about 1-2" max. Any more and it requires a far more comprehensive setup and will come with more compromised.

As a rule, +2" shocks will work very well on a 90. These won't lift the vehicle, but if you do lift, they will retain the suspension droop off road. And will generally off more flex. You can retain standard shock mounts with a +2 also.

My recommendation for a good all round shock would be the Britpart Celluar Dynamic +2", these will be good for towing, on road and off road.

You could combine this with some standard height springs, or go for some standard rate, but +2 longer. The longer shocks will make stock springs fall out of the upper spring holder at the rear. A longer spring will mostly prevent this and offer more travel without the downside of a poor ride or massive lift. The +2 length, but standard rate springs give about 1" of lift. Most 'HD lift kits" are terrible and come with very stiff +2" longer springs that ride and flex horribly.

If you go longer shocks and stock length springs, you'll probably need some dislocation cones for the rear.

https://www.flatdoguk.com/search.asp?types=FD+SPRINGS+>+Defender+90&super=

I'd only go for HD springs if carrying heavy loads, either hauling heavy loads in the bed or frequently 4 adults in the back type of thing. But more commonly if you had a winch and HD winch bumper with maybe a roof rack and roof tent.
 
NewbieWithA90 said:
Thanks for the responses - I think by reading everything I'll be best doing all four springs as a whole as suggested. Been underneath again and definitly can't see anything to identify the rear ones.

It's just a normal 90, not a county or anything. I tow an Ifor Williams cattle trailer (small ish one) and a normal trailer. I don't really know what weights as it varies a lot but the trailers are well balanced so they're not pushing all the weight down onto the towbar.

Height wise sometimes I could just do with a little bit extra to get over a bad gateway or ditch type area. I manage but like I say sometimes I hear a twang. Its more height than actual travel I think. I've avoided a lift until now because of the other things that might need changing with it, thats why I was curious about blocks, but I'm really not sure?
Click to expand...
I used to tow a 10foot TA510 Ifor all over the place with a Ninety on standard springs, never had any problems, although loaded to the max weight, 2700 kg.
Also a 16 foor Ifor flatbed, which on occasion would have been over 3500kg with silage bales.

As stated before, you shouldn't be grounding out anything on a standard Ninety unless you are pushing things to the limit.
If you are still grounding out with the new springs, check that everything underneath is properly fitted. Exhausts are often badly fitted, and can be much lower than the designer intended. Steps and towbar brackets can also sometimes reduce ground clearance.
 
You say you hear a " twanging " noise in your first post, this may well be your springs reseating themselves as axles move going over lumpy twisty ground and is normal.
Catching the chassis on lumps in the ground is very unlikely to result in any damage unless like me you live where the land is very rocky. Even then the chassis will suffer little which is more than can be said for my front diff pan after many years service
 

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The lowest point is always the diffs, so no matter how long the springs are, they're the main limitation. A good deal of this can be tackled with approach and technique - straddling deep ruts rather than driving in them, for example.
Springs are generally one of the cheaper replacement parts you can get for your Land Rover so it's worth replacing them as they lose height. Yes, my suspension emits the odd twang. It's hard to tell where it's coming from, so provided it's all working and the various joints and bushes are acceptable I don't worry about it much.
 
tottot said:
You say you hear a " twanging " noise in your first post, this may well be your springs reseating themselves as axles move going over lumpy twisty ground and is normal.
Catching the chassis on lumps in the ground is very unlikely to result in any damage unless like me you live where the land is very rocky. Even then the chassis will suffer little which is more than can be said for my front diff pan after many years service
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Not wishing to sound derogatory at all, but if you diff looks like that why on earth did you not fitted a diff guard years ago? they are the first thing i did to my td5 as they are very cheap, easy to fit and have no impact on any other part of the vehicle performance.
 
dag019 said:
Not wishing to sound derogatory at all, but if you diff looks like that why on earth did you not fitted a diff guard years ago? they are the first thing i did to my td5 as they are very cheap, easy to fit and have no impact on any other part of the vehicle performance.
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Just renewing my drop arm and noticed my diff guard drain hole isn't a hole anymore, completely blocked with rock hard clay nearly all the way to the top of the guard, can't poke it clear so I'm going to have to remove it to clean. Not looking forward to that because it was a bugger to fit
18 years ago:rolleyes:. I do have a pit now though:). Just waiting for the rain to stop as one doesn't want ones hair getting wet in the 4 yrd dash to the door:p
 

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