sagged front springs?

ghostdancing

ghostdancing

True Classic
the car (128 coupè) has an harsch feeling on road holes\discontinuities, the shocks are new, it's all original, no lowering; no particular squeeks or other noises; the height of the front looks OEM..but i never parked near another example to check

is it possible that the springs are bad?
 
Wouldn't worn out springs give a softer ride? Did the harshness start with the new shocks?
Maybe if you take a front end measurement, say from the center of the wheel arch to the ground, others here can compare. I had a terribly stiff ride on my X when I put coilovers on. Then I found I had the car lowered too much and had about one inch of suspension travel and was crashing off the bump stops all the time. Do what I did and put a zip tie around the shock shaft and see how far up it goes. If it's against the bumpstop after a drive you know you have a wheel travel problem.
 
it was harsch also before the new shocks; it's a generic feeling of harsch ride but i donnt feel like riding on bump stops, the car is not low at all.. driving my "modern" , a 25 years old, very used cinquecento 900 is much more confortable..
 
not yet..but i'm thinking to source new control arms as a start..wich other bushes i have to renew (apart the main arms)?
www.ebay.it

2x Braccio Oscillante Sospensione Anteriore per Fiat 128 Rally Coupe Epoca | eBay

Le migliori offerte per 2x Braccio Oscillante Sospensione Anteriore per Fiat 128 Rally Coupe Epoca sono su eBay ✓ Confronta prezzi e caratteristiche di prodotti nuovi e usati ✓ Molti articoli con consegna gratis!
www.ebay.it
 
Last edited:
Have you got another set of wheels and tires? A quick test just to eliminate the tires as the source. What air pressure do you run?
 
well tires are 1 year old (say 4k km),they are hankook,so normal tires, not the supercheap option (that i have on the '95 cinquecento)..i havent got another set though
 
ghostdancing said:
not yet..but i'm thinking to source new control arms as a start..wich other bushes i have to renew (apart the main arms)?
www.ebay.it

2x Braccio Oscillante Sospensione Anteriore per Fiat 128 Rally Coupe Epoca | eBay

Le migliori offerte per 2x Braccio Oscillante Sospensione Anteriore per Fiat 128 Rally Coupe Epoca sono su eBay ✓ Confronta prezzi e caratteristiche di prodotti nuovi e usati ✓ Molti articoli con consegna gratis!
www.ebay.it
Click to expand...


NO...NO...ghostdancing !!! First of all...those Ebay control arms you linked to will NOT fit your 128 Coupe !!!

They are for a 128 sedan only !! your 128 coupe has a completely different front suspension than a sedan. ( or wagon ). As the sedan and wagon have a front sway bar that also locates the arm and thus needs that big hole in the control arm for the sway bar. Your coupe did not come with a sway bar and instead uses a radius rod to locate the control arm. In fact...your coupe front suspension is almost identical to an X1/9....and even uses the same front control arms as an X1/9. So...the control arm you would need would be like this one:
www.ebay.it

Front Lower Suspension Wishbone Track control arm Right Original Fiat 128 coupe | eBay

Le migliori offerte per Front Lower Suspension Wishbone Track control arm Right Original Fiat 128 coupe sono su eBay ✓ Confronta prezzi e caratteristiche di prodotti nuovi e usati ✓ Molti articoli con consegna gratis!
www.ebay.it

Note the differences in the pic. and...note the price difference !! Yes..it seems that 128 sedan front control arms are still easily available and cheap. The 128 coupe/X1/9 arms are now getting tough to find...and expensive when you can find them. Laws of supply and demand I suppose......

But having said that.......I dont think the control arms would be the source of your "harshness" A bad control arm could cause rattles, clunks, wandering, erratic handling.....but likely not "harshness"....

In your case....first off a 145/80 tire on a 5 1/2" wheel is just not right. That wheel is too wide for the tire. Yes....that could possibly cause some "harshness" as the sidewall of the tire is now not operating as designed.

Perhaps.....something else is not right. Perhaps....someone installed 128 SEDAN front struts on your car. 128 coupe struts are shorter. A sedan strut would likely "fit" but would bottom out. That would certainly cause "harshness". As might bad upper strut mounts. Or something else.....
 
thankou RX for pointing in the right direction! there is no way to restore the old arms with new bushes?

struts: i guess you mean the shock absorbers, correct? i have these, they are same lenght of the old that were in the car; all the vendors say the same part for all the 128s (berlina\coupe\rally)

www.ebay.it

Jjs Coppia Ammortizzatori xx Ant Per Fiat 128 Coupe Benzina 1972>1981 | eBay

Le migliori offerte per Jjs Coppia Ammortizzatori xx Ant Per Fiat 128 Coupe Benzina 1972>1981 sono su eBay ✓ Confronta prezzi e caratteristiche di prodotti nuovi e usati ✓ Molti articoli con consegna gratis!
www.ebay.it

tires: they make a tad of stretch but not so much..should i must get 155\80s?
 
ghostdancing said:
thankou RX for pointing in the right direction! there is no way to restore the old arms with new bushes?
Click to expand...

Yes...of course you can easily restore the old arms with new bushings. And would be a good idea if you think those control arms are original to the car and are now almost 50 years old !! New bushings are still available - and cheap - at least over there. Just make sure the ball joint portion of the arm ( the ball joint is part of the arm and not a separate part ) is still good with no play.
ghostdancing said:
struts: i guess you mean the shock absorbers, correct? i have these, they are same lenght of the old that were in the car; all the vendors say the same part for all the 128s (berlina\coupe\rally)
Click to expand...

Yes.....I was referring to the shock absorbers......but No.....I do think maybe ( perhaps someone else here like Jeff Stich would know for sure ) that the 128 coupe front shocks ARE different ( shorter ) that than the 128 sedan shocks. Perhaps the old ones that were in the car were the wrong ones as well ....☹

ghostdancing said:
tires: they make a tad of stretch but not so much..should i must get 155\80s?
Click to expand...

No.....a 155/80 tire would be too tall. A 165/70-13 would be a much better choice. Same diameter as a 145/80 but wider and better for a 5 1/2" wheel.
 
Last edited:
ghostdancing said:
thankou RX for pointing in the right direction! there is no way to restore the old arms with new bushes?

struts: i guess you mean the shock absorbers, correct? i have these, they are same lenght of the old that were in the car; all the vendors say the same part for all the 128s (berlina\coupe\rally)

www.ebay.it

Jjs Coppia Ammortizzatori xx Ant Per Fiat 128 Coupe Benzina 1972>1981 | eBay

Le migliori offerte per Jjs Coppia Ammortizzatori xx Ant Per Fiat 128 Coupe Benzina 1972>1981 sono su eBay ✓ Confronta prezzi e caratteristiche di prodotti nuovi e usati ✓ Molti articoli con consegna gratis!
www.ebay.it

tires: they make a tad of stretch but not so much..should i must get 155\80s?
Click to expand...
Suggest you source OE type Boge or Sachs struts (shocks). You'll get the best ride if that's what you're after and very good performance.
 
is Monroe inferior quality than boge\sahcs?

another problem is that all the vendors list the same type for all 128s (berlina\coupe\rally), see for example:

www.ebay.it

2 X AMMORTIZZATORI ANTERIORI FIAT 128 BERLINA COUPE RALLY SPORT SACHS | eBay

Le migliori offerte per 2 X AMMORTIZZATORI ANTERIORI FIAT 128 BERLINA COUPE RALLY SPORT SACHS sono su eBay ✓ Confronta prezzi e caratteristiche di prodotti nuovi e usati ✓ Molti articoli con consegna gratis!
www.ebay.it
 
ghostdancing said:
is Monroe inferior quality than boge\sahcs?

another problem is that all the vendors list the same type for all 128s (berlina\coupe\rally), see for example:

www.ebay.it

2 X AMMORTIZZATORI ANTERIORI FIAT 128 BERLINA COUPE RALLY SPORT SACHS | eBay

Le migliori offerte per 2 X AMMORTIZZATORI ANTERIORI FIAT 128 BERLINA COUPE RALLY SPORT SACHS sono su eBay ✓ Confronta prezzi e caratteristiche di prodotti nuovi e usati ✓ Molti articoli con consegna gratis!
www.ebay.it
Click to expand...

Yes they are.. Monroes can be gas charged type, will lead to a more harsh ride generally. IMO the BOGE are the pick of the bunch for ride quality.

the front struts are all the same, sedan / coupe / 3P, absolutely identical part... there is no difference in the front strut.
the BUMP STOP assembly is different, the coupe is a lot shorter.

the rear strut is a little different for a coupe (the rear mount is about 6mm further up the strut tube so the rear is lower) than a sedan, but therwise the same.

and yes you can renew the front control arm inner rubber bushing, easily done.

SteveC
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top