Find out if there are any cracks on the suspension parts or traces of rubbing against road obstacles or the body, deformations of the transverse levers, stretch marks, the stabilizer bar and its struts and the front body elements at the attachment points of the suspension units and parts. Deformations of the suspension parts and, above all, stretch marks and parts of the front end of the body violate the angles of the wheels and make it impossible to adjust them.
Check the condition of rubber-metal hinges, rubber cushions, as well as the condition (draft) upper supports of telescopic suspension struts. Rubber-metal hinges and rubber pads are replaced in case of breaks and one-sided «buckling» rubber and when cutting their end surfaces.
State (draft) the upper support of the suspension strut is checked in the following order:
- install the car on a flat area under a static distributed load of 320 kgf;
- turning the steering wheel, set approximately the same gap A (see fig. 82) between the limiter 2 of the compression stroke and the rubber part of the support along the entire circumference;
- gap A is measured with a template or caliper. It should not exceed 10 mm. A more accurate check of the state of the support is carried out after its removal, as described in Sec. «Checking the technical condition of suspension units».