Checking the technical condition of the front suspension (VAZ-1111)

Telescopic stand

Wash all parts with kerosene or technical cleaning agents and dry them. Carefully check the compliance of the parts with the following requirements:

• the compression and rebound valve discs, as well as the relief valve plate, must not be deformed; the flatness of the bypass valve plate is allowed to be no more than 0.05 mm;
• the working surfaces of the piston, piston ring, rod guide bushing, cylinder and valve parts must be free of burrs, dents and signs of wear that could affect the normal operation of the rack;
• the working edges of the seal must be free from damage or wear;
• no scratches, scoring or peeling of the fluoroplastic layer on the guide bushing of the suspension strut rod are allowed;
• the springs of the rebound and compression valves must be intact and sufficiently elastic;
• the inner surface of the rack housing must be clean, without scratches or damage, the thread must be in good condition, the rack housing, bracket, and spring cup must not have any deformations or damage;
• the compression buffer and protective cover must not be damaged or destroyed.

Welding (welding) of the rack is not allowed, as this may affect the change in wheel alignment angles and the performance of the rack.

Suspension arms

The deformation of the suspension arms is determined by a special device. The suspension arm assembled with the ball joint is installed so that the mandrel for centering articulates with the cone of the ball joint pin, and the installation pins of the device enter both holes of the arm.



A sign of deformation is the impossibility of inserting the mounting pins into the lever hole without force or poor articulation of the mandrel along the cone of the hinge pin.

Ball joints

Make sure that the protective covers of the joints are intact. Tears, peeling of rubber from the metal reinforcement, traces of grease leakage through the cover are unacceptable. Minor extrusion of grease through the sprue hole in the ball joint housing, located in the upper part of the housing, is allowed.

Check for wear on the working surfaces of the ball joints by manually turning the ball pin. Significant (over 0.7 mm) free movement of the finger or its jamming are unacceptable.

A precise check of the ball joint condition by the size of the radial and axial clearances is carried out on the device 02.8701.9502. For this, a ball joint 1 is installed (figure 108, a) into the socket of the device and tighten it with a screw. Install indicator 2 in the bracket of the device so that its leg rests against the side surface of the hinge housing, and the indicator arrow is at zero.



Install torque wrench 3 in the upper socket of device 4 and, applying a torque of 196 N·m alternately in both directions, determine the total radial clearance in the ball joint using the indicator. If it exceeds 0.7 mm, replace the joint.


The axial clearance in the ball joint is checked in a similar manner, having first changed its fastening in the device, as shown in Figure 108, b. The axial clearance in the joint is allowed to be no more than 0.7 mm.

Anti-roll bar

They check whether the bar is deformed and whether its ends are in the same plane; if the deformation is minor, straighten the rod; if the deformation is significant, replace the rod. Check the condition of the cushions in the rod brackets. If the cushions are worn or damaged, replace them. Check the deformation of the stabilizer struts with a gauge; if the gauge fingers do not fit into the holes in the stand, replace it.

Suspension springs

Carefully inspect the springs. If cracks or deformation of the coils are detected, replace the spring with a new one. To check the spring settlement, press it three times until the coils touch. Then apply a force of (2156±88) N to the spring. Spring height N (figure 109) under such a load it should be 210 mm, the compression of the spring is carried out along the axis of the spring; the supporting surfaces must match the surfaces of the telescopic stand cups. If the spring with yellow marking (class A) is less than 210 mm long, change its marking to green (class B).

Stretch marks

Deformation of stretchers is determined visually. In case of significant deformation, the stretcher is replaced with a new one, if it is possible to straighten it, it is corrected.

Rubber-metal hinges

The signs that indicate the need to replace the hinges are described above (see section. "Determining the condition of suspension parts on a vehicle").

Upper support of the telescopic stand

The condition of the upper support and plain bearing is checked. Peeling of the rubber from the support body, its tears, cracks, deformation of the support body or wear of the support collars are not allowed. If the support washer or sleeve of the plain bearing of the upper support is worn or destroyed, they are replaced.

The dimensions of the main mating parts are given in Table 13.