The shock absorber is contained inside the strut, and is a direct acting telescopic type shock absorber. The coil spring is mounted over the strut, inside the suspension tower.
The strut has an upper mounting point in the suspension tower.
For the front steerable suspension, the strut’s upper mounting is bushed, or bearing-mounted, to allow for the steering movement.
The control arm mount is fixed (or ‘held in place’) in the vehicle configuration, by bushes.
The lower control arm is attached to the vehicle body and holds in place the strut, brake assembly, and drive shafts.
Short/long arm suspension
The shock absorber is located inside the coil spring, and is a direct acting telescopic type shock absorber.
The coil spring is mounted between the upper and lower control arms.
The lower control arm pivots on bushes. These bushes twist on the lower control arm pin, which is bolted to the cross-member of the vehicle.
The lower control arm is longer than the upper control arm. It moves up and down to accommodate movement in the suspension. These are stop and rebound rubbers. They are used to prevent direct metal-to-metal contact, if the suspension should reach its maximum limit of travel.
The lower ball joint is attached to the lower control arm and allows the steering knuckle to rotate as the steering wheel is turned.
The steering knuckle supports the brake station, wheel bearings and the road wheel.
The upper ball joint is attached to the upper control arm and allows the steering knuckle to rotate as the steering wheel is turned.
The upper control arm pivots on bushes. These bushes twist on the upper control arm pin, which is bolted to the vehicle’s cross-member.
Torsion bar suspension
The torsion bar extends from the front suspension to a point towards the rear of the vehicle, where it is bolted to the chassis with a bracket. This acts as the pivoting point for the torsion bar.
The torsion bar supports the vehicle load and twists around its center to provide the springing action.
The spring rate depends upon the length of the bar. The shorter and thicker the bar, the stiffer its spring rate.
In this application, the other end of the torsion bar is located at the front suspension. It is the front pivoting point for the suspension.
The lower control arm pivots on bushes. These bushes twist on the lower control arm, which is located in a housing attached to the cross-member.
The system also has an upper control arm bush that is attached to the upper part of the cross-member. The lower ball joint is attached to the lower control arm and allows the steering knuckle to rotate as the steering wheel is turned. The lower control arm moves up and down to accommodate movement in the suspension. This particular design is sometimes referred to as a ‘Wishbone Control Arm’.
The upper ball joint is attached to the upper control arm and allows the steering knuckle to rotate as the steering wheel is turned.
