• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

TR4/4A How to fix sagging rear end.

Share this page

Scotsman

Scotsman

Jedi Hopeful
Country flag
Offline
My car has a sagging rear end to where the gaps at the back of the doors noticeably narrow to nothing. There are also some stress fractures in the tub at the top of the rear wheel wells. Is this something that is common on these cars, and is there an “easy” way to fix it? I am hoping I can do this without taking the tub off the frame. I was thinking some shims between the tub and rear of the frame might lift / straighten the tub, but then it might create more damage.
A cursory look at the frame would suggest it is straight as there are no big dings or dents in it to suggest it high centered, although I know it was in an accident sometime in the past.

Thanks,

Richard
 
The tub sits on outriggers on the frame that meet up with brackets on the inner sills. There could be some corrosion in any of those parts, broken welds or missing rubber mounts. Maybe some pictures would help. Look under the car at the inside of the sills and I think you'll see the arrangement.
Tom
 
Wouldn't tight gaps at the door mean you need to bring the center of the body up, rather than the tail ?

Also be sure to check your door hinges. A worn hinge pin can allow the door to sag until it doesn't appear to fit the opening.
 
Attached are photographs (sorry, they are not the best quality due to the BCF limiting the file size).Two of each door (front and back) and one of each wheel well. The stress cracks referenced in the wheel wells are marked with red X's (ignore the red X in the middle).
Some background on the car as far as I know it:

- Sat for 30 years before I bought it. The plan is to do an on body restoration unless circumstances require otherwise. Up to this point I have been working to get it mechanically sound, and am now ready to tackle body.
- Had been in an accident that damaged the left front suspension, (requiring gussets, and replacement pivot bracket tower on frame), wing, and door. This was done by previous owners 30+ years ago.
- Would appear to be close to rust free with the exception of around battery box and some pin holes in boot. I will know more when the paint is stripped off.
- The doors both close OK, with their lower back corners slightly touching the rear wing.


As you can see the gaps in both doors (front and back) narrow towards the bottom, and there are stress fractures in the wheel wells that have caused the metal at the edges of the cracks to bow slightly outwards. Before I go any further i want to know what i should be doing with regards to this, keeping in mind I want this car to be a nice driver, not a concours car. One of my biggest concerns is that this problem will get worse if ignored
 

Attachments

  • Left door 1.pdf
    17.9 KB · Views: 204
  • Right door 1.pdf
    18.4 KB · Views: 157
  • Wheel well's 1.pdf
    21 KB · Views: 208
I saw a TR4 that was pretty much what you describe. When I looked closer at that vehicle I noticed that the area behind the doors in what we call the B post ( which is visible inside the rear wheel well ) was mostly rusted away.
Charley
 
Ok, on further reflection I went back and looked at Paul Andersons website chronicling his restoration of a 4A and he shows in a video the extreme flex of the frame when jacking it up. With this in mind I moved the floor Jacks out to the corners of the frame and much of the distortion has been removed. This may or may not explain the old stress fractures in the wheel wells. Any thoughts reg these?
 
edit: somehow didnt get this posted until after additional information had been supplied, post no longer relevant
 
Last edited:
TR3driver said:
Wouldn't tight gaps at the door mean you need to bring the center of the body up, rather than the tail ?

Also be sure to check your door hinges. A worn hinge pin can allow the door to sag until it doesn't appear to fit the opening.
Click to expand...

Yes, absolutely right. I had wrongly pictured the gaps narrowing at the tops of the door gaps. Photos prove the point.
Also good point with the door hinges.
In addition, the cracks and bulges in the wheel arches might indicate the car has been rear ended. If that's the case, and there is no corrosion, a good body shop can give it pull.
 
It looks to me the cracking in the wheel wells could be caused by repeated bottoming out of the suspension. The rear door gaps are typical of the IRS chassis losing its strength due to corrosion.
 
Back
Top