[urq] Suspension questions

[Ben Swann]

I think my '83 Ur Quattro is probably in need of some suspension work.  The car tracks
straight and true, tramlines a tad with 225/45 ZR16" on 7JX16 Zender Aero wheels, on
crowned roads, which is a little expected.  No real problem there and I'm not seeing any
unusual tire wear or indication it needs alignment.  The car handles well, although I
feel there may be a slight bit of need to tighten up somwhere.

The front has some Eibachs that were installed prior to 2000 when I got the car and
probably before '96 where the prior owner had bought the car and never got it running.
I don't know what is in the rear, but probably has a decent set of springs in the rear
too.  Car has around 100k miles on it. Nothing is broken in suspension AFAIK, but does
need new front  swaybar bushings - I have on hand and easy to do.

Problems are:

1.  The rear tends to bottom out when I go over a bump or hard turn and bump.  I know
the tires are a bit wider than stock, but seems it should hold the height better in the
rear.  If I put coil spacers in the problem is minimized.  I'm thinking just replacing
the mounts will resolve any clunk/slop front and rear and may even boost height.
Actually the rear height is fine when unloaded, but I think damping is compromised and
so - How hard is it to pull and redo the rear struts?

2.  Clunk in front.  There is a definate space between the retainer caps and the tower
when car is loaded and will drop about 1/4" when unloaded.   I think it needs strut
mount bearings and I have some green bearings and some 034 strut bearings.  Can these be
swapped out in-situ without tearing the struts out completely.  I'm guessing not, but
perhaps they can.  I have strut bar with mount plates provistioned, but the plates need
to be either welded or bolted to the towers - right now they are free to move, so may be
a part of the clunk.  The brace plates to take up some of the slack.  I plan to at least
bolt them to the towers for now, until I have time to properly weld them.

3.  What is the best way to rejuvinate the struts front and rear?  I understand that the
struts can be refilled and made like new again and that works as well as any
after-market strut insert.  I'm actually pretty happy with compression/rebound as is,
although they probably can use re-hab.

I'm mainly looking for means to improve the cars rear height prior to going to Carlisle
this weekend. I may just leave the front alone for now, except to replace the swaybar
bushings.  I don't have much time, but may have assistance from a local shop and
mechanic friend, so my hands can be freed up for other needed items.

I'm familiar with refurb suspension on the 4000 Q's and 5000/200, but have not done
anything with the Ur Quattro Suspension which I understand may be a little different.

Idea's?  Leave well enough alone untill I get time to do the whole job?  No problem Ben,
drive it to Carlisle and will redo the entire suspension in the grass while folks stand
around and Gawk?

TIA

Ben