Ian Seabrook
After repeatedly scraping the underside of my Maverick during a rock-strewn day of greenlaning, I decided it was time to check the ride height. The gap between the front tyre and wheelarch should be around 20mm less than the same gap at the rear. Use of a tape measure revealed that not only was the front end about 30mm low, it was another 10mm lower on the passenger side.
Thankfully, raising the ride height couldn’t be easier, or cheaper. The torsion bar suspension includes an adjustment mechanism to allow for sag over the years. All you have to do is undo the locknut on the adjuster and then screw the adjuster down for more height. It means a certain amount of scrabbling around on the floor but as the ride height goes up, this gets easier!
I experimented with lifting the front end of the vehicle off the ground, which makes moving the adjuster easier. The downside is that you have to keep lowering the vehicle off the axle stands to check the ride height. Getting the lock-nut free required some clever thinking too, with a spanner inserted between the pair on the adjuster and online casino reviews lock-nut giving the necessary force to crack it free.
Ford Maverick SWB
Spec: GLX 2.4i
Mileage: 97,800
MPG: 20-22
Recent Costs: Nil
Arrived: January 2011
You can read more about this 4×4 in the March 2013 issue of 4×4 Magazine – available here
