Hi all,

looking for someone to point me in the right direction with an issue I'm having with 2007 RRSport HSE 4.4 V8 LHD

When I go over rough pavement the back end gets quite upset, tail end wags quite violently and then settles. It will do it in town @ 50kph and its worse on the highway at over 100kph on dry pavement. Could be real bad if ice/snow present!!!

Took it to a few shops to have a look and they all confirmed all tight and no play, finally took vehicle to dealer and they state, "Rear sway bar bushings have excessive movement and rear upper control arm front bushings have some play in them. Recommend replace worn out parts first and further diagnosis may be needed if problem is still present."

So I had the parts replaced and went in for 4 wheel alignment, and still gets upset over rough pavement. No warning lights are on or come on momentarily.

Any help greatly appreciated. 2007 Stornaway Grey RRS HSE 4.4 V8

Do you have ACE Active Corner Enhancement? sounds like it could be leaking and no longer working...

Hi PC76,
I wish it could be something as simple as that, no ACE on this Rover. 2007 Stornaway Grey RRS HSE 4.4 V8

Could be as simple as rear shocks have completely failed due to age.. any other symptoms?

Rear shocks ride fine on good pavement and seem fine off road too. Vehicle for all intents and purposes is a-ok aside from the fit it has on a rough patch of broken pavement.
Suspension goes up and down from access thru to off road height and back when cycled through with switch.
Once or twice I’ve noticed the front pop up a fraction while sitting at a light which I thought was weird but hasn’t happened for a while.

One last anomaly, when backing up out of a parking space I have heard a slight “tinkling” sound, and this is the only time I hear it. EPB works but I seldom use it. 2007 Stornaway Grey RRS HSE 4.4 V8

Dampers that are getting aged may well ride ok on normal flat surfaces. It is just the kind of surface you describe that shows their weakness and wear.
Worthy of mention is tyre pressures, and are you running them high?
Check that they are correct and not over inflated.

Worn ARB bushes tend to manifest in a knock noise on uneven ground or speed bumps etc.

To test dampers, the air will need releasing from each unit, a top or bottom mount will need undoing to allow full travel of each damper to be asssessed. The 'bouncing' each corner method on something this size is just not feasible. 2011 MY D4 HSE
Previously 2001 D2 TD5, 1996 D1 300Tdi, 1985 90 2.2 petrol.
Bikes! KTM, BMW, British, Classics and others.

Hi Bardley,

thanks for reply. Just checked tire pressure was over by about 2 lbs at each corner so have reduced to factory spec (38F/42R) not been for a drive to test though.

Wondering about the rear shocks, how would one go about checking them? Am I correct to say they are an air bag over a regular shock absorber?


I'm from Luton originally and used to work at The Gleneagles Hotel in '85 in Harpendon, that place still going? 2007 Stornaway Grey RRS HSE 4.4 V8

PC76 wrote:

Could be as simple as rear shocks have completely failed due to age.. any other symptoms?

Bardley wrote:

To test dampers, the air will need releasing from each unit, a top or bottom mount will need undoing to allow full travel of each damper to be asssessed. The 'bouncing' each corner method on something this size is just not feasible.

Well folks, good news!
I replaced the rear air strut assemblies today and the issue with rear ended going nuts over rough pavement is resolved I am happy to report.

Rear air struts were super easy to replace-thru bolt on bottom and three nuts on top plus the air line. Plenty of YouTube vids to watch too I like the Britpart vid which had a good tip re connecting the air line. Take off old nut and collet from line. Leave new nut and collet in place in new strut and push air line into nut after strut installed. I found that easier than screwing in new nut to strut before installing strut.

Thanks to all your advice and ideas. 😃 2007 Stornaway Grey RRS HSE 4.4 V8

Last edited by Davebc on Tue Feb 23 2021 12:00am. Edited 1 time in total

Anyone know how I add RESOLVED to post title? 2007 Stornaway Grey RRS HSE 4.4 V8

Are you doing the fronts too? I replaced mine all around and it made a massive difference to the ride. Kev

MY2014 L405 RR Vogue SE 4.4 SDV8 in Corris Grey
MY2010 L320 RRS HSE 3.0 TDV6 in Stornoway Grey

I do have new struts for the front to put on, wanted to try rears first and see if that resolved the issue (which it did😃) and also it started raining and I was working outside so I stopped there. 2007 Stornaway Grey RRS HSE 4.4 V8

So I finally got around to replacing the front air shocks too and happy to say the Rover rides very well now.
For those interested I sourced my parts online from England and had them shipped DHL for considerably less $ than I could get them at my local dealer ($1390 shipped v over $5K PLUS TAX!)

Also did front brakes n rotors, a front wheel bearing, all six brake hoses n fluid, oil change and a tire rotation!

Thank you again for all input and assistance 😃👍🏻 2007 Stornaway Grey RRS HSE 4.4 V8