A more fundermental weakness was
in the rear suspension
which
was
anchored to the body by a transverse
box-member of sheet steel. Under
abuse and/or corrosion, the crossmember
would tear away
from the body, which would instantly cause
the half shaft underneath to uncouple from the trunnion. Under worse cases,
the whole rear end would become detached.
Though the factory eventually strengthend
this lateral box member, there
are still many early production
cars that may be vunerable to this problem.
A more curious symtom suggested
the devilish complexity of the hydraulic system.
When the left front door was opened,
the brakes could be applied and could remain dragging as the car pulled
away, even with the door
closed. This odd result was caused
by a leaking hydraulic valve connected to
the door height switch which
indirectly affected the
brakes. Mechanics could be forgiven
for not readily diagnosing this problem! RR363
brake fluid was essential for proper performance
and the use of silicone fluids
was prohibited. Ventilated discs in the
early seventies were a great improvement
for braking.
The rubber mounted front suspension
of the early cars gave a smooth
ride but could cause severe
tyre wear and difficulty in tracking. Any
rear axle whine, fortunately rare,
can be expensive.
It should be remembered that early
Silver
Shadows and Bentley T's
can be brought up to late specifications
much
more easily than other models.
Maintenance history is also very
important, especially in the hydraulic
system.
The Silver Shadow and Bentley T were gradually debugged and reliability steadily improved. As is the case with all cars, continued production inevitably made a better product.
Wheel arches always rust away, you
will find most have been repaired at some time, but check that they been
replaced
with metal ones and
not filled with plastic filler.
Take a magnet to them and check.
If filler is used, the repair will last only a matter of weeks before the
rust starts to come through again.