Archive: Suspension

Rebuilding subframe. Upper control arms.

Tagged: Assembly, Steering, Subframe, Suspension
28th July 2008
Installing new bushings. I don’t have access to a press, so a hammer had to suffice. To install them, start with positioning one bushing in place, then slide the shaft into the inner sleeve, then position the other bushing with the other end of the shaft going into this inner sleeve. I used one the my old bushing shells to hit these new bushings as it was a good fit,…
Read the full post

Removing traction arm bushings.

Tagged: Disassembly, Rear end, Suspension
11th July 2008
The traction arm aka radius rod aka torque arm aka whatever else…   Pressure wouldn’t budge these bushings so the alternative was this. The traction arm front bushing being burned out with a weed burning torch.   I burned the rear one out as I wasn’t sure how the new ‘Ultimate Performance High Technology Polygraphite’ (overkill compared to all my other rubbers, but it’s all I could find) bushings would…
Read the full post

A bit more backtracking.

Tagged: Disassembly, Steering, Suspension
5th July 2008
Somehow I missed this earlier. Had to remove the rest of the ball joint from the lower control arm. Thankfully it was easy to do.   This is the thing to remove:   Just hit it with a hammer around the edges…   …until it starts to break free…   …then hit it some more until it’s completely out.   Some cleaning to do then it’s ready for a new…
Read the full post

Undoing some hard work.

Tagged: Disassembly, Suspension
28th June 2008
(Removing bushing sleeves from lower control arm.) Didn’t know for certain that the new lower control arm bushings would include the outer metal sleeves. But they do:   So, had to remove all of the ones I left in previously, in case I didn’t get new ones.   Simply used a chisel, hammer and brute force…   … and lots of WD40…   … to eventually get them all out.…
Read the full post

Shocks and leaf springs.

Tagged: Disassembly, Suspension
28th May 2008
Took out the rear shocks and leaf springs. Someone in the past did a rather shitty repair for one of the rear shocks where it had rotted and fallen through the trunk pan mounts, they made a bodge plate and bolted it to the rear frame. To get the leaf springs out was a little tricky; a couple of the front bracket mount bolts just turned as they had separated…
Read the full post

Removing lower control arm ball joints and bushings.

Tagged: Disassembly, Steering, Suspension
18th May 2008
Removing lower control arm ball joints: Place the old castle nut upside down on the ball joint, and hit hard with a hammer. After successive knocks the ball joint backing plate will fall off and the ball joint will fall through.   The removal process is not finished, it is continued here. Or, see my how-to article.     Removing lower control arm bushings: If after brute force applied…
Read the full post