Trunnions

[Super_Rich_Bernie]

I had my car MOT'd at the weekend. The tester commented that there was slight play in the suspension trunnions, however said it was minimal and passed the car.

 

With a lever under the tyre there is slight visible movement, less than 1mm up and down, vivble at the top of the trunnion.

 

Should I change the trunnions or is a little movement OK?

 

I'd be surprised if they are worn out, the car has done 8000 miles and they regularly get squirted with EP90.

 

expert opinions welcome...

 

Jonathan

[Casbar]

Not an expert but;

 

Are you sure its the trunnion, and not the lower wishbone bushes that need replacing. If the trunnion is moving, it seems likely its a bush that has broken down.

 

Or did he detect the wheels bearings float?

[Super_Rich_Bernie]

It was visible movement between the trunnion itself and the upright.

 

Maybe I am being overly paranoid - the MOT man says it was OK.

 

Wheelbearings are OK.

 

Jonathan

[don_g]

Sadly, following a brush with the armco at Brands a couple of years ago, the delights of trunnions are now but a fond memory.

 

My eyes mist as I recall the delights of greasing me trunnions, of a thursday, just after feeding t'pidgeons...

[The Stig]

The trunnion is a threaded affair that screws onto the upright.

If you have a worn trunion / upright then you have play

in the tread. The thread takes the a fair bit of force of course.

 

The only way to detect play in the trunnion is to do as the MOT man did, jack the car up a bit and lift the wheel with a bar levering against the ground. Then you can see the slopp.

Check this yourself and satisfy your self that it is the trunnion to upright that is the problem.

 

They do wear out not helped by the fact that many people grease them whereas they should be oiled with EP80/90. That grease nipple is hard for many to resist...

Oiling is a messy job but MUST be done. Every 3000 miles if I remember correctly. So you are doing all this right.

Grease tends to block the threads and not lubricate them as is wanted leading to quicker thread wear.

Have you always owned the car? Someone whose greased them early on in the cars life will give later owners the sense that they

are oiling but the oil might not be getting upto the thread..

 

If you are a light road user on hard tyres then it's probably ok to carry on for a year... If you track the car esp on sticky tyres then replace them.

 

It's not a huge job to fix and you take your pick as to whether you roll your sleeves up or leave it to someone else to do.

Any good mechanic can do this. They are Triumph parts so many old'uns will remember them.