Front damper bottom mount

[TomB]

Evening all,

 

Ive unbolted the bottom front dampers mounts on my pre-1996 de-dion this morning to clean and paint some rust I spotted while I had the brakes & hubs off.

 

For the life of me, I can't get the bottom of the damper back in the wishbone. The damper in extension doesn't seem to line up with the gap in the wishbone, especially when the damper end is parallel to it.

 

Ive tried gently lifting/ compressing the damper up with the jack, but the collar on the damper catches on the wishbone, and also, the edge of the rubber bush catches on the edge of the bolt boss, lifting the suspension.

 

Ive tried loosening the ARB and the rod end to give me more vertical movement, but no luck. Should I loosen the top mount? Back off the adjustable platform to allow the damper rod to be compressed shorter?

 

Any tips appreciated!

 

 

Edited by - TomB on 11 Nov 2012 17:59:24

[Shaun_E]

Loosen the bolt that joins the top wishbone to the upright - this will allow more movement of the bottom wishbone, allowing you to align the damper with it.

[TomB]

Loosen the bolt that joins the top wishbone to the upright

 

Do you mean the rod end? I also wondered if loosening off the bottom wishbone would also help, as this would allow a little horozontal movement on the wishbone and help align the damper with the gap in the wishbone.

[Paul Richards]

Tom

Use a bigger hammer 😬

[Shaun_E]

I wasn't thinking straight - it's actually a nut. I meant the nut on top of the upright at the outboard end of the upper wishbone. I suppose it is a rod end although I always thought that just referred to the steering track rod end.

[Wrightpayne]

Dedion or live axel? Err that'll be dedion then

 

On dedion I'd slacken the lower fixing on the upright which will allow the lower wishbone to drop a bit more. The problem with the top upright joint is that it is on a taper so can be a PITA to get apart.

 

When assembling IIRC the wishbones are fitted first, then the shock and upright last.

 

 

Ian

 

Edited by - Wrightpayne on 12 Nov 2012 20:45:58

[TomB]

Managed it eventually tonight. I couldnt separate the track rod end as the taper was locked down. I loosened all the wishbone attachment to give a bit more give. After putting a piece of wood under the damper and gently jacking upwards, together with a lot of pushing with a longer screwdriver to push the eyelet back toward the body of the car, I got it lined up enough to get a small driver in to locate the damper and wishbone, and from there it was a case of wiggling the big screwdriver with the bolt.

 

A disproportionate amount of swearing for what should be simple. Now Ive got to paint the scuffs and scratches on the wishbone. Grrr. 😳