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Rear damper top mount re-assembly


bstark

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I've just finished fitting an FIA rollbar to my '92 Live Axle Supersprint, which involved removing all the upper mounting rubbers and nuts from the rear dampers to allow it to fit. Never having done this before can someone confirm I have re-fitted these correctly, and that there are no special torque settings etc. that I should have used?

 

To remove the upper mountings I put the car on axle stands under the front A-frame mountings, and supported the axle with a jack under the diff. When I bolted it all back together, the upper mounting rubbers are now on top of the rollbar base plate and I simply screwed the first nut down to compress the rubber until I couldn't turn the spanner any more without serious effort. I then put the second nut on and tightened it. I did all this before lowering the car back to the floor so no load was on the axle.

 

Does this sound correct? (sorry if it is an idiot question...)

 

Bob Stark

Supersprint first-timer

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Hi Bob,

 

Sounds like you have got it all back together correctly. The upper rubber + 2 cup washers should be sitting on the the larger mounting plate of the FIA bar. The correct way of tightening these is to achieve the same diameter in the rubber (i.e. squash it) as the cup washers. As this will vary from car to car and even each time you do it, there is no torque seting. The load should spread itself and the lower rubber will squahshed the same - if not, there isn't a lot you can do so just get the top ones right.

I have never bothered to measure or anything - just have a feel - this is good enough check.

I am not sure it makes any difference with the car on the ground or not - except that it might compress the lower one more and therefore bias the loadings. I have always done mine off the ground also.

You may find you need to hold the first nut with a thin spanner when you do up the top locking one to stop it moving. The top plate should have a recess for a nut, but I have found that this doesn't stop it from spinning. I use a spanner and a long socket.

 

Hope this helps. If you have over tightened you can back it off without jacking the car up I think.

 

Phil Waters

1600 X/flow - soon to be 2000 Zetec wink.gif

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