Front suspension rebuild question

[les]

Screw it fully home then unscrew it just enough for it to be able to turn freely clockwise and anti-clockwise, the same amount it will need to do so when steering is on full lock each way.

[westy24]

Would you say around 2 and a half turns would be enough?

[les]

I would say that was too much. Undo it the minimum you need to enable it to swivel each way, the amount it would swivel on full lock, which is not excessive, work on 90 degrees. It's a matter of feel really, not the same for every case.

[westy24]

Ok il give that a go ,thank you once again.

[philthehill]

To get the right 'C' measurement you have to use a combination of the torsion bar rear adjuster plate (PT No: AAA1852 (MOSS)) and the splines on the front of the torsion bar.
As advised above - screw the trunnion fully on to the swivel pin (not hub which is a totally different part) threads and then back off sufficient to enable the swivel pin when fitted to turn clockwise and anticlockwise its required amount.

[westy24]

Is it possible to remove the large lower arm on the torsion bar on the car ? Does the arm just tap off without removing the eye bolt from the chassis to adjust the hight ?

[les]

It can be knocked back until it leaves the splines, and then turned to the desired spline, do it carefully so as to note where it was; otherwise it's easy to put it back on the same splines.

[westy24]

Excellent would using heat be a good idea to make it easier or a big no no ?
Sorry for all these daft questions ,I want to make sure it's done right !

[philthehill]

Soak the thick arm to splines area in penetrating oil (Plus Gas not WD40) overnight before attempting to knock the arm rearwards. Use a hide or copper hammer otherwise the thick arm can get damaged.
Once the thick arm is off the torsion bar splines clean the splines on the torsion bar and cover the splines with Copper Ease before reassembling to the 'C' height.

[les]

I've often wondered about lubricating splines that don't move in service Phil, wouldn't that encourage, in this case, turning movement on the splines?

[philthehill]

Les
The torsion bar is always loaded even with the wheel off the ground.
Therefore the loading of the torsion bar will always be in one direction so there should be no rotating of the thick arm on the torsion bar splines.
If the splines are dry and get rusty there may be a devil of a job at a future time to get the thick arm to move rearwards on the torsion bar splines.
The splines do not have to be loaded with Copper Ease just a smear is all that is needed.
If you do not want to use grease use a smear of oil on the splines.
Anything to make life easier and I have never found any problems arising from lightly lubricating the torsion bar splines.
You do not want to end up having to dismantle the torsion bar by using the process in the attached photo taken from one of dudford's postings.
http://i1169.photobucket.com/albums/r51 ... ppe2ks.jpg
It may be a Marina torsion bar but the thick arm is the same as the Minor.
Phil

[les]

I can't disagree with you Phil, I don't like any dry assembly. Its just a feeling that something that isn't suppose to move, isn't helped by a product that reduces friction. To overcome my dilemma in this situation, I just give a squirt of WD, I have wiped with an oily rag.

[westy24]

Just a quick update , I managed to adjust the large arm on the torsion bar , in the process I fitted new brake cylinders,brake pipes and bleed nipples. I also went to fit the new lower trunnion, and found that the upright threads where cross threaded , the old trunnion screwed up ok , so for now iv fitted it all together using the old one ,when the car is close to being complete ,il fit a new upright and new lower trunnion , thanks again for all your help , iv learned something !

[RobThomas]

Might be a silly question, but, you do know that they are different direction threads on the 2 sides of the car?

[westy24]

Might be a silly question, but, you do know that they are different direction threads on the 2 sides of the car?

Yes I’m fully aware of that , I took the old trunnion off and found it hard to do so . I cleaned the grease off and found the lower most threads were not there at all . So that’s another £100 I need to spend!

[westy24]

What iv done today