Replacing rear suspension on my convertible.

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pettittjt@gmail.com
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Replacing rear suspension on my convertible.

Post by pettittjt@gmail.com »

I am considering replacing the leaf springs and fittings on the rear of my 1964 convertible. I see that ESM do a kit. Can anyone advise if this is a simple job needing no special tools or should I leave it to a professional. I would probably want to replace the dampers at the same time.
Jim Pettitt
philthehill
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Re: Replacing rear suspension on my convertible.

Post by philthehill »

A reasonably easy job but must be undertaken with care. Do one side at a time. No special tools required but a modicum of mechanical knowledge/ability is required.
If not sure ask on here.
Play safe with every action and do not cut corners.

pettittjt@gmail.com
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Re: Replacing rear suspension on my convertible.

Post by pettittjt@gmail.com »

Thanks Phil, you have given me a bit of confidence.
jagnut66
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Re: Replacing rear suspension on my convertible.

Post by jagnut66 »

Hi,
This is how I did it:
If you don't have them already, get hold of a decent set of axle stands and put the car up, level, on them.
Then get a builders plank, jack the rear up slightly, so you can slide the rear axle stands back out, put them under the builders plank and support the rear of the car, just ahead of the front spring hangers, as below:
Old 803 axle out.JPG
Old 803 axle out.JPG (1.31 MiB) Viewed 913 times
Then remove the back axle and springs from the car. Unbolt the axle fittings first and slide that out (it's much lighter with the half shafts and diff separated out from it).
You can now refresh and refurbish the axle, dampers etc. on a work bench.
Quite possibly one of the hardest things to remove will be the droplink arms for the rear dampers, it might be best to purchase two new ones (not expensive), in readiness for the likelihood that you will have to 'sacrifice' and replace them.
The springs themselves are not heavy or difficult to remove and replace (especially with new fittings lightly smeared with copper grease).
Fit the springs first, then slide the axle back in and reassemble.
Replacement 1098 axle for 4.22 diff in place.JPG
Replacement 1098 axle for 4.22 diff in place.JPG (1.32 MiB) Viewed 913 times
It's not difficult, just take your time and work through it methodically.
Very satisfying to stand back and think 'I did that', when its back on the car and reassembled, looking like new again. :D
Good luck and best wishes,
Mike.
1954 Series 2: 4 door: "Sally" -- Back on the ground with (slave) wheels and waiting to be resprayed......
1970 Triumph Herald 1200: "Hetty" -- Driven back from Llangollen in Wales (twice.....)
philthehill
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Re: Replacing rear suspension on my convertible.

Post by philthehill »

Jagnut66.
What you describe will make the job much harder and longer for the OP.

There is absolutely no need to remove the axle to replace the springs.

Doing one side at a time will not require the brakes and/or other parts to be disconnected which requires the bleeding of the brake system on re-fitment of the axle.

The drop links may or may not need replacing. They cannot be refurbished only the link top bushes can be replaced. If you cannot find the split pin which secures the link top nut to the chassis peg, just unscrew the castellated nut and replace with a self locking nut. The split pin is so thin that undoing the nut without removing the split pin will not cause any damage to the threads on the chassis pin.

Soak everything that has to be undone in plus gas release oil for at least 24 hrs before trying to undo anything.

jagnut66
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Re: Replacing rear suspension on my convertible.

Post by jagnut66 »

I thought when he said he was buying a kit he meant he was refurbishing the lot.
In my defence, I didn't find the way I did my rear end hard at all.

I agree with Phil's point about giving everything you intend to remove a good soak in penetrating oil first though.
Best wishes,
Mike.
1954 Series 2: 4 door: "Sally" -- Back on the ground with (slave) wheels and waiting to be resprayed......
1970 Triumph Herald 1200: "Hetty" -- Driven back from Llangollen in Wales (twice.....)
newagetraveller
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Re: Replacing rear suspension on my convertible.

Post by newagetraveller »

The difficult part it that most of the nuts and bolts may be siezed solid and it is easier to cut them off with an angle grinder and replace with new.
richardsthom
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Re: Replacing rear suspension on my convertible.

Post by richardsthom »

All the above are good points but have not mention the front spring shackle bolt, it's nut is often easy to undo but the head will have rusted to the retainer which itself is held by 2 bolts to the spring hanger, they probably need lubricating as described above but it can be tricky getting a spanner onto the bolt heads as space is restricted. When replacing the shackle bolt it is useful to have a pin spanner that fits it, as it does not have a hex head and may want to rotate while you are tightening the nut. Pin spanner is easy to make if you have access to a suitable piece of steel bar and some rod and take the measurements needed off the old pin, alternatively there seem to quite a lot of adjustable ones advertised on the web.

Unless refurbishing the rear axle I have always done one side at a time with the car body on axle stands at the back and the axle on screw jacks in case I need to raise or lower it during removal-refitting.

good luck.
philthehill
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Re: Replacing rear suspension on my convertible.

Post by philthehill »

As the OP stated above that he would remove the heads/nuts of bolts with an angle grinder I did not mention this possible difficulty. Once the two heads of the 1/4" bolts are cut off the eye pin can with its locator/holder can https://www.morrisminorspares.com/rear- ... in-p831380 be easily knocked out.
This is the pin spanner I made to do the job of holding the pin whilst the nut is undone:-
Eye pin 1.JPG
Eye pin 1.JPG (1.29 MiB) Viewed 779 times
Eye pin 2.JPG
Eye pin 2.JPG (1.4 MiB) Viewed 779 times
Originally it was a small angle grinder abrasive wheel retaining nut spanner. I drilled and fitted two suitable Allen headed screws at the right PCD. One of the holes in the spanner is slightly slotted to compensate for any variance in the PCD.

The two holes in the eye pin are not very deep and not consistent in diameter therefore before fitting the new pin I did drill out the holes to the same size and depth to make future removal easier.

When tightening the eye pin nut there should be enough friction between the head of the pin and locator/holder to enable the nut to be done up without any special tools.

Fit the eye pin locator/holder before trying to fit the pin and fit the bolts from the inside with the nuts/spring washers outside. Smear all bolts and threads with Copper ease or similar.

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