TR4/4A Front Shock Install

I just want to make sure I'm not missing something here. I took apart my suspension, well my whole frame, and rebuilt it. However when trying to put the shocks back in it seems they won't line up with the upper hole without the body of the shock rubbing up the inner part of coils on the inside portion. I'm thinking it's because I need more weight on top (no tub is currently on the car) to settle it more so the lower arms come up and compress the springs more taking some of that bow/flex away. I can't use a jack to do it as the weight of just the engine isn't enough to compress the spring on one side.

I'm getting the body put on July 8th and I was planning to roll it on some ramps and see if they will go in then from the added weight. But is this what others have had to do to get the shocks to go in when doing frame off and suspension rebuild? BTW...I'm using stock type shocks. I've read about the Spax or KYB...but are they REALLY worth the extra $$$?

IMHO...leave the shocks install until all weight is on the chassis....see if the ride height suits your taste, and go from there.

Hi Gary. My shocks went in no problem with just the frame. Stock shocks from TRF, nothing fancy. Any chance you have the wishbones mounted backwards? Can you post a picture?

Popeye said:

Hi Gary. My shocks went in no problem with just the frame. Stock shocks from TRF, nothing fancy. Any chance you have the wishbones mounted backwards? Can you post a picture?

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Interesting. Mine are the TRF ones as well. Or did I get them from VB? I can't remember but they look exactly what came off so I'm confused and I didn't swap out the springs. I put the wishbones on the same way they came off but here are a couple pics. Let me know if you guy see anything. Don't pay attention to the shock installed on the passenger side. I could get the upper in but couldn't align the four studs to the bracket on the shock. I thought maybe those were supposed to go a certain way but I mimicked what came off.

Gary, your car a '62 CT16836L? Intersting, My current tr4 registered in '74 (second owner) as a '63 CT15072L and my first one (totally unrestorable but I still have the title) registered in '70 (third owner I believe) as a "63 CT18152L. Your car falls right in between so it's possible yours could actually be a '63. Anyway, as long as it falls in between '61 and '65, who cares, right?
Ok, back to the spring bow..You said the new springs look like the old ones but did you happen to check the free height of the new springs before installing? According to the manual specs I have, the free spring height should be 9.75 if they are stock and that's what mine measure.
If they are the correct springs then I'm thinking some of the problem may be that your assembled unit is hanging lower than it would if you had the rubber rebound installed which accentuates the spring angle because the pan is slanted in the opposite direction than the tower. The higher you can raise the pan the less acute the angle will be.
Try re- compressing the spring enough so that you can tell you can get the rebound bracket on. You should notice the spring angle change a little then place a jack under one of the whishbone arms just to the point that the frame wants to raise but doesn't. Then remove the compressor. Be Careful here because the spring still may want to raise the frame a bit. Make sure you have the frame supported so it won't rock off the jack stands. The spring should stay compressed enough that once you get the shock installed you have enough clearance for the rebound bracket. When you release the jack, the unit will then rest on the rebound rubber instead of just hanging out in space and hopefully the shock will stay clear of the coils.
Right or wrong, it worked for me and even though there's still a bow, it's just the nature of the beast until the tires hit the floor.
BTW, On the bottom shock brackets not fitting the studs, don't forget that sometimes you have to adjust the bolt in or out that attaches them to the shock to get the right spacing.

Your springs look like they are "bowing out" causing the shock to rub. I dont think they are supposed to do that. But I don't know why the would do that, are they the original springs?

Any chance you installed an aluminum spacer in the upper mount? Later springs didn't use that spacer.

glemon said:

Your springs look like they are "bowing out" causing the shock to rub. I dont think they are supposed to do that. But I don't know why the would do that, are they the original springs?

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Yep...original springs. Just repainted. And the shocks I bought match the originals that came off. The springs are the short springs with the spacer. The ONLY thing I changed was taking out the corroded rubber bushings and putting in blue poly between spacer and shock tower. Then the lower and the one between the spring and the aluminum spacer is the black ones that came with the TRF kit. They are seated properly as the first time when I used the black one between the aluminum spacer and the shock tower it wouldn't sit right. Looking at the other post about suspension my bow doesn't look any worse than his which confuses me. I swear...the VW and Audi suspensions I dealt with in the past were far more complex than this and easier to resolve.

TR4nut said:

Any chance you installed an aluminum spacer in the upper mount? Later springs didn't use that spacer.

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I did...because I have the shorter springs that use the spacer. The only part I replaced is the shock. Well, and whatever came in the TRF Suspension Kit. But all arms, plates, etc are original.

Dash said:

Gary, your car a '62 CT16836L? Intersting, My current tr4 registered in '74 (second owner) as a '63 CT15072L and my first one (totally unrestorable but I still have the title) registered in '70 (third owner I believe) as a "63 CT18152L. Your car falls right in between so it's possible yours could actually be a '63. Anyway, as long as it falls in between '61 and '65, who cares, right?

Ok, back to the spring bow..You said the new springs look like the old ones but did you happen to check the free height of the new springs before installing? According to the manual specs I have, the free spring height should be 9.75 if they are stock and that's what mine measure.

BTW, On the bottom shock brackets not fitting the studs, don't forget that sometimes you have to adjust the bolt in or out that attaches them to the shock to get the right spacing.

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Dash,

So what I've been told or what I read somewhere is the year of the car is the first year it was actually registered for the first time. But my car was built in November of 1962 and dispatched on November 20th per my Heritage Trust certificate. But like you said...if it's between those years and I have the chassis/commission number, who cares! HAHA

I actually replaced the shocks, not the springs.

Hmmmmm, I didn't think about that bolt being able to move. I didn't feel any play in the bolt that goes thru the two brackets and the shock hole. But maybe I'll loosen that up and see if I can get it to fit. And regarding your other notes, I've tried all that. My frame just wants to come up off the jack stands. I guess I can put the spring compressor back in and put the one bracket that goes on the frame back in. Then put the actual rubber stop on when I get the tub back in. Back on the jack stands it goes! Tub goes on July 8th! Can't wait!

I'm thinking the top of the spring may have gotten caught on the side of the spacer, so it is not sitting fully in the pocket.

Gary, check this out..I was getting ready to install the spring on the other side and just for grins I put it next to a level. You see what I see? It has a definite lean and if I move the level to the other side, the lean is reversed. Have no clue if that's normal or if over the years it reformed itself that way. In any case, I'm gonna reuse it because the height is right and no cracks but seems to me, given the lean it has, that the orientation of the install may affect the amount of bow. I just gotta figure out which way that is. Wondering if perhaps yours may be the same way. Would explain a lot if my theory is correct.

Your upper wishbones appear to be correct to me. At least they look the same as my TR4A. Sorry I can't be of more help; but the conversation here contains some good ideas.

Dash said:

Gary, check this out..I was getting ready to install the spring on the other side and just for grins I put it next to a level. You see what I see? It has a definite lean and if I move the level to the other side, the lean is reversed. Have no clue if that's normal or if over the years it reformed itself that way. In any case, I'm gonna reuse it because the height is right and no cracks but seems to me, given the lean it has, that the orientation of the install may affect the amount of bow. I just gotta figure out which way that is. Wondering if perhaps yours may be the same way. Would explain a lot if my theory is correct.

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Interesting. I didn't think of that. I'm going to get the tub on and with that added extra weight then try and jack up the lower arm a little to get the bracket in so I'm not at full droop. Even with the car on the ground now and rolling it up some ramps it doesn't settle enough to get the springs in. Just odd I can't pull them out easily like I did.

I found that the springs in my car had a slight curve when mounted and at rest, so I cut/made a bevel on the top of the spacer that I used...the spring now sits straight at rest.