Front suspension damage?

[Bremer]

Hello, long time lurker, (almost) first time poster here. I hope the experience of the members of this board will help me along with my project.
I have owned my 59 TR3A for 9 years. During this time I have only driven it about 120 miles before I decided it was too dangerous to drive around with brakes working on three wheels only and no handbrake... It really needs a full restoration, but the plan for this summer is to get it running with some degree of reliability and safety. I want to enjoy it once more before years of restoration rob me of any memory of the driving experience.
From what I saw it is pretty obvious that the poor car lost the left front wheel while driving. There is a (fairly small, but definitely noticable) flat spot in the brake rotor. Also, several wheel lugs/nuts were stripped. Furthermore, I made the following observations on the left front supension (in no particular order):
- The spring is pushed inward on the bottom seat.
- The rebound rubber bumper is missing.
- Lots of toe-in, looks like 3-5 degrees
- No apparent damage to any steering elements (tie rod, tie rod lever, centre link, drop arm) or the shock/spring tower.
- Little or no play in tie rod end joints.
- There is noticable and visible play between the trunnion and the vertical link (about the same left and right hand side).
- There is a heavy spot in the steering at about a half turn from centre with the front wheels in the air.

I am aware that a full front end rebuild would eliminate some or most of the issues, but I'm afraid the budget doesn't allow for it at this time. My question is: Which of what I described raises a red flag in terms of safety? In your experience, where should I be looking for structural damage? I can live with somewhat imprecise steering for now, but I want to prevent catastrophic failure.
Thanks very much.

 

[TR4nut]

I'd check alignment of the inner fulcrum pins - you may find one or more bent, which may be giving you that toe in. You might not see it on the tower itself (I didn't). If it is still sound that may be less a safety issue and more of an issue getting proper alignment on the car.

I would however, be concerned with the trunnion play. You shouldn't see any, particularly with the springs in place. I would bite the bullet there and replace the trunnions. You may also find that you have a bent vertical link at that point, and you may need to scrounge around for a good used one.

Good luck, and quit lurking!

Randy

 

[tdskip]

Any chance you could post a bunch of pictures for us?

 

[Bremer]

Thanks Randy, I'll try and check alignment of the fulcrum pins.
I'll post up a few photos later.

 

[Bremer]

It seems I can only attach one file per post.
Here is an overview of the left hand side suspension.
Yes, one of the brake pad hold-down plates is missing.

 

[Bremer]

Here's a shot of the back side of the trunnion.

 

[Bremer]

The compression bumper is missing, too...

 

[Bremer]

In this photo you can see the flat spot on the rotor and the spring that's off-centre on its seat.

 

[Bremer]

This shows the front of the trunnion.

 

[Bremer]

I tried to eyeball the alignment of the fulcrum pins, and they appear to be in line with each other. The brackets that support the lower fulcrum are solidly connected to the frame, no cracked welds.
Something that I just remembered: When I got the car, it was missing the cross tube that connects the two shock towers. I fabricated a new one and installed it, but I know that the car has been driven at least some distance without the cross tube.
Comments welcome.

 

[TR4nut]

I'm not sure I see any damage here, but maybe just a very tired front suspension. The spring looks more deformed from age than anything, likewise the bumpstop rubber has simply cracked off. Frankly, I think it just looks like things are ready for a rebuild. That actually could be very good news - rebushing everything could clear up a lot of issues, and those springs look ready to be replaced anyway. It's very difficult to check for play with those springs in place, so if you decide to start refurbing I'd recommend setting up a good spring compressor and drop the bottom spring pans.

 

[bgbassplyr]

What Randy said, above, plus these observations and thoughts:

Flat spot on the disk could have been an attempt to balance the disk rather than damage from wheel exit as the dust shield is still intact. If the wheel had come off, the dust shield would show damage. There would also be damage evident in the fender (wing) opening and inner fender sheet metal, as well as damage to the wheel center unless it was replaced. Triumph disk wheels are known to be weak and eaisly distorted, causing excessive runout and all that goes with that(wibbles and wobbles, etc).

Stripped studs are most likely the result of using an air wrench instead of a torque wrench when changing the wheel.

The missing cross tube could be part of the problem unless the replacement that you fabricated is exactly like the original in length. PO may have removed it to facilitate fan belt replacement or some such and simply left it off in anticipation of the next time he need to work in that area. Cross tubes are available from time to time on ebay. In case it may help, the distance between the top shock mount hole centers is 26.376 inches. Center to center on the lower A arm fulcrum is 17.54 inches. Frame rails out to out at the fulcrums is 20.38 inches. All but the last dimension will probably be difficult to measure, but I threw them in anyway. Factory service manual has a page with all of the frame dimensions and pick up points for measuring diagonals for frame alignment. Reprints are available.

Badly worn bushings and ball joints in the suspension and steering will probably account for the majority of your problems.

Also check for play in the steering box and the steering idler arm bushing. There are a lot of places for deficiencies in the steering system on TR3's.

More if anything else comes to mind. Good luck and, oh yeah, welcome to the BCF.

 

[Bremer]

Jim, Randy, thank you for your thoughts.
The next step will indeed be to drop the spring pan and verify play.
The dimensions are interesting, maybe I can find a way to measure them on the car without dismantling it.
Regarding the cross tube: I think it simply corroded until it fell off. The tube flanges were still bolted to the towers, and rusted remains of the tube were still there. Also, the fan is badly dented. My replacement may have the wrong length, I didn't have the dimensions then.

 

[bgbassplyr]

I would send you a measurement for the tube, but mine is a 4, not a 3, so dimension is different. Maybe someone else has one that they could measure for you.


TR3 GUY's? Man the tape measure.