Issues with re-bushing suspension w/out engine

[tdskip]

The TR4a IRS has her engine and transmission out for a rebuild and I have a week or so to do all the normal housekeeping on waking up a long dormant TR.

Any issues with re-bushing the front suspension while the engine is out? Wait to do the final tightening of everything until the engine is back in, or should I wait to do this until the engine is back in place?

Thanks!

 

[Don Elliott]

WITH THE ENGINE OUT THE FRONT END WILL BE VERY LIGHT. This means that the tool you use to compress the spring and the lift jack under the suspension will only lift the front end even more. I know a chap in Scotland who loaded 400 lbs of concrete patio tiles in his engine bay to be able to do his front suspension with the engine out.

I also heard about a chap in England who braced his TR from rising with the engine out. He put 2 by 6s vertically between the top of his frame up to the rafters in his garage to keep the TR from rising.

He did it this way and all he accomplished was to lift the whole roof up about a foot. The TR stayed down where it wanted to.

 

[tdskip]

Even with this tool Don?

 

[TR3driver]

Yup, the magic tool does not help the problem Don is talking about. To install the tool, you have to remove the shock. To remove the shock, you have to compress the suspension slightly, to remove the rebound stop bracket below the shock.

But it didn't take anywhere near 400 pounds for me. I just had a friend step onto the frame in the engine compartment, which let me get the bolts out of the bracket. You only have to relieve the pressure on the stop to remove the bolts.

 

[tdskip]

Thanks guys.

Rear suspension re-bush easier then, or are there similar issues?

 

[Gliderman8]

Can you just anchor the frame to the floor with a chain and anchor into the concrete?

 

[TexasKnucklehead]

I'd read about this issue so much that I overcompensated. I filled a trash can with water to try to weigh the frame down. Then I put a 6' digging bar in and used it to easily compress the spring enough to remove the bumper bracket and shock. After doing both sides, I emptied the water and found the same digging bar/lever had no trouble compressing the spring far enough to remove the bits. I was sure to clamp the bar so it couldn't move, and didn't place my fingers anywhere that slipping might remove them.

The spring compressor works great and seems safe enough.

 

[TR3driver]

Rear suspension re-bush easier then, or are there similar issues?

Could be, tho I've not tried it myself with the body off. The rear springs have to be compressed slightly in order to get the nuts started on the U-bolts. But again it's not much force required (I didn't even use the handle on my little floor jack) so the frame might weigh enough to do it.

Or if you have one of those cheap ratchet straps, you might be able to wrap it around the axle & spring and use it as a compressor. I've found that approach really handy for other things.

But compressing the spring will pale to insignificance compared to pulling those darn locating pins! Mine all came out, thank goodness, but I skinned the threads out of a grade 8 nut doing it. Should have known better than to use it more than once.

 

[TR4nut]

I did something similar to Tex's approach. Not hard to do if the body is off the frame..

 

[Twosheds]

But compressing the spring will pale to insignificance compared to pulling those darn locating pins!

Shouldn't be as much of a problem if he has the body removed.

 

[tdskip]

Body is on still John - basically I want to tackle the re-bushing to make good use of the time while the transmission is being rebuilt.

So, and work with me here, I';m drawing a blank on the locating pins that are usually the issue here. I've not rebuilt a TR4A front suspension yet but I can't see where the problem would be based on the TR6 front end. Help!

 

[TR3driver]

Oops, I thought you were working on an earlier car, Tom, and I was talking about the rear suspension. The locating pins I was referring to hold the front of the leaf springs to the frame on the TR2-4. I don't believe even the non-IRS version of the 4A uses the same pins; and the IRS version certainly doesn't.