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Spitfire spitfire rear trunnion bushes

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cutlass29

cutlass29

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- can't find any info about fitting these in Haynes or in search...are they fitted dry (no grease or oil), so stainless tube runs directly on urethane sleeve ? any grease/anti seize required on bolt inside stainless tube ? I assume O rings are to keep dust/water out...do they need anything on them oil or grease to help seal ?

- thanks in advance for the help.

- I've got pictures of my progress rebuilding complete halfshafts, including the infamous hub puller I was lucky enough to find on ebay...will try to figure out a way of posting them in the hope they may be of use to someone else attempting the same rebuild.
 
cutlass29 said:
- can't find any info about fitting these in Haynes or in search...are they fitted dry (no grease or oil), so stainless tube runs directly on urethane sleeve ? any grease/anti seize required on bolt inside stainless tube ? I assume O rings are to keep dust/water out...do they need anything on them oil or grease to help seal ?
Click to expand...
They are fitted dry; lubrication is not necessary. However, should you plan on holding onto the car for any great length of time (say, another 50k miles or so), you WILL replace these again in the future...at which time you'll be very glad you put a bit of grease/anti-seize on the bolt. It is that bolt rusting to the sleeve that makes replacing these such an incredible chore!
 
cutlass29 said:
- can't find any info about fitting these in Haynes or in search...are they fitted dry (no grease or oil), so stainless tube runs directly on urethane sleeve ? any grease/anti seize required on bolt inside stainless tube ?
Click to expand...

The steel sleeve does not 'turn' in those bushings, there is no need for lube, but you should fill the cavity in the trunnion with grease as best you can just to keep out water and dirt.

Make sure you fit the inner flanged washer BEFORE driving the bushing into the trunnion (says the voice of experience). Besides making you feel dumb, those busings are a bear to get out again when you discover you've driven in the bushes and forgot the inner flanged washers.

So the sequence is to fit the inner washer, then drive in the nylon bushing on each side. Then before inserting the steel sleeve, fill the trunnion cavity between the bushings with grease. Then install the sleeve, rubber rings and caps.

Yes, the rubber rings are a seal. The idea is that the inner flanged washer and the outer 'cap' washer, along with the seal, keep most of the moisture and crud from going down the sleeve. It doesn't, but it probably helps. It does not hurt to smear some grease inside that flanged inner washer prior to installing the seal and cap, in fact it helps keep the seal in place. I have never been able to keep the seal aligned properly once assembled because there is nothing really for it to lock onto, so it sort of moves around and doesn't really stay circular. You will wind up wanting three hands to try holding the two end caps in place while you insert the trunnion back into the vertical link and then get the bolt in to hold it all together. Try using some thin rubber bands to hold the caps in place while you get the trunnion mounted in the link.

For sure put anti-sieze on the bolt going through the sleeve. This is the major problem with those hubs as I'm sure you have found out (or will find out) in disassembly. Over time that steel sleeve and the bolt become one.

Posting pictures would be great. As you will find, getting the hub off and getting that vertical link and trunnion disassembled are the big chores in rebuilding the axle. Putting it back together is pretty straightforward.
 
- thanks Andy & Guzzul - will continue with reassembly tonite - actually I think I got real lucky - sleeves were rusty on removal but bolts were not fused to them...couple of gentle taps and lots of wiggle and they came right out.

The washer caps literally fell to pieces...no longer looked like washers. The hardest part was getting the old urethane bushes out...came out in little pieces as they were stuck to the trunnion.

- and yes, getting ahead of myself, I did fit the bush before realising the washer should be behind it!
 
cutlass29 said:
... and yes, getting ahead of myself, I did fit the bush before realising the washer should be behind it!
Click to expand...
Been there, done that! Save yourself some grief, though. If you can't get the bush back out without damaging it, get yourself another kit. They're cheap, especially compared to their importance and the aggrevation of doing the job again even sooner than otherwise would have been necessary!
 
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