Reaction plate removal jitters

[keithmac]

Hi All
Happy Christmas eve.
Can someone please walk me through removal of the reaction plate? The engine is ready to come out and that is the one thing left to do and I am a tad nervous about it. This is the result of the " Having a bad day " thread. If your read that , please take pity on this " new first time E-Type owner!
Cheers
Keith

[politeperson]

Merry Christmas,

I have escaped Christmas for 5 minutes to tell you how I do It. This is from memory a year ago I warn you.

It is a job that I dont worry about anymore.Not sure if my method is the best way but it works for me and I dont have lop sided suspension.

I do have the advantage of a car lift, trolley jacks and ball joint splitters.

The release the twist in the torsion bars.

Loosen the front road wheel spinners.

Support the body of the car on the car lift of if you dont have one try and raise the car 8 inches off the ground.

Open the bonnet and remove the front road wheels.

Undo and separate the track rod ends/dampers and r/bar..

Jack up the front hub on the lower ball joint cover. The jack will now be holding sone of the torsion bar twist safely.

Unwind the top ball joint nut to the end of the tread. Use the ball joint splitter to release the taper pressing on the ball joint nut, not the thread. Split the ball joint and remove the upper ball joint nut.

Release the jack watching the whole front hub assembly rotate downwards. Careful not to stretch the brake cable.

The tension in the torsion bars will now have vanished, enabling you to safely undo the reaction plate nuts and bolts (dont forget the two large ones going through the chassis rails).

Remove the reaction plate. The torsion bars will still be in place and will not need andy adjustment.

[keithmac]

Thanks Politeperson !
Merry Christmas to you
Do I need to remove the shocks? Once the plate is off do I hammer/tap the plate off the torsion bars?
I assume the bar position relative to the plate is not lost if the torsion bar bracket ( the one with the two bolts in it ) Remains on the torsion bar ?

[paulsco]

Hi Keith,

When I did mine, I removed the top bolts on the shocks and also the anti roll bar nuts. in fact I think I also removed the bottom ball joint/swivel joint as well and hung the swivel arm on the top ball joint.

It was a wile ago now, so I am not sure why I decided to do it this way, but I think this was the only way I could see to completely unload the torsion bars.

I knocked the bolts back to get enough room to remove the reaction plate; I did not remove the bolts completely.

Paul

[ALAN COCHRANE]

Keith

I’ve just removed the reaction plate for an engine removal. I only split the bottom ball joint and removed the top damper bolt on each side. Separating the hub carrier and the lower wishbone was a bit of a faff but doable with patience.
The reaction plate is a tight fit even after all the bolts are removed. The four bolts that secure the torsion bars to the reaction plate need to be knocked through until the ends are flush with the reaction plate. The plate can only be moved back about half an inch and then lowered out. Don’t be surprised if you have to use heavy leverage to remove it. It will also almost certainly damage the paint work as well.

Happy Xmas

Alan

[mgcjag]

Hi Keith.....I really dont know why anyone worries about the reaction plate and torsion bars....it really is a quite easy job to remove and reassemble......so long as nothing is seized.....however extrem care must be taken in understanding what you are doing to unload the tension in the bars........once you have the front of the car off the ground and well supported and wheels removed jack up under the lower hub ball joint, this takes up the torsion bar tension.......remove steering trackrod and front and anti roll bar......break top wishbone ball joint , remove top shock absorber bolt but dont let the hub unit fall outwards as the brake pipe will get streached.......slowly lower the jack...as the hub lowers the torsion bar tension is released......do this to both sides....now just dismantle as much of the bars,reaction plate as needed......reassemply and setting tbe bars is simply we can tell you how when you come to reassemble.....or just read the maintenance manual, its detailed how to do it...all the best... Steve

[politeperson]

Hi Keith,

Yes, undo the shocks it the top (one bolt) and the roll bar to allow the whole assembly to drop down.

I didn't touch the torsion bar position to remove the reaction plate.

The rear splines locate into the torsion bar bracket, not the reaction plate(29). If you leave the loose bolts in place the front suspension can go back together temporarily. I had no engine, gearbox or bonnet in the car at this stage.

https://www.sngbarratt.com/uk/#!/Englis ... ION%20BARS

I remember I did replace the reaction plate bolts as they displayed some wear.

Told you I would forget something.

Merry Christmas.

[keithmac]

Well , its off but it wont come out. its hung up on the right torsion bar end loosely. But for 1mm , it would fall to the floor!
No worries , it will fall when the engine is moved.
Should be a bugger to install though !
Thanks for your help and advice !
Cheers All

[mgcjag]

Keith.....just take the torsion bars out(there is a thin bolt holding them in place on the front wishbone)....then the reaction plate......it really is not dificult to refit and set them up....just remember there is a left and a right hand bar......dont get them mixed up.... Steve