Front lower suspension arms

[PaulColeman]

I'm in the process of stripping down the front suspension and I'm having trouble with the lower wishbone. I have a couple of problems...
1) I can't get the inner sleeve of the bush off the end of the round bar. The rubber has virtually all gone but the metal tube seems to be welded to the round bar.
2) The bolt which holds the two halves of the wishbone together is also welded in there and my hydraulic press won't shift it. What's the easiest way to get it apart - I was thinking of grinding it down and then drilling it out?

Thanks, Paul.

[christopher storey]

I'm not quite clear what you mean by the "round bar" but the usual answer to this sort of problem is heat and infiltrating diesel ( some people advocate a n emulsion of acetone and auto trans fluid ) into the seized bits. If all else fails , a dremel with a fine cutting disc can bu sued to cut lengtheways along the sleeve - you don't need to go all the way through - and then chisel it off. Heat is definitely the answer to the bolt - alternatively cut the nut off and drift the bolt out

[PaulColeman]

The lower front suspension arm looks like a triangle and one of the sides is a solid round bar with a bracket on each end. The brackets have a rubber bush in them which fits over the round shaft. It's the inner tube of that bush which is stuck on the round shaft. I can't really get at it to try and slice through it as there's a big washer on one end.

[chrisvine]

Paul,

I think you're referring to the fulcrum shaft and the inner sleeves of the suspension bushes.

I also had real difficulty getting the lower wishbones apart and agree the best thing would be to soak for as long as possible and then apply heat.

I didn't have access to oxy-acetylene and so tried the drifting the shock absorber bolt out with a club hammer. It worked eventually but it took some doing. If that hadn't worked, I was considering soaking in a rust remover solution for several days.

Chris

[PaulColeman]

I've managed to get the bushes off with a combination of a bearing puller (which I'd forgotten I owned!!) and grinding the inner sleeve down enough to split it. I can't believe how well a bit of rust can hold two pieces of metal together

I've cut the ends off the lower shock mounting bolt but my 12ton press won't touch it so I guess I'll have to drill it out :(

Paul.

[tim wood]

Hi, I have had exactly the same problem and tackled it in the same way. Eventually I ended up with just the lower wishbone and a short piece of bolt. No sleeve or head on the bolt.
Couldn't move it with hammers etc. in the end took it to a mate with a 30 tonne press and it was at max pressure when it came out like a gun shot !

Quite a lot in the archives on this enjoyable task

Tim

[PaulColeman]

That lower suspension arm bolt has got to be the worst on the car - in fact, probably any car! I had another go in my 12 ton press and the press was bending but the bolt didn't budge. I'll try drilling them out I think...

Paul.

[christopher storey]

Paul , when I suggested heat, I meant heat. I put mine on the drawing room fire ( best done when the distaff side is absent ) and got them in pieces as a result. Then I reheated them to red heat and cooled them very slowly buried in sand so as to try and avoid any alteration of the metallurgy

[PaulColeman]

I managed to make a bit of progress... I used an angle grinder to cut the shaft of the bolt off including the sleeve. I then got an oxy kit on them and heated them up until they were very hot, then a 3ft long breaker bar on the head of the bolt so that they were turning and then in a 30ton press. I still need to get one of the arms off the fulcrum shaft though. What a nightmare of a job!

Are the replacement bolts an equally tight fit?

Should the front suspension on a 1965 FHC be black or plated?

Paul.

[Heuer]

Plated, cadmium originally. You nowadays have a choice of zinc or nickel and my vote would be for the nickel as it is closer in colour to the cadmium and much more resistant to corrosion than zinc. Only the very early cars had black suspension parts.

[PaulColeman]

Okay, thanks for the info :)

I'm slightly worried that once the parts are plated they won't fit back together again, given that it took a 30ton press to get them apart!!

Paul.

[Heuer]

The plating is only microns thick so it won't make any difference. You could get them to mask off the bearing surfaces if you are worried but it does leave them vulnerable to corrosion.

[PaulColeman]

I was wondering if it would be better to have a thou or two skimmed off the surfaces which mate together before plating?

[chrisvine]

I had mine plated, although Zinc-Nickel, and didn't have any problems during the rebuild. So I don't think it's necessary taking any metal off.

The only part I had masked was the bearing surfaces on the stud axle which was left in situ.

[MarekH]

I had no problems with mine (either). As David says, the thickness of plate is near zero. The bearings went back onto the spindles much as they came off, that's how little goes on. To preserve the plating, flash a thin coat of acrylic lacquer over the finished item once it is all back together.

kind regards
Marek

[PaulColeman]

My problem is that they don't fit together easily now. Once they're plated the situation will be even worse!

[Heuer]

Once plated they will be exactly the same as now - they will remove the old plating and put on new. Suggest you get the plating done and if it is still a problem use a reamer to ease the fit.