Decided today it was about time I removed my Sub-frame, to replace the Trailing Arm Bearings.
Wheels have been leaning for a while, promised myself I wouldn't leave it as long as my last one

Thought I may as well remove it rather than struggle trying to drill/cut the bolts in-situ, as I was certain they'd be as stubborn as those on my previous Multi, which may as well have been welded in place .

Anyway, Wheels off, Exhaust dropped, ARB removed, stripped all the Brake lines/cables off it, ABS sensors unplugged, and dropped it down.
A couple of Bolts sheared, one on the ARB, another on a pipe bracket, not too bad really, already drilled out and re-tapped.



All in a bit of a state as you can see, but should clean up OK.

Got it on the floor . . .


Got the Alligator Saw out ready to hack through the bolt, then, in a sudden an uncharacteristic moment of optimism (I am on my second Multi after all), decided to undo the Nuts and try shifting the Bolts, you know, just for a giggle . . . bu**er-me if they didn't both knock out with just a few blows from my Club Hammer


As expected, Bearings (or what was left of them) were in pretty-much the same state as the last lot, hence my surprise at the Bolts coming out.


Cleaned the bores up after drifting out the old outer races, new ones in, and Grease Nipples fitted.

Managed to snap one of the ABS sensors, another brief moment of optimism (read insanity) had me thinking I could get it out . . . never going to happen :bang:
In the process of 'rescuing' it now.
It sheared off flush with the Brake back-plate, so not much left to work with, but I like a challenge . . . particularly when I stand to save £50+.
When I eventually got the Drum and Hub off, it knocked out easily enough, should have done that in the first place really
I had to make up a simple puller using the two rear Subframe Bolts and a section of 'U' channel, the Drums are worn, and the lip on the rim made it really tight to get off, Shoes are down to about 1mm

I've cut away the plastic around the wires in the Sensor body, just need to solder the Lead wires back on, and Epoxy it back into the back-plate. . .

What shape are the four subframe bushes in?

Rear Sub-frame removal . . .

Very rusty, and the Rubber parts are crazed/cracked to bu**ery at the exposed areas, particularly the rears, but they're all still surprisingly 'solid'.
If there was even a hint of slop/flex in them, I'd replace them.

The front ones are the short version, approx half the height of the ones on my last Multi.
I guess there's less flex in them, being so short, so maybe that's why they're still holding up OK?
Have you ever had to replace the rears?
Can't say I've ever seen them specifically mentioned.
I reckon they tend to last much longer than fronts, due to them only ever being loaded in one direction (up, that's why they don't have 'fail-safe' retainer washers fitted), whereas the fronts are subjected to both up and down loading.

Re: Rear Sub-frame removal . . .

Yes, I changed all four.

Rear Sub-frame removal . . .

Ah yes, you like your shiny new bits
Love to do the same on mine, put all new parts on, but I have a Boiler to replace, and what with Christmas coming . . .

Are those standard springs or uprated ones?

Rear Sub-frame removal . . .

I can't say for sure Gav, had it less than a year, and don't know it's prior history.

They look the same as my last Multi, although again, I couldn't say if they were standard or not either.


Cleaned up all the brake parts today and rebuilt them, with nice new shoes.

One of the Auto-Adjuster springs was broken, the main part between the two tabs was still there, and it seems to have stayed in place OK, despite the locating ends having gone AWOL.

I made up a repair piece for it, using a section of 0.005" feeler strip.
Not the prettiest thing I've ever made, but it'll do the job . . . hopefully.. . .

Took a few attempts to get it done without cracking at the bends.
Also managed to put a 2mm drill through the end of my thumb in the process
Was holding the spring, drilling the four holes for the lock-wire, drill-bit snapped, what was left of the bit in the chuck went straight through my glove, and through the tip!

Had a real 'Head-Scratching' moment when refitting the Hubs.
Put all the Balls in, nice fresh grease, but would it go on?
Took all the balls out again, checked the plastic cages were the right way round, still no joy.
Wondered if there were two slightly different sizes of Ball, for inner and outer, so cleaned them all up and got out the Vernier Caliper.
11.89mm ~ 11.89 ~ 11.89 ~ 11.89 ~ 11.89 ~ 11.89 ~ etc, etc.
Got to the 23rd one (out of the 44), and thought, that's it, can't be two sizes.
Carried on though, and stone me if there wasn't a 12.4mm one in there
Then I twigged, when I was clearing up my bench before the rebuild, I'd come across a lone Ball.
Thinking it was one that had 'escaped' when I dis-assembled the Hubs, I chucked it in with all the others.
That'll teach me to keep my bench more tidy . . .


Finished the ABS sensor repair, wires soldered back on, and then encased in place in the back-plate with Epoxy Resin.

Cleaned up the Sub-frame as best I can, all the loose rust and paint is off, just need some more KuRust (or similar), then I can paint it and Tetroseal it, ready to fit.

Had a bit of a result with my local Motorist Discount Centre (MDC).
Only place locally open on a Sunday.
Needed a left-hand side Handbrake Cable (both are shot, but I already had a right-hand one, last year I mistakenly ordered a drum version for my disc-equipped Multi), they had one in stock!
They're only a little shop, but they quite often surprise me with what they have on-the-shelf

Bit academic though, as I didn't get it finished anyway . . .

Re: Rear Sub-frame removal . . .

You're making me jealous BD. I'm so snowed under with work atm, it's not true. My Multi is now SORN'd, waiting for me to pull it apart. It's just sat out on the driveway looking sorry for itself. Needs a little love.....

Rear Sub-frame removal . . .

widemouthfrog said:

. . . Multi is now SORN'd, waiting for me to pull it apart . . .

Click to expand...

What, again?!!
It's only a couple of years since you renewed most of it isn't it? :yum:

. . . You're making me jealous BD. I'm so snowed under with work atm . . .

Click to expand...

I'll give you a shout next time I have a major job to do . . .

Rear Sub-frame removal . . .

So, back on it's wheels again!

Got it all finished yesterday, feels much nicer now.
Still a tiny bit of air in the R/H brake line, will bleed again at the weekend.

Sub-frame cleaned up OK, treated it to plenty of Kurust and black Hammerite, then topped it off in the hard-to-reach places with Tetroseal.

Still need to squirt Waxoyl inside the Chassis beams before too long, but it's not too bad underneath, just a few little spots of mild corrosion.


Got an ABS warning though, I can only think that I messed up the polarity when soldering the repair.
I'll Dremel another slot in the connecting plug, so I can spin it 180° to reverse that . . . fingers crossed!

Rear Sub-frame removal . . .

BikeDoc said:

. . . Got an ABS warning though, I can only think that I messed up the polarity when soldering the repair.
I'll Dremel another slot in the connecting plug, so I can spin it 180° to reverse that . . . fingers crossed!

Click to expand...

Bingo!
No more warning . . .

Super work.

Rear Sub-frame removal . . .

Cheers

It's very satisfying . . .

Good man, not sure what u did with ABS sensor but if you take off the plastic trim on the floor just inside the back doors you can just disconnect them from the loom and leave them in situ.
Maybe you did that..
Great post good pics
Marty.

Rear Sub-frame removal . . .

Yes, I unplugged them this time.
When I did the one on my first Multi, I wasn't aware of the plugs, so cut the wires and re-soldered them afterwards.

This is the reason for the repair on one this time . . .

Managed to snap one of the ABS sensors, another brief moment of optimism (read insanity) had me thinking I could get it out . . . never going to happen :bang:

It sheared off flush with the Brake back-plate, so not much left to work with, but I like a challenge . . . particularly when I stand to save £50+.
When I eventually got the Drum and Hub off, it knocked out easily enough, should have done that in the first place really

Click to expand...

I got the wires crossed during the repair, so had to Dremel a new alignment slot in the 'male' plug so I could turn it 180°, to switch the polarity round again.