Technical Front suspension refresh

[John202020]

No need to remove water bottle, no need to remove drive shaft well at least for our 2009 car
You're right the bumper removal if never off can take hours yep I snapped out the wing to bumper fixing, it holds fine with out it though, I replaced all the small screws with stainless, cable tie(drill holes) the access covers in the wing guards( front bulbs) unless they are a really tight fit remember you need to GENTLY pry apart the outer wishbone ball joint to stub axle taper can be a challenge to separate it.
You'll need a wrecking bar to undo the wishbone bolts.
A helper is a great help even just for moral support handing tools etc?
My guide was for the shock replacement

 

[John202020]

Might help

 

[John202020]

Removing the front bolt after the extension was removed

 

[koalar]

4410B40 LOWER TRACK CONTROL ARM (WITH BALLJOINT) FOR LEFT OR RIGHT FRONT SUSPENSION (ONE) - R+R - CHECK WHEEL GEOMETRY SEPARATELY - Fiat - NUOVA 500 - eLearn - 4CarData

I follow the elearn as much as possible

Sometimes it’s a bit over kill. Such as removing the steering column to access the heater resistor block. Is a complete waste
of time.

But worth tightening as per instructions

You need a panda

3 bolts

10 minutes

Big hammer

Done

 

[jrkitching]

You need a panda

For two cars built on what is essentially the same platform, the extent to which the Panda is less troublesome and easier to maintain is remarkable.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

For two cars built on what is essentially the same platform, the extent to which the Panda is less troublesome and easier to maintain is remarkable.

The 500 is undoubtedly "cute" and Fiat played a real blinder in terms of marketability - There are 3 of them live in our street alone! However it's Pandas for me all the way. They are so much more practical and, in my view, have a "cuteness" factor all of their own.

 

[vexorg]

No need to remove water bottle, no need to remove drive shaft well at least for our 2009 car
You're right the bumper removal if never off can take hours yep I snapped out the wing to bumper fixing, it holds fine with out it though, I replaced all the small screws with stainless, cable tie(drill holes) the access covers in the wing guards( front bulbs) unless they are a really tight fit remember you need to GENTLY pry apart the outer wishbone ball joint to stub axle taper can be a challenge to separate it.
You'll need a wrecking bar to undo the wishbone bolts.
A helper is a great help even just for moral support handing tools etc?
My guide was for the shock replacement

On the 2015 (pre-facelift) 500, there was no way that rear bolt was coming out with the driveshaft in place

 

[John202020]

On the 2015 (pre-facelift) 500, there was no way that rear bolt was coming out with the driveshaft in place

Whats the difference between our 2009 and a pre 2015 car then ?

 

[vexorg]

Did your bolt go in from the top or the bottom?

Some the guides show the bolts going up into the subframe. Ours had the bolt going down, so needed to come out the top of the subframe.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Did your bolt go in from the top or the bottom?

Some the guides show the bolts going up into the subframe. Ours had the bolt going down, so needed to come out the top of the subframe.

Reminds me of the bolts retaining the Morris Minor brake master cylinder. They went through the box section with a nut on the other end. However, in their brilliance, the manufacturer decided to insert the bolt from the side where the torsion bar for the front suspension was later installed so effectively blocking the removal path for the bolt. I believe it was possible to "bend" the torsion bar if you had a long enough and robust enough lever but I never tried that. I've seen it done and the bar is very strong requiring robust use of the lever - not a one man job and if it slips? So it meant relaxing the torsion bar so you could move it's rear mounting to give access - all a bit "silly". It was possible to then reassemble with the bolts entering from the other side but you were best to cut the ends of the bolts off as they were nearly touching the bar - and a "nick" (stress concentration) in a torsion bar is invariably the end of it.

 

[koalar]

Did your bolt go in from the top or the bottom?

Some the guides show the bolts going up into the subframe. Ours had the bolt going down, so needed to come out the top of the subframe.

Up is what I normally see for most including the arbarth on older cars anyhow. Look the same on YouTube videos. Seems strange. Was the tread tapped into the subframe or was it a nut welded on, as per a garage repair

 

[John202020]

Did your bolt go in from the top or the bottom?

Some the guides show the bolts going up into the subframe. Ours had the bolt going down, so needed to come out the top of the subframe.

Bolts went up from underneath

 

[d4zzl3r]

Whats the difference between our 2009 and a pre 2015 car then ?

The one i'm working on is a 2014 0.9 TA 105 and the driveshaft didn't get in my way, no where near in fact. The washer bottle i did have to undo the bolts and i could lift it high enough to get the chassis support arm out (to the left). Could'nt move it to the right because of air-con pipes and the intercooler.

Did your bolt go in from the top or the bottom?

Some the guides show the bolts going up into the subframe. Ours had the bolt going down, so needed to come out the top of the subframe.

hi, the bolts on this one go up from underneath and they fasten into some welded on nuts at the top. What year / model us yours?

 

[vexorg]

Sorry all, I'm talking rubbish, it was my citroen that had the rear lower arm bolt going downwards and hit the driveshaft. Too many cars, that's 3 different cars I've replaced the lower arms on earlier this year

 

[koalar]

Sorry all, I'm talking rubbish, it was my citroen that had the rear lower arm bolt going downwards and hit the driveshaft. Too many cars, that's 3 different cars I've replaced the lower arms on earlier this year

Done that myself confused two cars up

I call it a senior moment

In fact the only person that doesn’t make mistakes is the person that doesn’t do anything

 

[vexorg]

Done that myself confused two cars up

I call it a senior moment

Very senior moment, it was last year I done the fiat! This covid / post-covid world really messes up your memory of when things happened.

 

[d4zzl3r]

Hello, update.

A week in….I know but I’m working outside and ever since I started this it’s been raining. I don’t mind the cold but sitting in the rain isn’t for me.
So the rusty nuts/bolts took an age and so did the lower ball-joint/pinch clamp. In the end I hammered a screwdriver into the slot (chisel was too thick) to pry apart the clamp and then used a pry-bar.
New wishbone slipped straight in and the ball-joint taper eased into place. Then it started raining again and it got dark.
Here are some pictures of the old one showing what we thought was a crack but it’s actually flakey metal or coating. I thought the whole bush had come loose but it’s actually the rubber part coming away from the alloy outer rim. Rim is still in place.

 

[d4zzl3r]

Hello, update.

A week in….I know but I’m working outside and ever since I started this it’s been raining. I don’t mind the cold but sitting in the rain isn’t for me.
So the rusty nuts/bolts took an age and so did the lower ball-joint/pinch clamp. In the end I hammered a screwdriver into the slot (chisel was too thick) to pry apart the clamp and then used a pry-bar.
New wishbone slipped straight in and the ball-joint taper eased into place. Then it started raining again and it got dark.
Here are some pictures of the old one showing what we thought was a crack but it’s actually flakey metal or coating. I thought the whole bush had come loose but it’s actually the rubber part coming away from the alloy outer rim. Rim is still in place.

Just to add, it’s a 2014 TA 105 and this is the FOS/driverside. 43000 miles. First replacement.

 

[varesecrazy]

I was hoping your

'1 week on update'

Was going to say that its transformed the ride and you are very happy


Plenty of time for that

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Hello, update.

A week in….I know but I’m working outside and ever since I started this it’s been raining. I don’t mind the cold but sitting in the rain isn’t for me.
So the rusty nuts/bolts took an age and so did the lower ball-joint/pinch clamp. In the end I hammered a screwdriver into the slot (chisel was too thick) to pry apart the clamp and then used a pry-bar.
New wishbone slipped straight in and the ball-joint taper eased into place. Then it started raining again and it got dark.
Here are some pictures of the old one showing what we thought was a crack but it’s actually flakey metal or coating. I thought the whole bush had come loose but it’s actually the rubber part coming away from the alloy outer rim. Rim is still in place.

Well done that man! I know exactly what you mean about the rain as I mostly work on my driveway. I do have a garage but, although it's long enough to get the car in and still have room at the top end for my workbench and a load of other stuff, it's too narrow to be useful. Rusty/seized nuts bolts and other fixings are pretty annoying and can eat away at your enthusiasm but then when it starts raining it just gets miserable.

I'm looking forward to your ecstatic report when the job is done!