Technical Front suspension refresh

[The Panda Nut]

Bearings tend to come with new mounts but not all! As stated above they are available separately. Daffo hd a full check on the front end and the only thiing jhat appears worn or wrong was tracking so two new Continetals fitted and I must now give it another good look over and have it re checked in a couple of weeks.. My problem is the misaligned rear axle and poor rear camber. I am now considering a new axle complete but nervous that wouldnt be any better.

 

[DaveMcT]

Bearings tend to come with new mounts but not all! As stated above they are available separately. Daffo hd a full check on the front end and the only thiing jhat appears worn or wrong was tracking so two new Continetals fitted and I must now give it another good look over and have it re checked in a couple of weeks.. My problem is the misaligned rear axle and poor rear camber. I am now considering a new axle complete but nervous that wouldnt be any better.

My 100HP used to pull to the left even though tracking checks by a trusted garage said everything is perfect. I added some coke can shims under the rear axle wheel spindle stubs. One to toe out the other to tow in. IIRC, just two pieces each side. It solved the steering pull and tyre wear is now even. You loosen all four M8 nuts then slip a prepared shim under the front or the back and tighten it up again.

HOWEVER - I had recently replaced my wheel spindle studs and nuts, so it was quite easy to make the change and go back if necessary. If the studs are as rusted as mine were, you will need to soak them in a good quality penetrating oil (Not WD-40) and take great care the threads don't strip and leave you with spinning nuts.

 

[Yolanda]

Thank you. Without a detailed diagram of of the front strut, I think I'm going to need.
Top mounts x2 (are the bearings integral)
Bump stop & gaitor x2 ( N/S has broken up )
Spring seats I'm not sure about as I can't see them on any diagram when googled or where they fit.
M10 bolts x4
If anyone has or can direct me to a detailed diagram I would be most grateful.

The first image is of my N/S top mount And as you can see there is quite a larger gap than image two the O/S Does this point to the N/S mount starting to fail.

 

[koalar]

The first image is of my N/S top mount And as you can see there is quite a larger gap than image two the O/S Does this point to the N/S mount starting to fail.

Nope normal

They are aften not identical

How much thread is sticking up from each. They dont look the same in the photo?

 

[Yolanda]

Nope normal

They are aften not identical

How much thread is sticking up from each. They dont look the same in the photo?

The car is sitting slightly lower on the N/S though, on level ground. The threads are equal.

 

[koalar]

The car is sitting slightly lower on the N/S though, on level ground. The threads are equal.

The few mm in the photos is nothing to worry about

Tape measure the height from the ground to wheel arch each side

 

[koalar]

They start at 63.1

But sag and settle at around 61

My cars not here at the moment I think it's 5-10 mm different from side to side, measured it recently but can't find my post

 

[koalar]

Found it

Eper 63.1

@The Panda Nut is 61.5 and 61.8

And mine is 62 one side and 61.5

 

[rmjbn1]

My problem is the misaligned rear axle and poor rear camber. I am now considering a new axle complete but nervous that wouldnt be any better.

I added some coke can shims under the rear axle wheel spindle stubs. One to toe out the other to tow in. IIRC, just two pieces each side. It solved the steering pull and tyre wear is now even. You loosen all four M8 nuts then slip a prepared shim under the front or the back and tighten it up again.

I had too much toe-in shredding my left rear tyre. Shimming the front two mounting bolts on my left rear hub has cured that.
I think @09 johno did the same with gasket material.
Shimming the top or bottom two bolts only would adjust camber, if you know which direction you need to bring the wheel.

 

[DaveMcT]

I had a steering issue so put shims at the back on one side and at the front on the other sides. Two pieces of coke can aluminium cut with 10mm wide x 10mm deep slots to clear the studs. It took longer to jack the car than fit the shims so easy to do it by trial and error.

 

[Yolanda]

Found it

Eper 63.1

@The Panda Nut is 61.5 and 61.8

And mine is 62 one side and 61.5

O/S=61
N/S=59.5
So the offending side is 1.5 cm lower. As mentioned in an earlyer post the white conical thing (excuse my ignorance) that the gaiter goes onto has broken up.
Sometimes depending on road surface the steering feels slighty stiff which makes me think the top mount is suspect I also get a slight spring noise from the N/S when reversing down the drive after being stood for a day or so.

 

[koalar]

O/S=61
N/S=59.5
So the offending side is 1.5 cm lower. As

Yes it's sagging, as long long as its not a 100hp

mentioned in an earlyer post the white conical thing (excuse my ignorance) that the gaiter goes onto has broken up.

Need replacing, rubber buffer with dust cover, for Google. Fiat just call them a rubber pad.

Sometimes depending on road surface the steering feels slighty stiff which makes me think the top mount is suspect

Possible

I also get a slight spring noise from the N/S when reversing down the drive after being stood for a day or so.

Unlikely to be spring noise reversing straight

Might be a top mount bearing if its creaking as you apply lock, rear brakes often make a creaking noise when reversing a car that's stood for awhile,


Depending how long you are going to keep the car, depends how you go about it.

 

[jrkitching]

I've just checked - mine is 60.4 (identical on both sides). All original parts after 13yrs/110k miles. Tyres are close to needing replacement, so would likely be at least 61 on new rubber.

Drives, handles and passes MOT's just fine.

Also don't try to check this if you've just raised & lowered one side of the car; until it's driven again it'll be all over the place.

 

[Yolanda]

The noise is not the brakes as the driveway is flat and I don't use the handbrake just leave th car in 1st However I do have to turn the steering wheel about half a turn as I am reversing.
I don't intend selling the car anytime soon as it suits my needs perfectly. In your opinion what would cause the discrepancy as shown in the photos in my early post could it be the mount?

 

[Yolanda]

I've just checked - mine is 60.4 (identical on both sides). All original parts after 13yrs/110k miles. Tyres are close to needing replacement, so would likely be at least 61 on new rubber.

Drives, handles and passes MOT's just fine.

Also don't try to check this if you've just raised & lowered one side of the car; until it's driven again it'll be all over the place.

All my parts look original after 68k and 19 years. Iooking at the service history I can't see any evidence of anything being changed.

 

[koalar]

The noise is not the brakes as the driveway is flat and I don't use the handbrake just leave th car in 1st However I do have to turn the steering wheel about half a turn as I am reversing.
I don't intend selling the car anytime soon as it suits my needs perfectly. In your opinion what would cause the discrepancy as shown in the photos in my early post could it be the mount?

It's quite normal for them not to be identical and in itself isn't a problem

The shell isn't precisely made, rubber is precise, it just sits there under the weight of the car, there different weight and some front to back movement, not to mention the rubber is now nearly 20 years old

Having said that

It's not unknown for water to find it's way into to bearing race and it go rusty, this cause a gritty sound or stiff turning lock to lock and if it gritty the steering can feel weired.


You can test for wear by lifting the car up till the wheel is of the ground, Grab the spring near the top and push and pull. Here should be no movement between the strut and mount

 

[Yolanda]

So I removed the top washer from the N/S and as you can see in the first two photos the top mount rubber is showing signs of ware. Looking into the gap on the other side the rubber looks ok but I wanted to remove the top washer anyway as the N/S was very tight and I wanted to free it off. It also is extremely tight and as you can see in Pic 3 the Allen key slot has split under a lot of pressure and now I can't undo the 19 m nut.
Any ideas as to how I can remove it now wiyhout scrapping the the strut from underneath eg angle grinder.

 

[chris3234]

So I removed the top washer from the N/S and as you can see in the first two photos the top mount rubber is showing signs of ware. Looking into the gap on the other side the rubber looks ok but I wanted to remove the top washer anyway as the N/S was very tight and I wanted to free it off. It also is extremely tight and as you can see in Pic 3 the Allen key slot has split under a lot of pressure and now I can't undo the 19 m nut.
Any ideas as to how I can remove it now wiyhout scrapping the the strut from underneath eg angle grinder.

Garage grade impact gun but Thai risks possibly damaging the Internal of the strut( although unlikely in my.opnion) but it's your best hope

 

[koalar]

Garage grade impact gun but Thai risks possibly damaging the Internal of the strut( although unlikely in my.opnion) but it's your best hope

Correct

Drive to a local friendly garage

Neumatic impact air wrench will propabley have it undone in seconds

 

[Yolanda]

I can get that done tomorrow as I still do a little bit of part time work for a haulage company I've worked at for the last 27 years.
When tightening back up, how tight do they need to be as I didn't do up the N/S to the extent it was when undoing. If I can release it the way you say I might do away with the self locking ( simmons if I'm not mistaken) and use two normal nuts, the top one locking the bottom one.
What are your thoughts on the rubber of the N/S mount.