Front suspension

Page to track the refurbishment of the front suspension.

April 23rd 2017

The photo above isn't the clearest but I need to sort out the mess above before refitting it to the car! It is actually in pretty good working condition but it is far from pretty!

I started by using some degreaser on the subframe and steering box and then used a spot blaster to start stripping the worst of the surface rust from the suspension arms, brake and springs. The picture above could be clearer but it is proving quite effective and will make it easier to get a socket on nuts where I need to take it apart.

November 2017 - suspension strip

I had to refit the front suspension to move the car so I'm having to take it back off again to strip it.

First to come off was the steering system, track rods, idler and steering box

Next I took the dampers out. Then and springs out using some 1 metre lenths of M12 threaded bar (£3.05 from Toolstation at the time of writing) and the front sandwich mounts. I've done this previously on my mk10 and it works a treat (though I did find it quite scary as there's a lot of energy in those springs!).

Then it is the top ball joints taking note of how many shims are fitted. LH

Next I started to remove the top wishbone brackets secured by 4 bolts each. The LH side came off easily.

...and RH

The RH side was not at all easy. Both top bolts have sheared so I'll have to cut the bracket off and drill and tap new holes...very annoying.

Sheared bolts - bad news!

After a day of hard graft - a workbench of filthy components in need of refurbishment and new bushes, balljoints and bump stops.

January 29th 2018

I have had the car a year now...and a new lady in my life, Christmas, New Year and a little bit of reluctance to head out into the cold during the evening has slowed progress significantly. However, things are getting going again. The front suspension is off being blasted and sprayed so I am looking forward to getting it back ready to reassemble.

February 2018:

The crossmember and wishbones, knuckles, steering arms etc are all back from being blasted and sprayed. I used a local Warwickshire blast cleaning company I had heard about from a friend http://www.mjblastcleaning.co.uk/ and they have done an excellent job!

Now I can start with good part - the rebuild! As you can see I have laid it all out ready...some of the bolts weren't available in stock from the Jaguar specialist (I used David Manners on this occasion). I will probably source the UNF nuts and bolts and set screws I need from Namrick as I have used them before.

All laid out ready to start reassembly

50 years young - what a contrast!!

Lovely paint finish of the zinc-phosphate paint - it has a slightly rubbery texture which should prove resistant to corrosion and stone chipping

Drifting in the bottom wishbone bush..

Satisfying view with the bottom wishbone in situ with the fulcrum shaft refitted :)

The tie rod ends I did myself and the outer tie rods are new but weren't painted so I thought I had better make them match the rest!

The main rubber mounts are recent and in good condition with just surface rust so with a clean up and respray they can go back on.

I had to modify this bump stop by grinding away bits as shown on the forward flange to give clearance to the upper wishbone.

Reassembled top wishbone with new ball joints and cleaned up shims.

This view up into the turret shows where I have had to repair one of the clamps holding the top wishbone onto the turret as one of the threads was damaged.

Reading through the service book I noticed (and remember similar from my mk10), that the steering needs lock stops and they weren't there when I stripped the suspension. The bolts which I was planning on reusing aren't long enough on the steering idler or at the steering box end so I have used a longer bolt and cut a thread to make it work.

Really coming together now :)

I am replacing the front wheel bearings in order to do a thorough job. When I removed one of the spinners a while back some water had somehow got into the hub so it makes sense to be sure! Top tip for drifting in the new bearing is to use the old one (after cleaning off the grease!).

The steering box is away being refurbished at a specialist in Birmingham at ICS Steering Services. A colleague has had his mk2 steering box done there recently and was pleased with the result. Time will tell if I need to give them my power steering pump to refurbish too..

April 2018 - The refurbished steering box looks like new and has been pressure tested a few times to ensure it won't leak! I've got a new set of seals for the pump too so will do that myself and can think about getting the front suspension back on the car!

April 25th 2018

The steering box is bolted to the frame now, just waiting for a replacement steering arm bolt (the thread got damaged) to complete the reassembly. In the meantime and in anticipation of offering up the front suspension again, I have removed the power steering pump and hoses to clean them and replace the pump seals.

Pump feed hose connection from the reservoir

Dirty engine bay....with the pump shown after shield removal (and this picture is upside down).

The bottom of the pump with the old (and very brittle) oil seal removed.

Pump internals. The rollers and cam look clean with no scoring so should work fine.

Cover and pump together

Cleaned up body with new oil seal in place

Parts laid out before reassembly

The story with the PAS pump continues on the Engine Bay page..

26th June 2018

I have finally got to the point where I can refit the front suspension. I was determined to get everything done to the steering fluid reservoir and pump, and inside the wheelarches before refitting it as after that point it will kind of get in the way!

Having done it before I was less concerned that it would be a problem and it took and hour or so to get it up and bolted into place using a jack each side under each of the spring pans. Next steps are:

Fit the anti roll bar
Connect and bleed the brakes
Connect the power steering pipes between the the steering box and cooler and steering box to pump
Fill the power steering
Then I'll have to check the battery, ready the fuel tanks and pumps, change the fuel filter, check the oil (which needs changing) add some petrol and see if she'll start!

The clean new suspension certainly looks a lot better than the car I'm bolting it too. Preparing for spray is the next big job (which as you can see I have already started with the filling / sanding).

The suspension is back on and brake pipes reconnected. I'd like to get rid of the kink in the flexi hose as I think it should be a straight 'S'.

I used a turkey baster to drain the reservoir to avoid pushing a load of old dirty brake fluid down the pipes. I couldn't see the bottom of the reservoir before but can now that I've emptied, cleaned and refilled it with fresh fluid.

I replaced the reservoir cap a while back too as the old one had perished.

With all of the above done I spent a little time getting the engine checked over and ready to start. Luckily this didn't prove too difficult and so with the car back on its wheels I was able to take her for the first drive in well over a year. I was thrilled to find that the brakes were working well with good servo assistance and crucially the car was steering well with proper power steering, unlike when I first got it. There used to be poor assistance and some vibration under load as I put on some steering lock. Additionally, the gearbox oil is nice and clean and the gearchanges were good (in all 3 gears!). Success, this is the end of this part of the renovation!

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