Oh Dear! - spoke too soon

[Old Dave]

Me again.

I am at the stage of putting the spring pin through and locking with the cotter pin.

When I diid this on the off-side a few weeks back (I have been on holiday) it went fairly well I thought. I supported the axle, and with my A7 screw jack under the eye of the spring, I slowly jacked the eye and bushes into place and amazingly the spring pin went straight in position no problem   -  beginners luck!?

This time the car is supported on the rear frame by an axle-stand. The axle is supported on an axle stand and I have compressed the new spring jacking it into plave with the A7 jack again. Result is as the attached photo - not a long way off but.........

Is my mistake in having tightened the u-bolt first? Although I don't think that would give me 1/8" to 3/16" of wiggle room. Just when I thought I could see the finishing straight. Chicken and hatcheries come to mind.

Any advice welcome

   

[Robert Leigh]

It's a nuisance, but I suspect that loosening the U-bolt would allow enough movement for things to slip into place. Is there any possible slack to take up on the other end of the axle which might help as well? And good luck to you (that ought to help)!

[AustinWood]

I find that it goes in more easily if the the axle is hanging free with the car supported by the chassis on axle stands.

[Howard Wright]

Hi Dave

I don’t think you’re far away and loosening the u bolts along with some gentle persuasion from a jemmy bar and it should just slot in. I’ve done several back axles and the euphoria of getting the first side in place is soon countered with the struggle to get the second in. Wait until you try and get the pin in and lined up to take the cotter…..!!

Cheers

Howard

[Peter Naulls]

When you get to the stage of fitting the pin put a slight chamfer on the end, it saves a lot of grief.

[Old Dave]

Thank you all for the tips and support. I am out in the morning so will have a go tomorrow pm. Fingers crossed!!

[Old Dave]

I have taken all the advice and managed to get the thing done. A bit of gentle persuasion (although I didn't get as far as the jemmy) let the axle hang and it all slotted home. The Spring pin was already chamfered so that was a big help.

As you can see from the attached photo it suffered the same fate as the other side when the cotter pin was driven home it moved the spring pin back slightly.

Thanks everyone for the help. I feel a lot better today than 24 hours ago!!!

   

[Old Dave]

It looks as though (like the off-side) it would benefit with a shim washer either between the axle lugs and the bush(es) or between the bushes and the spring eye  - as suggested by Alan Fairless last time. That will have to wait for another day/week .......

My question relates to the shock-absorber/damper. The recommendation seems to be to use a spring balance and a figure between 15 - 20 lbs. Some like more.
Because the car is on the ground and not above my head I found it impossible to get enough downward pull, especially as my strength is not what it once was!! The dampers are now attached - Can anyone suggest a rule of thumb, like how many (if any) threads should be seen on the main damper bolt when the nut and lock nut have been tightened down? Even if I don't get the damping right at first I want it to be fairly consistent side to side.

Any thoughts and advice welcome.

[stuartu]

I had wondered if you might achieve some sort of comparison by using a torque wrench to set the damper nuts but I suspect it might have to be an inch/lbs example. I wouldn’t expect that to be as accurate as pulling on a spring balance but it could be better than nothing.

Better ideas welcomed!

Regards,

Stuart

[David Stepney]

I use a cheap spring balance to check the rear dampers are set correctly. They should be tightened so that 12 lbs are required to move the lever, measured at the end.