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Suspension bushes, drop links etc

nathanrobo

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2010
Messages
655
I posted on this topic on the dark side (tlocuk)... About a year ago I got a bunch of parts at very reasonable prices from Ian Rubie. Diff mounts, roll bar bushes, UJ's Upper / Lower Suspension bushes and shock absorber bushes. This was mostly to get rid of drive train slap.

I fitted everything with the exception of the upper / lwr suspension bushes and shock absorber bushes. But my suyspension still queaks each time I go over a bump. Looking underneath the anti roll links, which I think just had their bushes replaced, look as though they are in a bad way too (think I should have replaced the anti roll link itself.

Before I undertake the task... any top tips? I believe K1Elliot doing his shocker bushes too!
 
Just one general rule of thumb:
Rubber bushes bond to the steel and take up any movement in the rubber compound it self. As long as the rubber stays "connected" with the steel, it wont squeek. I.e: Don't lube.
Poly bushes do not give that much and need lubrication to avoid squeeking when the steel and synthetic material rub.
 
Started the upper / lwr suspension bushes... the upper ones were a piece of cake - should have done it before now. Lower ones however, look to be a different story! Firstly my ball joint breaker is not wide enough to go over the ball joint. Also the 24mm hex bolt that secures the Torsion Bar Spring to the lower suspension arm won't undo. I've used a 1/2 drive power bar and still it won't shift! I worried about snapping it with greater leverage... anyone any views / previous experience?
 
Don't need a joint breaker or puller for the lower balls. Just wack on the side of the cone, at the end of the lower arm, with a BFH. Should come pretty easily.
 
uHu said:
Don't need a joint breaker or puller for the lower balls. Just wack on the side of the cone, at the end of the lower arm, with a BFH. Should come pretty easily.
That's all I do Nathan, there's even an extra bit of casting that could have been made for the job.
 
Thanks guys, give it a go in the morning. Any ideas about the 24mm nut that fastens the lwr susp arm to the torsion spring?
 
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Do you mean the two bolts/nuts that hold the torsion bar casting to the arm? Even with an 18" breaker bar you will struggle to shear those bolts I think.
 
In that case, I think I'll slowly lower the car with the power bar wedged agains the floor... Btw what does the torsion bar do? Does it have adjustable settings or do I just put it back together an forget about it?
 
The torsion bar is a spring that twists so you need to release the tension on it by loosening the adjusting nut at the other end. You need to do that before you undo the A arm end!
 
Hi Jon

Thanks for that... probably saved me a ton of time. Hope ur well!

N
 
Hi,

Make sure you release the tension from the T-Bar at the adjustment arms.

I marked mine to help when re-attaching.

If you're taking off the t bars and working on the shockers you could think about take
ing the lower control arm off and replace the ball joints. It's easy enough if you have a press.

I've done the upper and lower suspension bushes on the front shocks.

I hear that the rears are a right pain to !!

Hope it goes well for you.
 
Thanks for that! Looking at the fsm, seems that you make your matchmarks... then take a measurement, adjuster vs. frame before the adjuster is loosened and after (looks like a vernier gauge or similar required?), refitting is just the reverse making sure that match marks line up and measurements are similar. But how do you tell when the spring is out of spec? It talks about checking vehicle height after stabilizing suspension, but nothing about checking for wear.

With regards to checking height, does this require a perfectly flat surface? As all sorts of things can effect the height at each wheel right??
 
Measuring the height is pretty much the only way to check the torsion bars for wear but only if you do not have AHC? If you have AHC then either make sure it goes back pretty much how you found it or plan on visiting Toyota to have them read the AHC pressure for you. A flat surface is faily essential to measuring the height ;)
 
Ha! Mr. T measuring the pressure. Don't make ma laugh. Most, make that all, of the garages that I have contacted within 50 mile radius either don't want to know or haven't a clue or both.


Re: the TBar marking, I just used a very small drill bit flat against the adjustment bolt and scratched the length on the side of the recess that the adjustment bolt sits in. Seems to have done the trick.
 
Got the upper / lower suspension arms off today (time consuming but not too difficult)... One of the lower arm bushes remains in part of the chassis, any recommendations for pressing this out. For example is a lump hammer recommended?
 
You need to press it out, a bit of all thread, a socket that's too big, to use as a cup and a socket just the right size, to use to push the bush through and you have the makings of a press and use a similar method to install the new one.
 
I see... makes good sense! I'll try to add a picture when I work it out with socket sizes! Cheers
 
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