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Lower engine mount muppet alert
Nice day, decided to fit a new lower mount. Undertray off, car up on 2 paving slabs, bolts removed, old mount removed, easy job this :cool: Then the muppetry started. :duh: Fitted the long bolt first, the small bolt wouldn't line up, 1/2 a hole out. Bit of Heath-Robinson bits of wood, jack, long bar, managed to get the bolt in but it wouldn't engage the nut.:getmecoat: Long bolt out, fitted the small bolt, then tried the long one again. Nope, wouldn't tighten.:duh: Took all the wood etc off, made a cup of tea and had a think. Thought the worst, had the captive nut snapped off:eek: Tried the bolts in the holes and they all tightened, so refitted the mount. Small bolt first, then the long bolt. Now there are 2 holes near each other, one has a captive nut (the correct one) the other is just a hole:cool: Guess which one I'd been using:duh:
2 hours of faffing about, 10 mins to fit properly:getmecoat: Moral, a cup of tea works wonders:bowdown: |
Ronnie - I hope you had it chromed before fitting.
Or did we forget that as well and it now has to come off again? :} |
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Relaxing with a cold beer watching the IPL |
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Been messing about today with the front suspension lower arm. I fitted the right hand side early last year working over a pit. Not too bad. In the last couple of weeks the odd surge taking up the drive from stand still had returned.--I spent most of today lying on my side trying to fit the left hand side. Almost finished but not quite. The pinch bolt at the bottom was a pig to remove. Had to resort to heat and WD 40. The nut on the large center ball joint almost came off but totally jammed on the last couple of threads as though it was welded on.--Out came the disc cutter to cut through the ball joint shank.--:eek: All else OK. Tomorrow various bits to tighten up and the last fiddly bit of lining up the rubber bush housing with the threaded holes in the chassis. All in all not a lot of fun when you are VERY old. Couldn't take any more today and just had to have that cup of tea or expire.--:D:D:D- Body probably locked solid tomorrow and arthritic fingers burning like hell.:eek::eek::eek:---( I do hate being OLD. ) |
Being old isn't for sissies!
My hands are aching like blazes along with my arms from doing home renovations. Mixing concrete, removing old tiles, framing walls, etc, etc... I would rather be working on the car! That said when the lower arms were changed on my last ZT I had a local garage do it. I had crawled under the car with an 18mm wrench and had a go at loosening the mount bolts and in the end said, "NAUGHTY WORD-NAUGHTY WORD-NAUGHTY WORD- it!" I'm hoping the job doesn't need doing on my new ZT-T as it really is no fun! |
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I don't recall 2 holes near each other, when you removed the mount was the car in neutral, if not then you would be able to remove the mount ok, but the new one would not line up correct. Anyone doing this job must make sure the car is always in neutral, manual or Auto and the rear wheels chocked as well as the hand brake being on. |
Post No 4.---Spent 4 hours yesterday trying to line up the two bolts that hold the rubber bush in place.--No luck there so I gave up.
Will have another go tomorrow.--- The bush housing slid easily onto the arm but----not quite in the right position. With arm bolted to the car I tried to move the housing along the arm.--- Nothing, It might have been welded on.---:eek: I tried whacking it using a long steel rod and my 7 lb lump hammer.---Nothing. Two choices tomorrow, whack it harder or remove the arm from the car so as to make it easy to get at. Life at the moment is a pig.--Trying to fit in visiting time at the hospital where my wife has just had a new hip joint fitted. She's slowly turning into a mechanical person.---Pacemaker, new hip and previously breast cancer, skin cancer and replacement lenses in both eyes.---:eek: Ooops, nearly forgot. A plastic tube left in her neck from the breast cancer op they said was too difficult to remove but would cause no problems if left in. PS. No appendix or ovaries.---;) As we are in France the bill for the hip is at £6,650 so far and still rising with £90,00 a day for the room and treatment.---:duh: |
Give your good lady our best wishes for a speedy recovery Jon.
Re the lower arm, some pattern parts need filing down a bit as the hexagonal end the bush slides down doesn't quite extend far enough. Easy enough to do in situ with the bush removed as the allloy is quite soft. |
Finally bolted that bush housing into place today.------:D:D:D--What a job. Never again.
Anyone about to fit a new lower front suspension arm.--It is essential that the bush housing is in the correct place on the arm.--Measure the old one and try to replicate it. The whole arm can be assembled off the car.--With the steering drop link disconnected it's easy to put the arm in place. Do up the large ball joint first.--Don't make the connection to the front suspension arm ball joint. By pulling the front suspension out slightly and wedging it there the ally lower arm can be manoeuvred about to help line up the fixing bolt to the threaded hole. The bush housing has a hole through the center of the casting. By inserting a nail bar up through this hole from under the car the housing can be rotated so the the housing is parallel to the chassis. This will make it easier to get the bolt started without cross threading it. Having said all that it's not a job I'd want to do again in a hurry. |
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