The 75 and ZT Owners Club Forums - Newbie, rear suspension rebuild and thank you

Hi there

Three months a go, I bought a MG ZT. Three weeks a go, I had an upper suspension failure (it cracked), due to rust, so I’ve completed a rear suspension rebuild. During the rebuild, I searched the forum for tips and info and I just wanted to say ‘thank you’. The advice posted here proved invaluable.

So, I’d thought I’d share the experience...

After reviewing the poor state of the suspension, I decided to replace all components, for both sides, either with refurbished or new parts.

So, the shopping list was…

Used parts, included…
Subframe (off a 75)
Toe brackets

New parts included…

Upper arms
Lower arms
Top bushes
Lower bushes
Tow bushes
Rollbar brackets
Rollbar link joints
Springs
Shock absorbers
Brake back plates
Hubs
Handbrake pads, clips, springs and expander
Handbrake cable
Discs
Caliper rebuild
Pads
Nuts, bolts, for all.

The hardest thing was trying to undo the corroded bolts. Nearly all rounded off. We found an extractor socket (Irwin expanding bolt grip – we got ours from screwwfix) that got us out of sticky water and the blowtorch was also a trusted companion.

Fitting the subframe was easy, but good to have a second pair of hands. And working with new bolts is refreshing. I fitted the upper arms before fitting the subframe but left torquing up until the car sat on it's wheels. Which, indecently meant it sitting on concrete blocks, so I could move underneath.

For the toe brackets, the bolts from Rimmer weren't available so I got some 10.9 bolts off ebay (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/231821119338).

Pressing the bushes in and out for the upper and lower joints and the tow joints was OK once we (I should say my dad) crafted a tool. And we put the bushes in the freezer and heated up the joint to ease fitment. Very Heath Robinson but effective.

Brake overhaul was OK. Rather than work with rushy springs and clips, all were replaced from products sourced from ebay. All were reasonably priced. The rebuild kits for the calipers were easy to fit. The handbrake was a NAUGHTY WORD-NAUGHTY WORD-NAUGHTY WORD-. Since I had new cables because I was replacing the backplate (the cable and plate had become one), I cut off the cable where it meets the underside inspection hole, with a Dremal cutting disc. This was probably the worst job.

Dampers and springs were very easy.

I’ll be cutting out the bushes from the subframe. Three of them are OK and I might be able to machine a fourth, just in case I want to fit to car, in the future.

The work took me and my dad around 2 weeks. Everything has had a lick of paint, even the new stuff. The subframe, rollbar and toe brackets were stripped back and covered in Red Oxide paint before being sprayed and we’ve wax oiled the underbody and anywhere where water can be trapped. Next stage is a four wheel alignment. I’m hoping that they can adjust the handbrake because I’ve started to hit the wall.

My one tip: Work with nice bolts, nuts and ensure threads are clean. Makes life so much easier.

I've got loads of pics of the rebuild but it seems I'm restricted to 5 images, is that right?