Seperating front hub/strut

[EastPete]

OK - making progress now- old strut/spring off - fitting up new strut/spring. Have I got the rubber spring isolator on the right way round and in the right place ? I cannot remember exactly how it was when I took it apart, and the diagrams on Rimmers etc. are not very clear.

Thanks

Pete

[EastPete]

Update- I worked out that the spring isolator could only go one way, so the new spring/strut was fitted up quite quickly, and bolted back onto the car (after refitting the drop link). A new battle has commenced - how do I re-unite the hub with the new strut - I cannot get the hub to start going up onto the new strut at all - I have tried jacking under the brake disc etc. but no joy after an hour of struggling.

Perhaps I could loosen strut top bolts to the body, and try to introduce the strut down into the hub ? - perhaps I need thicker wedge to go into the pinch joint on the top of the hub ?

All thoughts, comments, suggestions (rude or otherwise) will be gratefully received.

Cheers

Pete

[milford man]

Doesn't look as though it is going in square. Might just be the angle of the photo.

Regards John

[EastPete]

Originally Posted by milford man

Doesn't look as though it is going in square. Might just be the angle of the photo.

Regards John

You are probably right, but I have been moving everything about to try to get it aligned and 'started' in the strut, but without success. If I could get the hub nut off (difficult now with the car off the ground, and the hub is not connected to the strut), I would remove the strut and hub and unite them on the floor- should be much easier. I might do that for the other side.

Pete

[EastPete]

Another update - I thought this is never gong to go together without me using brute force and possibly damaging my nice new strut. So I thought the hub will have to come off, so I can re-assemble the strut/hub assembly on the floor, without damaging anything, then refitting it as one lump. I could not shift the hub nut with the hub floating around unattached to the strut, so I popped up the road to my friendly local garage and borrowed their 1100 NM super Milwaukee impact wrench - this had the hub nut off in 5 seconds - an impressive bit of kit. Took off the brake caliper (bolts a bit hard to shift), undid the steering arm joint, disconnected the ABS wire, and removed the hub. Tomorrow I will hopefully unite the strut and hub under relaxed, controlled conditions on the garage floor, then refit the assembly as one. I think I will use this approach fro the other side of the car.

Thanks for all the comments/advice.

Pete

[Daveluck]

I hammered them off and I hammered them on!

Although I did add a liberal amount of copper slip before hand.

I have vowed never to do struts again. I really, really didn't like in pinching and un pinching the springs...

Edit : what I did exactly was lathered with copper slip, started the strut off in the hub, put the jack underneath and applied pressure until the panel work where the top of the strut fits slightly creaked - then hammered it. Tightened up the jack again - hammered it and repeated.

I couldn't move them hub with just the jack.

[Arctic]

Hi Pete.
Some times the metal tag at the rear of the strut will not line up and this will stop it from reinserting, but glad to hear you got it sorted, another how to I must do as I have all the photo's from when we did my sons.

[HarryM1BYT]

Originally Posted by EastPete

Einar

This is a very nice 'how to' with great pictures and some good tips - many thanks. You do not say how you actually separated the strut from the hub after removing the pinch bolt - this is where I am stuck !

Thanks again

Pete

Tap the end of a flat bladed screwdriver into the gap, to expand it and free it a little.

[EastPete]

Quite a satisfying, relaxing day today - got the nearside finished. With the hub and strut on the garage floor, applied lots of copper grease to the bottom of the strut and the pinch clamp on the hub, opened out the 'pinch' slightly on the hub with a cold chisel and got the strut 'started' going into the hub with a few gentle taps on the hub with a copper hammer. Once I was happy it was going in straight, I used a large G-clamp between the top of the metal tag on the strut and the hub to pull the strut down into the hub until the strut was level with the bottom of the pinch clamp - to complete the union, it was a few more taps with a copper hammer on the hub to drive it up as far as it would go on the strut, until it meets the 'stop' that is the brake hose bracket. Copper grease on the pinch bolt, which I did up as tight as I could with the standard socket ratchet, then I gave it an extra half turn with the 2 foot breaker bar to make sure it was really tight.

It was then just a case of re-fitting the hub/strut unit to the car - this is heavy lump, so really a two-man job - many thanks to Sam Skelton (aka Captain Slow on this forum) for popping round to help with the refitting. Basically, feed the unit up into the wheel arch, and loosely do up the three nuts holding the top mount to the inner wing, so that it cannot fall down - then re-insert the drive shaft, re-unite the lower hub pinch bolt/lower arm joint, refit brake caliper, re-connect drop link and steering arm - only took us about 20 minutes. I re-fitted the drive shaft nut and did it up as much as my air impact wrench would take it - I'll get this rechecked when the car is back on its wheels. Tidy up the brake hose and ABS wire clips/fixings. I also fitted a tyre protector.

I am definitely going to take the whole strut/hub off the other side to do the O/S strut - I cannot see how the hub/strut can be re-united on the car.

Some photos I took to-day are attached.

Cheers

Pete

[Daveluck]

Originally Posted by EastPete

I am definitely going to take the whole strut/hub off the other side to do the O/S strut - I cannot see how the hub/strut can be re-united on the car

Pete, you had me doubting myself for a minute...but I definatley refitted mine with the driveshaft / hub attached and the strut loosely fitted. I think I had the caliper removed because I replaced the pads but can't see that that would make a difference

Edit: blimey, you opened up that split! I just used a screwdriver!