So I'm scrolling around Healey stuff on the internet and I find a website in
Germany with some interesting parts and pieces. One of those is the top
trunnion bearing kit which is intended to replace the bronze thrust washers.
The idea is that it greatly improves ease of steering at low speeds. My
significant other drives the car often so I say to myself, interesting. So a
couple of months later I see the same part on the BCS website listed as the
Torrington bearings with the same rave reviews. I pop a wheel off the car
and look at where this would go and then I read the factory service manual
on the front end and it looks to be a fairly straightforward project. Next
time I'm talking to someone at British Car Specialists I ask about it and
they say that this is a definite improvement worth doing so I go ahead and
order a set. Please note that I did not inquire with them about the
installation of said bearings and in no way hold them responsible for my
ignorance or my failure to ask.
Let me also note that I have never completely rebuilt the front suspension.
I have had the shocks rebuilt and replaced the rubber in the upper trunnion
but that is it. The rest has been fine and never needed any other work.
So the bearings come in and I set off to work. I'm thinking that I can do
this without removing the suspension from the car so I disconnect the top
shock arm from the upper trunnion, remove the castle nut on the top of the
king pin. I'm feeling good now and things have been going great. That's as
far as I got. I couldn't get the upper trunnion off. The factory manual says
something like "remove upper trunnion". That's it. Nothing else.
So at this point I get on the all-knowing internet and check with the
archives of the list. Bad news. I read a number of e-mails about people
trying to remove the upper trunnion and it appears to require a blow torch,
4-pounds of C4, a two-litre diet coke and some mentos to blast this thing
off of the car. In almost all cases the assessment was "you'll need to
replace the king pins anyway" , "you can get new upper trunnions to replace
the ones you destroyed" and other such encouraging things. In addition,
there was talk about shims to get the proper clearances and the like of
which I have no knowledge at all.
All that said, is it possible/realistic to try and install these bearings
without undertaking a complete overhaul of the front suspension. I can
always hold onto these and install them when the time comes for that scale
of project, but if possible I would like to install them now. In my archive
reading I did read about applying heat, PB blaster, and using a gear puller.
In my first attempt at this I didn't try too hard for fear that there was
something I was missing and didn't want to damage anything accidentally. Is
there anything else I should know if I try this again?
Many thanks,
Drew,
65 BJ8
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