> The manuals all say to lubricate the suspension on my 76 Spit with oil not
>grease. Is this really necessary? If so, how the heck do I get oil into
>there? There is grease in there now (put in there by the person who owned
>my spit before me), do I need to get the grease completely out of there when
>I put oil in?
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Jeremy,
IMHO, it would be well advised to strip the trunnions off the front suspension
and remove all traces of grease. Then check the tops of threads on the
verticle links for any signs of rust spots or cracks.
After reassembly, oil the trunnions with the weight off the suspension to allow
the oil to circulate better around the threads. I always use a regular grease
gun filled with EP90 oil, a bit messy but it works OK. Pump the grease in
until it flows out by the rubber seal at the top of the trunnion. I have very
good grounds for recommending the above as I have experienced the sudden
disappearance of my front wheels into the arches on two occassions. First the
left hand side on New Years Eve 1993 (luckily I had a spare verticle link), and
the second time just after I started a new job in April 1994, that was the
right hand side just as I went round a bend (luckily I had a second spare). I
put both of these breakages down to greasing by one or more PO's probably done
on an irregular basis aswell to make matters worse.
Not only can it cause hassles in getting the car home with three wheels, but it
can obviously cause a major accident should it break at an inopportune
moment(luckily they almost always break at low(ish) speeeds). The partially
loose wheel can also cause horrendous damage to various parts of the bonnet and
bulkhead area just to make matters worse. Hope I haven't put you off the car.
Rich
Northampton
England.
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