Listers,
I have my LH front suspension all apart and have a few questions
for the experts that have done this before.
1. I found these thin steel rings on either side of the rubber
seals on the trunnion shafts. I mangled 1 or 2 of the 8 pieces
before I realized they were there under all the goop. They are
not shown on the parts catalog. Has anybody seen these before
and do I need to replace them. My TRF rebuild kit doesn't have
them either.
2. The TRF front suspension kit was purchased back in 1997 and I
bought it from another TR4 owner here unopened. Back in 1998-9,
I remember hearing all the complaints on the list about rubber
seals falling off after a short period. The 16 seals I have seem
to be strong and of "live" fresh rubber. Although they seem too
small in diameter and will need a lot of stretching to fit. What
was this all about and does anybody remember the timeframe when
these were not up to the right quality. I can always order 16
new seals if these are suspect... they are not expensive.
3. The lower wishbone inner bearings were well used with lots of
play after the springs were removed. I had oiled them a couple
of times in the last 2 years because of the typical squeaky
noise. I found that the steel sleeve was rusty and pitted and I
can't get it off the shaft. Before I do something strange is
there a best practice on this. My guess would be to heat the
steel sleeve and try to twist it with vise grips or tap it with a
chisel on the outer edge to get it to turn. Last resort would be
to cut it with a dremel wheel.
4. I removed the steering rack gaiters because they are hard and
starting to show small cracks. I backed off the gaiter and found
essentially a dry environment with little sign of lubrication.
The ball and socket joint on the steering link is shiny but dry
with some clay colored dust around the edges of the socket. I
have no reason to suspect a problem as everything works fine and
there is no rust. The manuals say that this is a nylon joint and
needs no lubrication. I feel that I should lube this up with
something before I close it up. How much grease is there supposed
to be visible with the gaiter pulled back onto the steering link.
I can only see a little in the main housing that has the grease
nipple tap.
Thanks in advance... any advice will be appreciated
Brian Sanborn
'62 TR4 CT16260L soon to be "O" - Groton, MA
My TR4 Restoration Web Site
http://www.net1plus.com/users/sanborn
E-Mail: sanborn@net1plus.com
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