[TR] Vertical link repair questions

[Randall]

> It appears I'll need to 
> remove the damper and spring, but I'm having trouble there. 
> The workshop manual makes removal of the damper seem simple, 
> but I can't even see the nut they say to remove at the bottom 
> (p 4-107) because there are a lot of other parts in the way. 

Yup, and they have to come off.  Unless I am forgetting something (been a long time since I took a TR4 apart), the manual has the
sequence out of order.  Here's the way I do it on TR3/A (which I think should work on TR4).

Find a way to lift the spring pan a bit (I use a floor jack and a piece of 2x4 on edge, just inside of the trunnion), then undo the
two bolts (#27 in Fig 5) that hold the lower rebound stop bracket (#27) to the frame.  I have been known to just drive them out
without lifting the pan, but that does some damage to the bracket and bolts.  Remove the jack (or whatever) and the bracket if it
didn't just fall off.

Now you should be able to see or feel the four nuts (#79 in Fig 6) that hold the upper bracket (#81) to the spring pan. Remove the
nuts, along with the two at the top of the damper (#69 and 71 in Fig 6).  Then you should be able to pry the lower damper mount
downward off of the studs (forcing the bracket off if it didn't fall off by itself); and remove the damper.

Now, you'll need the magic spring compressor tool.  About $50 at the big three (last time I looked), or not too hard to fabricate
yourself.  Here's a photo of mine (which is quite a bit beefier than it needs to be):
<http://s258.photobucket.com/user/TR3driver/media/Tools/Springcompressor.jpg.html>
But don't (IMO) try to use one of the general purpose ones.  You want the Triumph-specific tool.

Tighten the compressor until the arms are horizontal or a bit higher, then undo the bolts & nuts that hold the spring pan to the
lower A-arms (er, wishbones).  I don't bother with the guide pins or the block of wood mentioned in the book, but they certainly
won't hurt anything.  Now start undoing the compressor until the spring pan hits the frame, lift the wishbones up to disengage the
studs (if necessary) and pull on the spring compressor to move the pan off the frame.  Continue undoing the compressor and the pan,
spring and other bits should just fall out.  You might have to pry a bit on the spacer above the spring (if your car has one) and
the pad above it.

-- Randall