issues reconnecting eyebolt fulcrum pin

[oddbod]

I am trying to raise my front suspension by 1 spline on the Torsion bar. Everything was going quite smoothly until reassembly. The Fulcrum pin,which passes through the Eye Bolt,seems to be pointing downwards at about 7o'clock,rather than the expected 9o'clock. The nut on the end of the Fulcrum pin,connecting it to the front Wishbone Arm,was not one that I loosened to separate the 2 arms,however on checking and greasing before reassembly this nut,and its washer appeared underneath the car. Have I killed the Fulcrum Pin,or can I force it all back together with a Jack and crowbar? I tried to line it up already,but I am afraid I may have bent something major so I don't want to force anything else without checking here first!!

[MarkyB]

The Fulcrum pin pointing downwards at about 7o clock

Relative to what?
It should come straight out of the torsion bar at nothing 'o' clock.
A picture would help a lot.

[oddbod]

I'm no technical wizard so have to wait for an offspring to arrive home to post a picture,but in words the Torsion Bar runs into the rear of one arm and the Eye bolt Fulcrum Pin seems to hold the front and rear arms together,the Pin isn't running parallel at the minute,it seems as if,taking the Torsion Bar as running 9o'clock to 3 o'clock,the Fulcrum Pin is pointing at 7o'clock,could this be a Bush slipped,or have I bent the Pin?
I don't have much history with the car so it could be a previous Bodge.Is it possible for the Eyebolt to be twisted?

[simmitc]

The fulcrum pin does not hold the two halves of the arm together, it should fit into a large cup that then sits inside the rear half of the arm. When splitting the two halves of the arm, you should undo the tie road yolk, the nut and bolt, and the two nuts on the pins (eye bolt and trunnion). It would take an awful lot of force to bend the pin. There should be two rubber bushes in the eye bolt.

I recommend looking at the manual - the diagram and text make the whole thing very clear, and much easier to understand than just writing about it. The good news is that all parts are readily available (and not expensive), and, as long as one methodically follows the manual, the job is straightforward. Good luck, and if you can get a picture up, then we'll be able to offer a few more suggestions.

[oddbod]

OK here are some photos ( I hope!)

[oddbod]

OK here are some photos ( I hope!)

Maybe now.......

[oddbod]

BL$^%%£ HOW HARD CAN IT BE TO UPLOAD A PHOTO AAAAAAAARGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!



Deep Breath,a cup of tea now and a quiet sit down.

[oddbod]

another go at some photos...

[Dean]

The pictures are too big (using too much memory), set your camera uup to take them using less memory and retake. They will upload then.

[DAVIDMCCULLOUGH]

I think I know what you mean....

Take the pin and washer back off and clean up the end of the washer if there are any burrs or bends that wont let the washer fit back into the end of the splined part of the torsion bar. Then find a suitable big socket, maybe the spark plug one that will go over it and allow you to tap it into place without wrecking the thread on the pin. A small amount of gresae may help it to slide back into place.

[oddbod]

Maybe.......[frame][/frame][frame][/frame]



So this is an image ( I had to wait for my eldest to finish work,cos I was having a breakdown) the Fulcrum pin seems dislocated or bent,which do you reckon it is? I'm not sure if it is a good view, but I reckon I can line up the bolts from the wheel hub inwards,but this one seems badly misaligned, jack it up or put a nut on the end and try and tap it backwards trough the eyebolt?

[MarkyB]

The eye bolt should be level, yours seems to be at a slight angle.
I think that is stopping the rear arm seating properly.

Resist the temptation to tighten anything up till all fixings are in place.

That's a mighty thick layer of underseal on the chassis leg, any idea how sound it is underneath?

[oddbod]

As regards the underseal, I dont want to look yet! Any ideas how to level up the eyebolt? Take everything apart or split the 2 arms,nut on the end and tap with a hammer,to be honest it looks like the bush may be out of its seating too, I dont want to destroy the bush so should it all line up and go in gently,or will it need some persuasion?

[oddbod]

It would seem that the whole eye bolt through the chassis has twisted slightly downwards, I think when the torsion bar reseated at the rear (cup?) it didn't align properly, I don't see how as I didn't take Tbar off, probably when the nut came off the Fulcrum Pin? Anyway, do I need to take the Tbar off at the rear now? Gordon Bennet, I only wanted to raise the suspension up,still I can kind of sus it, I just don't want to dismantle the whole car!!

[oddbod]

Well...... what have I done?? I managed to straighten the Eye Bolt,relative to the chassis,but now the Torsion Bar is shy of its retaining cup at the rear of the Eye Bolt, could I have a) bent the Eye Bolt b) bent the Torsion Bar or c) is the chassis rotten where the Eye bolt passes through the chassis and "enlarged" its hole somehow. I cant figure out how it could be b),but I did use some leverage to split the wishbones!! Answers on a Postcard,or the back of a sealed envelope ( or here cos it could be quicker) I'll try and post some pics later when a son comes in to give me some IT help!!

[brucek]

It might be worth scraping back the heavy under seal in this area to get a good look at what is going on in there. My first thought was that the eyebolt was not level with the chassis rail but if, when it is level, you have further problems, I'm wondering if there is some distortion on the leg itself. Has the car been in an accident on that side or possibly kerbed a wheel at some point? If you have bolts dropping out when you have not undone them and alignment problems like you have, it's probably best to strip out the eyebolt and carefully examine all the parts for wear etc. It might seem like lots more work but it will give you peace of mind when you know it's all fixed properly. if it won't all mate up properly, there is probably damage in one or more of the components

[oddbod]

Yep,I reckon you are right,I will strip back the underseal and take out the eye bolt,I'll try tomorrow,depending on the weather and finding another pair of hands!!

[simmitc]

I cannot see how you could have damaged the bushes or bent the fulcrum pin. However, the eye bolt could have twisted as you levered the front part of the arm out of the way - you really should remove all nuts and split the arm cleanly. However, those bushes do look as though the newness has worn off. I recommend stripping the whole lot properly as per the manual - it's a one person job. The car should be supported properly on axle stand, and then a jack can be used to relieve the tension in the torsion bar - take great care that it does not slip. With everything stripped down, clean it all up. Check for damage to the chassis leg, eye bolt, and fulcrum pin. Replace the bushes and other components as necessary - none of these items are terribly expensive, and all are readily available from the usual suppliers. When everything is lined up properly, the rear half of the arm will slide forward on the splines to engage fully with the cup on the end of the fulcrum pin - make sure that the cup and arm are clean and fit together properly before reassembly.

When everything is together, do up all nuts loosely, then tighten fully only when the car is sitting normally on the ground.

[MarkyB]

could I have a) bent the Eye Bolt
b) bent the Torsion Bar

Only if you ate a box of Wheatabix, probably not even then, both parts are very strong indeed.
c) is quite possible, another possibility is that someone has left out a large washer from the eyebolt.

If you have the car very well supported with axle stands the torsion bar will bend enough to pull the eyebolt out.

Edit, underlined very.

[oddbod]

How far into the Front Eye Bolt cup should the Tbar sit? Should it hit an obstruction or does the Rear Arm hold the Tbar in? The Tbar seems to be 5mm or so shy of the middle of the cup,is this OK. The only other thing I can think of is to push the Tbar forward from its cross member the required distance to seat further forward in the Eyebolt cup. I am not sure how far inside the Eyebolt cup the Tbar splines need to be. Just a thought, does the Tbar need to be inside the Eyebolt (sorry if thats a stupid question)