Quick lowering front suspension question

[Arthurdaily]

I have read all the posts, and am happy with the process of lowering the front suspension. You simply put the front on axle stands; then take off the wheel, the king pin is now under 'reverse' torsion as it is hanging, so put a jack under the rear section of the lower arm and raise it till the upper damper arm is just off the lower rubber (if there was one!). Then undo the tie bar and push out of the way, then undo the left rear nut, middle bolt and front left trunion nut and pull totally off the thin front lower arm, then undo the rear nut of the lower trunion and whilst still having the rear lower arm jacked up wiggle it off the trunion. THEN release the jack and the lower rear arm will just 'hang'.

After that I'm stuck. From descriptions it seems you then get a soft hammer and hammer the rear arm BACKWARDS, ie towards the rear of the car and thus further onto the torsion bar but OFF the splines - is that right? Then pull the arm anticlockwise (from front) up one spline... then refit everything.

An answer to that question would be appreciated. Thank you.

[Alex'n'Ane]

Yes, hammer off splines, towards back of car. Just get out there and do it, its much easier to understand once you start.

[horologiumwatches]

That all sounds about right to me.

[Arthurdaily]

Thank you.

[horologiumwatches]

Just remember to mark the splines in some way, as when you knock the wishbone off you might loose sight of where it came from. It would be horrible to put it all back together and find the car is wonky!

[IslipMinor]

Worth putting paint marks on the torsion bar and lower arm boss to show the original fitting - just in case it all pops apart and you can't see where to start from again. One spline will lower it about 1.25", and one hole on the rear adjuster plate is about 0.25".

Wire brush and grease the spline well before sliding the lower arm back into place - saves any hammering if you need to move it again.

Don't forget that lowering the front will introduce more positive camber, which is undesirable. Whilst you have it apart you could put some spacers in between the eye bolt and the chassis leg. For each degree of camber, you will need around 1/8" spacing. I would suggest to use solid spacers, not 'U' shaped, as they will allow corrosion to take hold. Again lots of grease on the eye bolt as it goes back through the chassis leg tube. And of course an ideal opportunity to fit poly bushes into the eye bolt!

[Arthurdaily]

Hmnnn... not sure if camber will be an issue... I'm not lowering it as such... recently the chassis leg was replaced - clearly BEFORE it was replaced somebody had raised the height to compensate for the collapsing chassis leg - now it's good again, the wheel is sitting much higher than the driver's side making the car lopsided... so hopefull lowering it will return it to its NORMAL state, thus hopefully no camber.

I don't have to remove the eyebolt from the chassis leg do I?

[IslipMinor]

No, you don't have to remove the eye bolt to move the lower arm round 1 spline.

[chrisryder]

Rather than messing about 'feeling' for one spline or two... not as easy as it sounds... I use a tape measure! Once the torsion bar is relaxed (ie. after lowering the jack) measure the distance from a known point to the floor. Move the torsion bar, and check that known distance has gone up by about 1.25 inches.

[bmcecosse]

Exactly ^^^ - just measure the distance with anything handy as a gauge (spanner etc) then tap it back, ease it up one spline and tap it forward - check with the gauge that the distance is now longer. Pop it all back together and Bob is the uncle.... And you MUST have rebound rubbers (and bump stops) fitted.

[Arthurdaily]

Yes, I know I need the rubbers - they simply weren't there when I bought it last week. BUT, I have them 'in stock', one question about these, the rubber seems to be 'at an angle' to the base plate - presumably they fit so that the rubber slopes slightly outwards?

[bmcecosse]

Yes...because the top arm slopes down in the rebound position.

[Arthurdaily]

All done, car now 'flat'! Thank you chaps