I'm respraying my engine bay next week, the engine is alread out and bits of welding done - everything unbolts and screws off easily enough, but what about the suspension dampers ... the big 'box' on each side - can I just unbolt them? Or are they under pressure? Help appreciated!
Once the load is off the suspension - yes they can be removed - but be sure to keep a bolt or two in the securing plate inside the hollow member in case it falls out of position! I'm not sure it can - but what a bu99er if it did!
just knock back the tab washers and unbolt the 4 bolts (per damper). they're a self contained unit, nothing to go wrong. the only issue it they're attached to the suspension too.
so you'll have to put the car on axle stands, put a jack under the suspension lower arm and raise it to 'wind up' the spring, then bend back the lock washer and undo the nut on the pin on the top trunnion. this will allow you to remove the big thick washer, and pull one bush out of the top trunnion. giving you just enough movement to wiggle the top trunnion off the other bush and then off the pin.
with that disconnected, and the damper unbolted off the bulkhead, you can just wiggle the damper round to get the pin end out through the slot in the inner wing.
after all that jiggling of the damper it'll have air bubbles in the oil. so once you bolt back in, before reconnecting the top trunnion, move the arm up and down by hand to pump the oil around and allow all the air to rise to the top. you'll feel it get stiffer as you go.
alternatively, if that sounds too much work... paint around them!
LOL - it does seem quite a lot of work... would it be possible to unbolt each damper bolt on the bulkhead just a few turns so as to be able to pull it off a few milimetre and then put tape round it, at least I could get a 'creep' of paint underneath it? Far less messing...
Seems a possibility. I tried to unbolt my dampers, but one of the bolts just spun, so I gave up before something terrible had a chance to happen. If yours don't spin, it should be fine to do what you suggest.
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