Tips re Eyebolt Replacement

[culp]

I thought I might add my experience of replacing the front suspension eye bolt to the collective knowledge to help somebody not to make the same mistakes I did.

When dismantling the front suspension to get at the eye bolt the torsion bar can be very difficult to remove. Detach the front swivel pin, either entirely or at the bottom. Dont miss the bit about letting off the twist in the torsion bar first

The theory is that the rear splined lever that bolts to the cross member can be un-bolted and then slid towards the front of the car over the splines. Once the lever is removed then the rear of the torsion bar can be un bolted and then slid to the back of the car through the hole in the cross member. This then clears it from the eye bolt at the front which you can then remove This is the theory

In practise the rear lever sticks fast so this means you have to unbolt the rear of the torsion bar, the rear lever and front eye bolt, and then pull the eye bolt and torsion bar assembly away from the car at the front at 90 degrees to its centre line to clear the cross member and get the whole shebang out. It works with a bit of huffing and puffing.

Next you can replace the eye bolt.

The threaded shaft of the eye bolt can be a tight fit through the hole in the chassis leg. It can stick so tight it's almost like its welded in place even if, like me, you use quite careful methods to get it through the hole and don't just belt it with a hammer. On my car it was stuck so tight the various method I was using to get it out were in danger of pulling the car off the axle stand, we're talking really...really tight here.

You can soon get in a mess especially if, like me the suspension needs trimming, the rear lever is stuck fast, and the eye bolt wont budge, I wound up having to cut the torsion bar in half to get it off.

The second time.....and what I should have done the first time was... I got some engine valve grinding paste and smeared it on the shaft of the eye bolt. Put it in as far as it would go and then, using a lever through the hole of the eye-bolt wiggled it back and forth until it loosened up. I then gave it a tap with a hammer until it jammed again, and then wiggled it back and forth until it loosened off. It took a while but now the eye bolt is a snug fit but can be taken out again if necessary. Cleaning off the grinding paste was a fiddle, but not impossible. Effectively I lapped it in. It worked like a charm.

So there you go if I can save one person the expenses, time, skinned knuckles and frustration i went through then my work here is done!

[rayofleamington]

I wound up having to cut the torsion bar in half to get it off

Ouch!

The rear lever can be an absolute git to remove from the splines if it's been in place for 40+ years, however a big hammer, a lever and regular squirts of plus gas over a few days can help a lot. Once you've got it to move a hairs breadth, you are more than half way there! more release fluid and working it in all directions and it'll start to move a bit more on the splines.

If that fails, then the front arm may be persuaded to slide on the splines, when it slides back, it will release the collar that holds the fulcrum pin. (fulcrum pin is the small diameter pin that sits in the bushes in the eyebolt) I've not had to release a front arm on the car, but they need to be free sliding before you re-assemble otherwise the eyebolt bush flanges will not be evenly loaded & lead to rapid bush failure.

As for cutting the torsion bar - don't!
If you need to resort to cutting, then cut the fulcrum pin just in front of the lower arm. The pin as this is a replacement part, and more than likely is damaged anyway from worn out bushes.

Once the torsion bar is released from the eyebolt, rotating the eyebolt is better than hammering it! Again, much plus-gas is useful and add more each time it rotates until eventually it's much less stiff and will tap out.

When re-fitting I grease the front and rear splines on torsion bar so that whoever has to remove in a few decades time won't suffer as much as I did.

[bmcecosse]

Errrr -there is ABSOLUTELY NO NEED to take the torsion bar off..... The eyebolt comes out easily past the T bar - just jack it up slightly if necessary. And Plus Gas in advance is always a very good idea when working on the suspension. It's best to leave the rear end of the T bar mountings well alone.

[culp]

Cutting the fulcrum pin, hmmmm a bit late now. I(t's a very awkward spot to get into, my angle grinders quite big. I couldnt get the disk to bear on the eyebolt itself, I didnt think of cutting the fulcrum pin. Good point.

I had to remove the torsion bar because the eyebolt was worn?

[bmcecosse]

No - the eyebolt is easily removed/renewed without taking the T bar out! I've done it many times..
I suggest in future you check on here with us when you have a job to do - so we can offer you the collective experience on how best to do the job with minimal effort and expense!

[Ratbag]

No - the eyebolt is easily removed/renewed without taking the T bar out! I've done it many times..
I suggest in future you check on here with us when you have a job to do - so we can offer you the collective experience on how best to do the job with minimal effort and expense!

I'll second this -I've had the eyebolts on & off many times (adjusting camber with big washers) and never removed any of the torsion bars mountings.

Phil.

[les]

I agree, why on earth interfere with the rear of the bar, just knock the front arm back and pull the bar forward.

[bmcecosse]

What did cutting it in half achieve anyway?? The back half would now NEED to be removed -and another bar sourced... Make sure you fit a bar that has been used on the SAME side of a car......

[rayofleamington]

No - the eyebolt is easily removed/renewed without taking the T bar out!

That's all well done & said, but I can see you've not had a car where the eyebolt was rusted in solid.
I've only had this twice out of 20+ Minors but trust me - if you have to deal with it you know it's not a matter of rust taking it apart as normal.

As for not bothering to get the arms to slide on the splines - has nobody had to replace a centre cross member? it#s best done with the eyebolt in place for re-checking measurements, although I guess you could put it back after torsion bar is off.

for future use, once the arms are free sliding, removing the torsion bar is quicker & easier than removing the eyebolt with torsion bar in place.

Fot cutting the fulcrum pin - it's a frustrating job with a 12" hacksaw blade + holder as you can oly get a very short stroke.
If however you have one of those automatic cut off saws, it's less hassle.



vs

[bmcecosse]

Oh yes - the front arm at least needs to slide easily on the T bar splines. Usually there is plenty of oiliness around the chassis legs to ensure the eyebolt shanks are not rusted in! But if tight - Plus gas and heat will help...

[les]

I keep re-reading this thread, and can't see why the T bar needs removing even if the eye bolt is stuck. If the lower arm is knocked backwards, (after removing the front part and releasing the tension) it will leave the pin and locator where it is. It may be stiff but cant fail to move(re-fitting the thin suspension lower arm by one nut at the pin end, to stop it following the T bar) The bar can then be pulled outward away from the eye bolt, which can then be worked on. All this cutting bits up has blown me away! Another point regarding greasing the splines, that only encourages radial movement, thus wear. Any lubricant should be very minimal. Splines are supposed to be a good fit.

[bmcecosse]

Exactly........

[culp]

I'm sorry I started this.

My point was about not getting the eye bolt jammed in place and the fact that lapping it in with grinding paste worked really well.

Both levers on the torsion bar were seized sold and the eye bolt wouldn't budge. I'd really rather have not cut off the torsion bar but it worked, and a second hand replacement was about £30 so no real harm done. I also have to quite handy lengths of steel bar for levering, drifting and bashing so there's a silver lining to every cloud

[rayofleamington]

If the lower arm is knocked backwards,

That's definitely one of the alternatives and so is removing the rear arm - the issue is much worse if neither the front or rear arms want to budge.

Ive had a few of these and only once could I not move either despite plus gas, big hammers, levers and a weekend. Fortunately on the one where neither end would budge despite lots of experience, I was lucky that the eyebolt wasn't seized (although it was very stif, so i removed the rubbers allowing it 15° rotation and worked it out that way).
The arms could be freed up off the car as it allowed even more brute force with the big hammer.

If you have all 3 seized and refusing to budge after days of effort then I'd rather cut the fulcrum pin than the T-bar - this was offered as a last resort, not a first option if that eases your consternation, Les.

[les]

Yes I feel much better