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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Rear Shackles - advice # 2!

Hi all,
Mk III midget
Well, good news. I have been able to free up all nuts on the old & cruddy rear shackle pins using a big Plus Gas drenching.( marvellous stuff!)
I want to replace the shackle pins & bushes & I have all the new bits etc to hand.
Two brief questions if I may just to totally clarify ?
Q1.
To do this, do I need to just support the rear leaf spring or raise it up at all? looking at it..it seems I just need to support the spring a bit with a jack with the car on its wheels , unbolt the old pins, oick it off with a lever and replace everything ...or if I just take off the shackle pins like this, will Sh*t happen?

Q2.
Is it OK to put the shackle pins on "back to front", with the nuts facing the OUTSIDE of the car?

Sorry to be a twerp, but really grateful for any advice after this piece of unexpected success!

cheers all
colin
colin frowen

Colin,

As I said in my previous post, it is a long time since I have done this job. But...

A1. You need to jack up the car, support the body with axle stands (I used stands under the sills, just forward of the rear spring front mounts, with a block of wood to spread the load), then use a trolley jack under the diff to take the weight of the axle off the springs. Only then can you start dismantling the spring shackles.

A2. I think if you want to put the shackles on with the nuts outboard, this might only be possible if you have removed the mounting brackets from the boot floor (otherwise the shackles foul on the fuel tank.

If my memory is playing tricks, no doubt somebody else will be along soon to put me right.

Hope that helps.
Jonathan
Jonathan Severn

hI Jonathan,
Thanks - just trying to get it clear between the ears!
Cheers & thanks
colin
colin frowen

Colin do you not have a workshop manual, or even a Haynes manual? You really should....
David Smith

Colin,
Q1 - Think about what the springs do. They support the weight of the car so the body presses down on the spring. If you just jack the spring up you won't reduce the pressures on the shackle pins that you are trying to remove. You need to relieve that pressure on the shackle pin by taking the weight of the body off the springs, by jacking up the body.

The easy way is to raise and support the body on axle stands under the rear ends of the sills. Do this to a height to give you space to work under the back of the car. Once you have done this the springs and axle will be hanging off the body/ shackle pins, so under tension again. Placing a jack under the banjo will then give you the fine adjustment needed to take the pressure off the shackle pins just sufficient so that they can be removed and replaced.

Q2 - I answered that one a couple of days ago on your earlier thread. If you aim to put the nuts on the outside, then there won't be clearance to fit the shackle pin assembly because of the fuel tank. The pins need to be inserted from the outside, and the nuts fitted on the inner faces of the shackle.
GuyW

...... and as I said before, don't tighten anything until you have the weight on the wheels otherwise you could finish up with the back end high and additional torsion on the bushes.

If I recall the bushes can take a bit of squeezing in.
Graeme Williams

Hi all,
Thanks for your help.
Re Davids comment , I do have Haynes And Autodata manuals but they don't explain it well, which is why I asked here to get it clear between my ears.
I'm not a mechanic which is why I asked for help here.
Cheers colin
colin frowen

This thread was discussed between 18/03/2016 and 19/03/2016

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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