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MG MGB Technical - Removing & refiting the rear anti roll bar

Hi,

I am in the process of renewing parts of the rear suspension as required that includes the rear shock absorbers , the drop links & the anti roll bar mtg bushes etc. on my 1980 roadster. Once all removed i can renew the undersealing that i originally did some 40 years ago when i had the luxury of a pit in my parents garage).

Having removed the shock absorbers enables easier access to the main anti roll bar mountings.
The ARB is as standard out of the factory ,fitted i believe from circa August 1976. Am i right in thinking the bar will be under some tension from side to side that will want to "spring apart" once i remove the pivot bolts and pull the bar away from the body mounting brackets on the car? If so i would welcome some advice as to how to deal with this & just as importantly how to deal with it when i put it back on. (I intend to put the original bar back on , but with new end mountings already fitted with new bushes).

Cheers

Charles
Charles9

The ARB is only under tension when the car is cornering and the body rolls to one side. At rest, there should be no tension at all, or very little, if the car is sagging slightly to one side.
Dave O'Neill 2

I agree with Dave, there shouldn't be any, or very little load on it at normal ride height
If the stands are under the body and the axle dropped then there will be 'some' load on the bar
The car needs to be supported with stands under the axle not the body while removing the bar
After the bar is removed and as you are also removing the axle straps be very carefull how far you lower the axle -the last thing you need is to drop it down too far and bend the tailshaft
William Revit

Thanks Guys for your comments. At the moment the stands are just forward of the front shackles of the leaf springs with a hydraulic jack under the diff (& more stands etc, at the front of the car). I am not intending to remove the original leather straps as they appear to be in good condition & have heard of poor quality new replacements.
I will move the rear stands to the axle, which i prefer as the car feels more stable there. (The good book advised placing them where they were for removing the shock absorbers. Also out of the way when i had to hacksaw the bottom bolt holding one of the drop links to the spring plate as after 40 years it didn't want to separate from the nut)!
Incidentally when i put the shocks back on , does the bolt go through the shock & then the inner wing with the washers & nut on the outside as my shocks were changed some 35 years ago by something like Quickfit & they inserted them the other way round with an additional flat washer below the bolt head before it passed through the wing?
Cheers
Charles
Charles9

Yes, bolt through the damper and nut on the outside.
Dave O'Neill 2

Only if one corner is jacked up relative to the other will the ARB subject to any forces.

Same at the front. I live surrounded by traffic calming measures including the accursed 'pillows' where if I can't drive through the middle because of oncoming traffic I have to put the nearside wheel in the gutter and the off-side straight over the top to avoid scraping the exhaust. The PO fitted a 7/8" front ARB to the V8 and I broke three near-side drop-links. Swapped that for an original 3/4" and no further problems.

Anyone want a 7/8" ARB?
paulh4

Thanks again Guys - With stands placed under the rear axle & with the car level i loosened all the mounting bolts & pivot bolts. I then removed the pivot bolts with ease & the ARB swung down by itself. Finally removing the bolts/nuts on the axle took a little longer due to their exposure to the elements over the years. ((The hardest part will be extracting the ARB from the top of the axle where i have left it sitting until tomorrow))!
Cheers
Charles
Charles9

This thread was discussed between 23/11/2020 and 24/11/2020

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