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Triumph TR6 - Front End Rebuild

Hi Guys:

I'm doing the front end over the winter and earlier this summer purchased Moss major rebuild kit # 660-998. I installed the stock rubber upper wishbone bushings & left the rest till I could tear it all down. I did not like the fit and they squeak and distrorted a little when installed. I bought Prothane replacements from Moss and they are really nice and firm yet pliable. My question is should I also get Prothane for the lower wishbones or is it okay to mix? They are another $50.00 USD and I've just received another $500.00 USD order so funds are thinning a little. Could be something do do with Santa coming, maybe? Any thoughts or experience out there? Also, aside from very obvious wear or catastrophic separation, what are the chances of the vertical links and trunnions needing to be replaced? Can I check them for play, etc? Thanks.

Bob
'76 TR6
Bob Evans

Hi Bob,

I too just replaced the upper arm bushings with the rubber ones also. My bushings also distorted and squished, not real happy with them. These prothane bushings sound pretty good, do they squish like the rubber bushings do at the ends? Do the ends near the washers seem to not be there, like the rubber ones?

Robert
robert

Long ago (i.e. well before TR6 production ended and MGs still had chrome bumpers) we joked that the lower arm bushings on MGBs were the second sorriest bushings in the world. The sorriest ones were the upper bushings on TRs. They are really soft, they distort on install and then extrude under load. As a result, I have run urethane bushings at the top on my TR6 almost from the day I bought it. I never ran into a problem running urethane tops and the stock bottom bushings. The stock bottom bushings are actually fairly nice and should not give you near the trouble that you would see out of the tops. If you feel like parting with the extra brass, by all means, go for the bottoms too, but it is not really necessary for normal use.

As far as the vertical links and trunnions go, unless they are damaged or corroded beyond use, the vertical links should be OK. Look carefully at the stub axles and front hubs. A quick and dirty non-destructive inspection is to do what we jokingly called "flour flux."(same time frame as the soryy bushing comments) Get everything nice and clean then heat a large pan of light oil to about 100 degrees C since you are metricated in Canada and submerge the part(s) to soak in the heated oil for 15 minutes or so. Pull the part out and wipe it clean with a solvent soaked rag. let the solvent flash off, then dust with flour and let it sit. If you have any cracks, the oil will have penetrated the crack and be wicked out into the flour, discoloring it. It's really more of a liquid penetrant inspection as opposed to being like magnaflux inspection, but at the time we nicknamed it, we didn't know better and the name stuck.

As long as the trunnions are not heavily worn or out of round or corroded heavily, they can be reused. Just bear in mind that they are replaceable service wear items in the front suspension.
SteveP

Thanks Steve. It would probably be quicker for you to just post what you don't know about TR's. Jeez - how many have you picked apart & rebuilt anyway? Appreciate the good advice. I was worried about the brass "screw" that fits the lower trunnion. I'll do your test. Like you, I thought the stock Moss lower rubber bushings looked pretty solid and thought about using them. Now I will.

Robert: I've not yet installed the Prothanes up top but even the texture is 100% better. Those "new" rubber bushings squished like silly putty - not pretty. At $29.95 USD for Prothane, it's not a bad deal.

Bob
'76 TR6
Bob Evans

Never heard of the flour/oil thing before. Cool. I imagine they sell flourescent penetrant sprays, though.

The "screw" (vertical link) isn't brass, is it? The "nut" (trunnion) is. And they're inexpensive, probably cheaper new than having it sleeved or something.

Am I correct in thinking that the trunnion "screw" design is there to raise the body of the car a bit on the the outside, and lower the inside while turning, to counteract the roll?
Tom

Tom:

Don't know if the "screw" is brass; could be hardrock maple for all I know but it'll be coming out soon for inspection. Don't know the details of how it functions either - it's British and they don't do things like we do on this side of the big pond. Likely Steve in Georgia knows; maybe even da Goose. I see he surfaced a day or so ago. Do Gooses (Geese) hibernate?

Bob
'76 TR6
Bob Evans

The threaded end of the vert link is steel. I presume the steel/brass setup was to prevent binding by corrosion. I don't see how the trunnion setup serves any dynamic suspension function, but it sure is more durable than a ball joint in that application. Have to give the designers credit for that.
Rick Orthen

This thread was discussed between 14/12/2004 and 16/12/2004

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