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Triumph TR6 - Front suspension woes

hello all

Has anyone encountered the following problem, if so how did you resolve
it, is it in fact a problem ?

I have just replaced all the front suspension wishbone bushes with nylon
and stainless/steel plus poly for the damper, roll
bar etc. I haven't separated the lower wishbones from the pan so the
Trunnion assembly has remained intact.

Anyway, on reassemble I cannot get the Ball joint to line up with the
vertical link, it is out of alignment by about 3/8 - 1/2 inch.
The upper front wishbone is the one that has the most bend in it - so i
don't think its the wrong way round. Any pictures
I have seen (including my own from the early 80's when I restored the
car originally) all have this one at the front and the straighter one at
the rear.

The lower wishbone is in its original holes in the chassis.
The only way to get the suspension bolted up is to leave all the bolts
loose push the ball joint into the vertical link,
pack out the front lower with 4 or 5 shims (more than was originally
there) and then go round and tighten the suspension gradually.
This seems to work ok but the question is, am I putting too much
pressure on the whole setup?
I know with rubber bushes you will have more play, so maybe i had the
same problem before but it wasn't as noticeable.

Any comments would be appreciated as I am completely stumped.

Regards

Bob + uk tr6
bob whitehead

if i am following you right, i think you have one of your upper wishbone pieces backward. they look identical but they must be put back in correctly( left and right ) or the ball joint will do this. i know by experience.
DONkelly

Don

Re-checked that.The arm with the most bend in it is at the front. I swopped it with the other
upper wishbone from the opposite side and it makes no difference.

Someone i spoke to today suggested that because the chassis is on axle stands at the
front then it might be twisted and so causing this problem.

I have no experience of doing the suspension with the car as normal because when i restored it
and did the suspension part the body was off the car and the engine was not in situ.
And as i remember it all went in with no trouble.

Today i managed to get everything bolted up by loosening all the bolts etc and forcing it all
together then tightening them up.However the vertical link was very tight and stiff,this can't be right.

But, if i leave it like that and then lower the car onto the wheels will it sort itself out ?
I am still none the wiser.The only remedy i can see is to grind a lot of metal from the wishbone on one
side and add a spacer on the other

Regards

Bob

bob whitehead

TRY SWITCHING FRONT TO BACK ON SAME SIDE.THAT IS WHAT I THOUGHT MIGHT WORK.
DON KELLY

Hi,
When you say out of line , do you mean front to back or n/s to o/s of car?.If you have removed the fulcrum bracket(holds top whish bones to chassis) which are "sided" and put them back in the wrong place that could alter the camber of the wheelmaking refitting very difficult. The top whish bone with the most bend in it is the one at the front over the steering rack.Mine where marked with a L or R on them.
hope this may help, Guy.
guy

Chaps

Unfortunately that 'orrible thing called work has halted my endeavors on the TR until Monday.
I will check the fulcrum when i get the chance.

When offering the vertical link up to the upper wishbone the ball joint is about 3/8 inch towards
the rear of the car instead of being over the hole in the top of the verticle link.
Come Monday I will check all the components again,perhaps i missed it last time
(wood for the trees and all that).


So Stay tuned for more exciting updates next week.

bye for now

bob

bob whitehead

WHAT GUY SAID IS WHAT I WAS TRYING TO SAY
DON

Is the error the same on both sides? If so it suggests components have been swapped from their original side to the other. The trunnions are machined asymmetrical to give castor trail- and if fitted to the wrong side will leave the king pin out of line with the ball joint eye ( too much to the front or rear)
I hope you have kept note of the number of shims on each of the four lower wishbine bolts- these will affect front/aft position of the king pin if of unequal thickness front versus rear, and camber angle too. ( the more shim the nore negative the camber).
Peter Cobbold

Greetings from under the front wheel arch,
I spent monday swopping the components about to try and rectify this problem.
It doesn't matter how i do it the end result is the same (on both sides) - vertical link
and ball joint out by about 3/8.
I am certain the lower wishbone/trunnion assembly is on the correct side because they have not been
dismantled and i left the anti roll bar link attached to one side and not the other.
I have kept a note of the number of shims.

I can only sumise that perhaps the chassis has got some twist in it and that when i used the
rubber bushes these have a certain amount of lateral play, thereby hiding the lining up problem.

What i shall do is bolt everything together anyway and when done take it to the local garage and
have a proper 4 wheel alignment check and to also check the camber etc.

I still can't understand why it does not line up. The old adage 'If it aint broke dont fix it' springs to mind here..

Regards

Bob
bob whitehead

hi,
i´ve had the same problem. Did you change the bottom trunnion assembly (Moss part # 142378 or 77)??
At least here in Germany there are several wrong parts on the market. wrong means - after adjusting the vertical link - this link goes straight up, instead of slightly backwards. Check it!

gerd
gerd

I havn't changed anything apart from re-bushing in nylon and stainless steel.
The Trunions were renewed back in the 80's when i did a complete restoration of the
car.Since then i have only covered a few thousand miles so they didnt need changing.
This is why i am completely stumped.

Regards

Bob
bob whitehead

Maybe one of the lower wishbone brackets is upside down? If the front inner mounting is too high ( or the rear too low) that would shift the top end of the kingpin rearwards. I replaced the rubber buhes years ago- you really will notice the improvement, once you get the wheels pointing in the right direction!Try a shade of negative camber too- about half degree seems to be OK for road use.
Peter cobbold

I experienced the same problem when replaced all the bushings and realized that I had installed the bolts in the same direction holding the ball joint to the upper A-arms.

If you take a look at the workshop manual it shows that the bolts are swapped in that the nuts are on opposite sides.

I know that this sounds silly and should not make a difference b/c the bolts are straight but for some reason it does. ITS BRITISH!!

steven

This thread was discussed between 20/03/2001 and 31/03/2001

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