27) Installing the new springs

Time to finish this big job and get the car back on the road.

February 8th 2020

With my new springs sitting patiently on the kitchen floor, it's time to reach for the knife and open up the packaging to see what I've got. It's like Christmas!

Top marks to East Sussex Minors for their creative packaging!

The new leaf springs.

And the hardware pack.

After checking everything over, it all appears to be present and correct so it's time to start unbolting the old springs from the car. First I jacked the car as high as I could, using a trolley jack under the diff casing and then positioned a set of axle stands underneath the bumper supports. I know this doesn't sound very sturdy but that is exactly what the original workshop manual suggests. Fortunately the structure of my car is very sound with minimal corrosion so the bumper points still look to be very strong. I also added extra support under each sill for safety before removing the jack and allowing the axle to rest under its own weight. With the suspension now unloaded I could begin to undo all the bolts, starting with the U-bolts that attach the springs to the axle.

Removing the U-bolts to disconnect the spring from the axle.

Once this was done I discarded the old U-bolts and nuts, then I removed the shock absorber brackets and guide plates, setting them aside for cleaning. With the centre of the spring now detached from the axle, I moved to the rear and undid all the bolts on the swinging shackle. The shackle end-plates then joined the other parts waiting to be cleaned and the rear end of the spring was lowered to the floor.

Sliding myself to the front spring mount, the locating pin was completely seized onto the guide plate, meaning I had to use my angle grinder to cut off the small bolts which held the guide plate in place. A bit of levering with a screwdriver and persuasion with a hammer saw the plate and pin come out as a single unit and the first spring was released!

The old seized guide plate on the front spring mount.

First spring removed.

Springless!

New bushes being fitted into the new springs.

A smear of red rubber grease then went onto the new bushes before they were fitted into the ends of the new springs. This will help keep them in good shape for longer and won't degrade the rubber in the way a petroleum based grease would.

The next step was to gather up all the brackets that I was planning to reuse and set about them with a wire brush and an angle grinder to clean them up ready for repainting. Then it was a coat of black Hammerite to give them an extra level of protection.

Grinding corrosion off the old shock absorber brackets.

And giving it a coat of paint.

Plus the other parts.

I then left them for a day to dry before bolting the refurbished shock absorbers to their brackets, using some blue thread locker for added security. Now everything is ready to go back together!

Bolting the shock absorbers to their brackets.

Now it was time to start fitting the new springs... I started by fitting a new pair of front guide plates to replace the ones I had to grind off. These were bolted into place using thread locker to stop them from working loose over time. Then the new spring was positioned into the front bracket and the guide pin was slid through the bushes and bolted into place. I tightened up the bolt just enough to pull the head of the guide pin into the guide plate, full tightening will only happen once the suspension is under load.

Bolting in the new guide plate.

Spring fitted to front bracket.

With the front bracket now attached, I assembled the pins, bushes and shackle end-plates to the rear of the spring. I then lifted it up and attached it to the rear spring mount, tightening everything up lightly.

Finally, I lowered the axle down onto the centre of the spring and connected everything together using a new set of U-bolts. The bump-stop went on top of the axle with the U-bolts sliding over the top and down through the guide plates and finally through the shock absorber bracket. Everything was then tightened up snugly.

Tightening the swinging shackle.

Spring and shock absorber fitted.

After realising the poor state my old shock absorber drop-links were in I ordered a new set which arrived the next day. They were quite inexpensive so it made sense to renew both of them. After greasing up the top bushes, I pushed them onto the mounting pins and tightened them into place. Then I attached the lower taper-fit end into the shock absorber lever and tightened that down as well.

New shock absorber drop-links fitted and tightened up.

Everything was repeated on the other side of the car and if it drives as good as it looks then I'll be a happy man!

I jacked up the car again and repositioned the axle stands under the axle so that the springs were now carrying the weight of the car. Then I tightened up all the bolts properly.

One final little job to do before re-fitting the wheels. I noticed a bit of corrosion along the underside of the car and around the fuel tank so I spent about an hour, wire brushing and then painting all the trouble areas with underseal.

This black gunge should give a few years protection!

After all that I have aches in places I didn't even know I had but it's always satisfying to do a job well and not have to pay a garage. After a quick tidy around, my wheels were refitted and the car lowered down off the axle stands. As soon as the weather is nice then I'll take it for a long test drive!

Back on her wheels finally.