[BOUNCE mgs@Autox.Team.Net: Non-member submission from [Felix Wong
<felixksw@leland.Stanford.EDU>]]
Date: Sat, 12 Apr 1997 21:01:02 -0700 (PDT)
From: Felix Wong <felixksw@leland.Stanford.EDU>
Subject: Re: A -Arm Bushings
> >>It seems that the A arm bushings are about gone. Has anyone replaced
> >>them lately?
A few of months ago I replaced the bushings, springs, and a couple
of A-arms, so I might be able to help! (My biannual contribution
to the list :-)
> >I'm not sure if these need to be pressed in, but if they do I would
> >suggest taking them to a machine shop to be pressed in, as it's too
The rubber and polyurethane bushings slide into the A-arms very easily.
Supposedly, however, the BGT V8 bushings are a little trickier. Moss
suggests using 2 washers, a nut and bolt, and an appropriate size
3/8 socket to press these in or out.
> >> I am
> >> considering:(a) poly urethane (b) steel/rubber (MGB/GT OEM replacements
>from
> >> VB) or (C) Nylatron. Anyone have a preference for any of the above?
Goldie (my '69 B) had the stock rubber bushings until I replaced them
with polyurethane ones. There seems to be slightly more road feel in
the steering wheel with the polyurethane ones, though the difference is
subtle and might be partially psychology (because Moss said there would
be more road feel!) I think their main benefit, however, is that they
wear much slower than the rubber ones.
> >> replace the bushings on one side of the coil spring without removing the
> >> spring if I support the spring pan with a floor jack or wooden block?
It is possible to do this but might be difficult depending on which
A-arm you are removing (e.g., the A-arm requiring you to remove the bolt
going through the A-arms and steering upright [I forget the proper term!]
would be more difficult than the other one that doesn't). Since
you will need to remove all of the A-arms to replace all of the bushings,
you might as well remove the spring first, however. This would be
the safer and more straightforward procedure.
> >>Would
> >> this be a good time to lower my suspension?
Definitely, if you plan on doing so! (I briefly considered it but
then I remembered that chrome-bumpered B's have enough trouble
clearing speedbumps already!)
> >>What parts are likely to be
> >> seized and require a torch or brute force to remove?
The bolt going through the A-arms and steering upright (sorry I forgot
the proper term!) is notorious for seizing. In fact, with Goldie it
seized and ovalized the holes in the lower left A-arms (which is why
I rebuilt the suspension in the first place). This makes removal
of the A-arms much more difficult.
What I ultimately did was 1) support the pan & spring with a floor jack,
2) remove the bolts and sway-bar from the pan and A-arms, 3) slowly
let out the floor jack, allowing the pan and spring to fall to the floor,
4) remove the A-arm on the side of the nut that screws onto the seized
bolt, and 5) remove the A-arm, spacer, and bolt as one unit from
the steering upright (ugh!) The last step might require a mallet,
or better, a lead knock-off hammer :-)
Whatever you do, have patience and be careful around those springs!
-Felix
For those wondering how Goldie is doing, a couple of weeks ago she
successfully completed a 1600-mile trip to Death Valley/L.A./northern
California, requiring only one minor timing adjustment after 1000-miles
(requiring just 45 minutes in a parking lot!) On the other hand,
on the day I stopped by to visit my folks, my mom's $XX,000
Mercedes died on the highway and had to get towed. As my folks
are always teasing me about my "unreliable British car," I couldn't
help but point out that "LUCKY I wasn't driving a UNRELIABLE German
car to Death Valley, where there wasn't a SINGLE shop/phone/human being
around for about 70 miles!"
__________________________________________________________________
__ Felix Wong Palo Alto, California
|,\_O (415)528-9768
( )/ LL http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~felixksw/
( ) '69 B, '92 C'dale 3.0 R (stiff, light, and FAST)
Fw = mg "Safety fast!"
|