My 2 cents:
If you're taking the front end apart, do a full rebuild. Kingpins,
swivel bushings (pressed in and reamed by a machine shop), the whole 9
yards. Moss and others have a major suspension kit, and Lindsay
Porter's book (forget what it's now called) does a good job of
explaining. This stuff does wear, and if you're tearing it all down
anyway... it's worth doing right.
V8 bushes are great. Much sturdier than the stock rubber bushings.
But, one caveat. Put anti-sieze -- a lot of it -- between the metal
part of the bushing and the pivot. If you don't, it will rust solid.
The next time you want to take it apart, it will take hours of work,
lots of heat, and make you unhappy. A bit of anti-sieze, and it's no
problem to remove in 10 years/100k miles to re-rebuild.
They will press in fine with a vise. I used a long bolt and some
washers to press them in the last time around... not a big deal.
By "sway bar links", you mean the vertical bits that go from the lower
wishbone to the end of the sway bar? I would, again, replace them if
you're tearing it all down. Not necessary, but the rubber inside the
lower end can degrade -- you end up with a little slop in the
suspension, and a nut that is a major pain to remove.
Matt
On Jun 2, 2005, at 9:15 AM, Marc Siegel wrote:
> Good Morning -
>
> Finally getting around to replacing the bushings in the front end of
> my '80 mgb. Should I figure on replacing the seals, washers, etc on
> the lower trunnions? Looks like Moss has a lower trunnion kit with all
> the parts. I haven't done this in a few years, can't remember if I
> need to disassemble that stuff to change the bushings... I think it's
> all gotta come apart, don't really see how else you could do it...
>
> Looks like the later B's used more mounting pads on the crossmember -
> can anyone confirm exactly whats required?
>
> I'm planning on using the V8 bushes - do they need to be pressed in?
> If so, will a large bench vise suffice?
>
> What is the collective wisdom on replacing the (25 year old) sway bar
> links while it's all apart? Last time I replaced the bushes in a sway
> bar, it was horrible! I had to grind them out with a dremel tool...
> took quite a lot of effort!
>
> Hoping to order parts today to have them in time for the weekend! It's
> been a long time since I've had much opportunity to spend time in the
> garage!
>
> Thanks for any advice
>
> -Marc
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