Marc:
You have to pull the outer trunnion bolt to be able to replace the inner
bushings. At the very least the rubber seals need to be replaced and if
it has been any time since the bolt was last pulled, just buy the
complete lower kit as you may need to drift the bolt out.
I disagree with the suggestion of replacing the king pins, as the inner
bushings and outer trunnion bolt should be replaced and/or cleaned more
often than the king pin needs to be replaced. With good lubrication,
the king pins should last over 100,000 miles. I'd only suggest
replacement if they have excessive clearance.
The front cross member pads are a bit weird. Chrome bumper cars use
four flat pads on the bottom and four upper pads with location lip.
According to the factory parts books the later cars use only 2 lipped
pads and 6 flat pads. Confusing and I've yet to figure out why, or even
if the change was real.
On V8 bushings
Lots of dishwashing liquid on the bushes and the vise will work. As
noted make sure you use antiseize on the shaft or the steel tube will
rust to the shaft and be a pain to remove in the future. Before fitting
the bushes check them on the suspension pivot shaft. You may need to
remove the pivot and clean the shafts as they tend to rust. The steel
tube in the center of the bushing should be just long enough to be
pinched solidly by the washer and nut. We have run across some of these
where the tube is too short and will not seize correctly, so the tube
can rotate on the shaft which is not how these work. Make sure the
washers seat all the way onto the tiny step on the shaft. Sometimes
these steps are flared from overtightening and the washer can't seat
properly. A little filing will fix this.
Check the sway bar pivot balls for play. They are not cheap, so I don't
recommend replacing them unless there is play. But I'm a cheapskate.
Also check the sway bar end of the link. I've had a couple fracture at
the saddle.
Hope this helps.
Kelvin Dodd
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-mgs@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-mgs@autox.team.net] On
Behalf
> Of Marc Siegel
> Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2005 6:15 AM
> To: mgs@autox.team.net
> Subject: Lower Trunnion needed when doing bushings?
>
> 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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