[Shotimes] Broken front spring

Ian Fisher ianf@eden.rutgers.edu
Wed, 8 Jan 2003 00:34:22 -0500


1. Remove wheel
2.. Unbolt tie rod end from steering knuckle. 18 or 19mm depending on
brand of tie rod end. Remove cotter pin from crown nut first. I
recommend using a tie rod end removal tool (fork or clamp deal, about $8
from a parts store)
3. 18 or 19mm (it is metric) combo wrench (box or open) or gear wrench
on the endlink nut. Use an 8mm closed end wrench or vise grips to keep
the stud from turning. Tip: place wrench on stud and turn sway bar end
link nut so that the tool you used on the stud contacts the spring perch
on the strut and can't move. It might take a hammer to remove the wrench
if it gets jammed against the perch though.
4. Use a large prybar and push down on the lower control arm. Position
the bar between the bottom of the subframe and the top of the lower
control arm. Best location is from behind the steering knuckle.
5. Strut should pop free from the knuckle. Otherwise, hammer down on the
and spray penetrant down into the knuckle, along the strut.
6. Unbolt the top 3 strut nuts, 12 or 13mm's.

Reverse order using loctite and new nuts/bolts where applicable. I can
remove a strut in about 15 minutes, 20 if the car is started on the
ground. It might take you about 40 minutes if its your first time.

FWIW, I am thinking of getting a Triumph TR3B. Still looking for good
information on them..

Lemme know if you need more info.

Ian

-----Original Message-----
From: shotimes-admin@autox.team.net
[mailto:shotimes-admin@autox.team.net] On Behalf Of Malcolm Walker
Sent: Tuesday, January 07, 2003 7:53 PM
To: shotimes@autox.team.net
Subject: [Shotimes] Broken front spring


Hi all, I am a vagrant member of the Triumphs mailing list, here on
team.net...

Friend of mine has a Taurus (sadly, not an SHO) that recently decided to
break the right front spring.  Luckily, while sitting in the driveway.
Looks like the recall for the '93 front springs should have been
extended to '94 too :(

I've looked over what I can find, and the Haynes book, but I still have
some (hopefully easy) questions that I want to address before putting
wrench to nut.

First, what size is the retaining nut for the sway bar mount (on the
strut) ?  18mm?  23/32?  None of the wrenches I had seemed to fit very
well, but I'm not sure if rust on the nut has expanded it. (Maybe I'm
too used to working on English iron)

Second, the Haynes book instructs me to remove the steering knuckle.
They make it sound easy.  But reading George Fourchy's site leads me to
think that I can leave the knuckle alone on the front and just pull the
strut out vertically.  Is this true?  Do I need to compress the spring?
I really don't want to remove the axles to drop the strut / spring out.

The broken spring has 'knotted' itself slightly, and I'm hesitant to
stick anything in there to get it apart - anyone know the length of an
unsprung Taurus spring, so I can figure out how much the broken spring
wants to extend before going further?  (it's the 3.8L motor, GL trim, if
that makes a difference)

I'm going to be attacking the monster on the weekend, so there's plenty
of time to catch me before I do something dumb ;).  We are going to rent
a spring compressor, instead of risking it by buying a cheapie one, and
replace the springs but not the struts.

Thanks in advance,
-Malcolm
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