After putting the car up on jack stands and removing the front wheels I got to work disassembling the suspension to see if there were any surprises. There were. Getting the anti-roll bar off was a challenge typical of crash damage, the bottom end of the damper is bent aft so much the bar would not swing down.
Upper bolts are 1/2 in., bottom two are 9/16. Bottom forward is long and takes a nut, the other three tap into the upright and take split washers. Note seal on inboard side of caliper mount.
Trunnion threads onto bottom of upright until just snug. Washers and bushings are a maze. Rubber boots missing from the ball joint and tie rod end. Not a trace.
Removing the ball joint is easy on the bench. I painted the caliper mount and the ball joint before deciding to order new ball joints.
Saturday was the usual three hour run.
I started out taking pictures of some parts to ensure the LH and RH versions do not get mixed up during painting.
The caliper mount is positioned with raised bosses and gasket inboard, felt seal outboard.
With the anti-roll bar finally off the car I could tell it was too bent to re-use as is. Could not find a way to get rubber bushings on and off. Just for fun I split open the damaged drop-link, its bushing was already split and unusable.
Looks like I'll need a new anti-roll bar, the bushings, and new front shocks. Might change the springs while I'm there, to lower the ride height.
1 comment:
General consensus on the Lotus Europa mailing list (lotuseuropa@yahoogroups.com) is that the bar can be straightened but not to use heat. The shop has a huge press, all I need are a couple guerrillas to hold it steady. Spring compressors are DIY ... I wonder what Spridget owners use?
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