Front suspension re-assembly
Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 11:47 pm
Hi Folks
Have a long-ongoing Sprint resto project, mine is a 1988 on F plate.
Bought new front shock recently so obviously dismantled the front suspension. However getting it all aligned when putting it back together is proving a bit tricky. I know the spring pans are sided, but just can't seem to get it to sit correctly. From what I can work out, the end of the spring should sit at 90 degrees to the inside of the arm that the steering rods attach to. Equally the notches on the top suspension mounts should sit at 45 degrees pointing rearwards. A cherished advisor also told me that the shortest overhang of the bottom spring pan is the forward facing part. For the record - the Haynes manual is fucking useless on this count as it says the usual 'reassembly is the opposite of dismantling' .........
Last night I reattached the struts then tried to fit up the bottom arms but the alignment is miles out. Does the suspension strut and arms need to be put together as one then married to the body?
Anyway, there are a series of notches and cutouts in the various mounts that are self explanatory when putting things back together. However there is one notch on the top mounts that serves no purpose other than seemingly being an indicator.
Can anyone give any helpful hints/tips?
Have a long-ongoing Sprint resto project, mine is a 1988 on F plate.
Bought new front shock recently so obviously dismantled the front suspension. However getting it all aligned when putting it back together is proving a bit tricky. I know the spring pans are sided, but just can't seem to get it to sit correctly. From what I can work out, the end of the spring should sit at 90 degrees to the inside of the arm that the steering rods attach to. Equally the notches on the top suspension mounts should sit at 45 degrees pointing rearwards. A cherished advisor also told me that the shortest overhang of the bottom spring pan is the forward facing part. For the record - the Haynes manual is fucking useless on this count as it says the usual 'reassembly is the opposite of dismantling' .........

Anyway, there are a series of notches and cutouts in the various mounts that are self explanatory when putting things back together. However there is one notch on the top mounts that serves no purpose other than seemingly being an indicator.
Can anyone give any helpful hints/tips?