Trunnions and Vertical Link

[rayjackson1950]

My offside vertical link sheared off, luckily only at 20mph, so no other damage.

Has anyone replaced these themselves and if so has anyone got any tips on how to do this? Or even instructions on how to carry this out.

If none of the above, does anyone know what car they came from so I could get a Haynes Manual, hopefully. Someone has said they are from a Spitfire, hopefully, the car and not the plane.

Any info at all would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Tazio]

Ray,

You can get all the bits you need from Redline Components ( sales@relinecomponents.co.uk), and yes you are correct they are Triumph Spitfire bits.

Replacement is straightforwards, 

Remove caliper, tie wrap it out of the way, remove the wheel bearing cap , and the outer bearings, slide the hub and brake disc assembly off the stub axle. Undo and remove the steering track rod end from the steering arm. Unbolt the trunnion from the bottowm wishbone, undo the top link from the top of the vertical link, remove the link. You are left with the vertical link and the stub axle, which you'll need to separate, you may need to take it to your friendly garaga to press it out.  Assembly is the reverse.

Forgot to add, if you need the appropriate Assembly Manual, find Jonathan Kay on here, he can email you a copy of the one for your car.

Alan

[Jonathan Kay]

; - )

Jonathan

[ACFowles]

Yes, easy to replace.

Back in the day my brother and I used to regard them as consumable items :-)

[orangepeel61]

Rimmer bros is another source for parts:

https://rimmerbros.com/Category--Triumph-Car-Parts--m-602?sitelink=triumphcarparts&gclid=Cj0KCQiAqbyNBhC2ARIsALDwAsCff1Yq44LkWd2lAESZnnTHqyPJEz79PKGUoNJODVnbH4dRngBYhawaApJaEALw_wcB

[Englishmaninwales]

Trunnions must be regularly serviced otherwise they will fail. Servicing entails oiling (EP90) or greasing (automotive grease) the trunnion via an installed nipple.

The choice of oil or grease....well, that's up to you. There are volumes written on the pro/cons of either, and I'm not starting that one here! 
Malcolm

[eric]

Even with maintenance one day they fail .  Mine failed and I decide to have the no trunnions kit from Caterham .

A security update as a new De Dion Tube if your car is becoming old . 

My advise if you decide to keep the trunnions use 13" ou 14" tyres but not sticky ones .

 

Since 1 year now, I have a new Caterham , built in 1998 - 1999  there is no more trunnion but for security I have change the De Dion Tube . Better steel now .

 

[rayjackson1950]

Thanks for the info guys.

I have all the parts form Redline and didn't realise this was in the manual. Just need to get some DIY done, there's a lot of it, then look at repairs to the car.

[Nigel Riches]

When you get the new uprights and trunnions it's worth sealing the lower part of the trunnion, so the OIL not grease doesn't leak out.

Old fashion EP80 or 90 keeps them happy for longer.  No more failing the annual test with too much play in the trunnions.

 

[Terry Field]

My trunnions were still going strong after 55k miles when I sold the car. As Nigel says, fill them with EP80 or 90 once a year before the MoT and all should be well. I used to do 5k miles a year.

I actually used to enjoy stripping down the trunnion and felt seals  - it was quite comforting to look closely at all the gubbings and know that it was all working well.