guilleracing Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 I recently took the lower wishbones off my series 3 to have them re powder coated. They were the devils own job to get off! They are nice and shiney now! But, and here's the problem How to get them back on. The side skin is preventing me putting them back on. What am I doing wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Plato Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 one bolt outside in front of chassis one bolt from inside engine bay ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guilleracing Posted September 4, 2011 Author Share Posted September 4, 2011 On my chassis the front "bolt" is a spigot fixed to the chassis. It doesn't appear to come off! There is a 5/16th bolt that fixes into this and retains the rubber bush in the wishbone. You have to physically bend the wishbone and deform the front rubber bush to get it in! I can't believe this is how the wishbone is fitted. If it is, this is truly the worst piece of "Design" I have ever seen! Greg. Irrespective of how many Caterham sevens have been sold, this is poor design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezky Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 My chassis is the same ☹️ Brute force required but try not to pull it off the axle stands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Nick Chan Posted September 4, 2011 Area Representative Share Posted September 4, 2011 This is the live axle set up which is also used on the early de dion cars when both had trunnions. Its been a long time since I built a live axle car with this setup (I rebuilt a live axle car this year but converted it to widetrack and the later de dion arrangement so that's no help!) and I think there is just enough "stretch" in the leg when you are pulling away from the front bush and to the rear of the car. Plenty of masking tape around the sideskin is the answer - plus have someone steady the chassis as you pull backwards.... Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guilleracing Posted September 5, 2011 Author Share Posted September 5, 2011 Right! I am going to put this together like this for now but when I get a moment to spare, I am going to make a drilling jig and turn the spigot bobbins in the bottom into simple drilled holes through the chassis so I can just use a bolt! Whoever came up with this idea should be shot! Then Shot again! Greg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eugene Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 My old chassis was also like this - I got rather good at taking off and putting on the lower wishbones 😬 If you do convert just make sure the new mount is really parallel, and sleeve any hole you drill to spread the loads correctly. Look at a newer chassis for help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klunk Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Hi Greg, I had this problem and found the following method meant I could get it on fairly easily. I'm assuming you have the split front tapered bushes. Put one half of the bush on the spigot. Then put that end of the wishbone on first with no bush in it. You should find you can get enough angle on it to clear the bodywork and let the rear part of the wishbone move into position. After that put the second part of the tapered bush on place and bolt everything up. Hope that helps. Regards, Giles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guilleracing Posted September 5, 2011 Author Share Posted September 5, 2011 Thanks for the advice Eugene. I was planning on taking some careful measurements and machining up a jig in the CNC mill. Then clamping a drill onto the frame to make sure everything is parallel. Thanks Giles, I think that method of fitting the wishbones will do the trick nicely! Cheers, Greg. Edited by - guilleracing on 5 Sep 2011 10:38:43 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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