Thinking of 'refreshing' the rear suspension bits n' pieces...advice pls....

[GPBox]

Hi lovin' my new (to me) 2003 R400K this year...

for a winter project, looking to stip out the rear dedion,, A-frame etc..that all look a bit tatty underneath so could do with a stip and repaint (powercoat ?)..I'm pretty handy with my spanners, more interested in best practice steps:

Is there a good how to guide somewhere on here ? ..

ie should I just take out A-Frame, torsion bar, drop links and de-deon ..

can they just be wire brushed then 'Hammerited' or powercoated ?...whats the pros/cons.

wrt bushes, whats the best process for getting old out and new in ?

If I used new silicon bushes in the back end, do I have to change the front end too ?

- any recommendation on the best bushed to use for Road/Track-day use ?

all thoughts / ideas welcome

- PS I already have new Nitrons so the actual springs etc are perfect..

cheers Graham

[TomB]

I did this some years ago on my 1994 car.  The DD tube was looking rather grotty, with sheets of powder coat falling off.  

Have you a build manual?  To quote Mr Haynes, removal is the reverse of fitting! However there are a few short cuts. In no particular order: 

Removing the A frame is easy, but cover the chassis with padding as the DD tube will drop and lie on the chassis. 

The trailing arms are fairly easy, but you'll have the complication of a Watts Linkage which has additional attachment point at the rear.

Now the cheaty bit - you can unbolt the DD ear from the tube, leaving the ear, hub, brake disc & drive shaft as an assembly and suspend it in place with rope/ wire from above.  Repeat on both sides and you can just remove the DD tube from the side or side wards shuffle and down if your tight on space.  

The bushes can be pressed out with a good vice using a smaller socket to press the bush out and a larger socket to catch the bush. Now you can get it all blasted and powder coated and it will look good as new! An alternative to powder coating is nylon which is more resistant to chips etc.  

I just re-bushed with standard rubber bushes, Im not sure there is much benefit with Powerflex other than they last longer as the rubber doesn't degrade over time.   

 

[TomB]

PS - If it is bad enough to go to the effort of stripping and removing all the rear suspension, I wouldnt waste your time with wire brushing and painting, just get the bits blasted and re-coated. 

Whilst you're down there, don't forget the the fuel tank retaining strap and rear anti-roll bar and get those blasted/ coated.  You could change to flexi brake hoses if not done already and change your fuel filter.  

[SLR No.77]

... but start by removing the rear wings, it makes working on the the rear suspension so much easier!

Stu.

[Wrightpayne]

Certain years of dedion tube are prone to cracking and the shock mount peeling off. There is a long thread in the archives detailing failures. The uprated tubes have a thicker wall and a buttress on the shock mount.

I’d also check powdercoat on the chassis tubes and paint with POR15, after reading the warnings! It takes a long time to come off your skin.

Dinitrol any ally to chassis joins.

Replace the rigid brake lines with aeroquip - the caterham supplied ones are a bit short making the pipe run slightly tight. I posted a parts list a while ago to make your own. 

Ian

[GPBox]

thanks all, great food for thought...

[SPA]

I'm considering doing similiar.  I assume there is a different bush required between imperial and metric chassis?

And where would you recommend going for the bushes?

Ta

Steve

[SM25T]

Talk to Redline Components 01883 346515

[John Vine]

If you have Watts links, check the rod-ends (two each side) for slack/wear.  If any need replacing, these items from McGill Motorsport are much cheaper than the NMB ones (P/N 30R014A), and do the job perfectly well.  Note that they are slightly thinner so you might need to pack out the gap in the bellcrank with a washer.

JV 

[Ralph45]

Hi GPBox with regards to your question below referring to the paint.

for a winter project, looking to stip out the rear dedion,, A-frame etc..that all look a bit tatty underneath so could do with a stip and repaint (powercoat ?)..I'm pretty handy with my spanners, more interested in best practice steps:

I recently spoke to arch in the last three weeks asking about refurbing the rear chassis rails and a frame paint and they told me to use Simonize satin acrylic spray spray.

my car is in incredibly good condition (1998) chassis but had suffered the inevitable stone hits to the rear tubes so I decided to take it back across the chassis below the fuel tank,tank support angle parts (there's probably a correct name for these parts) the A frame and chassis running from rear of car to front A frame bushes.

I spent hours masking up because I'm so fussy really hating overspray and when it did come to spraying I did some very light mist coats to start and slowly built up the layers allowing each to dry as per instructions on the paint can and I can honestly tell you it looks factory finish.There are no visible joins between powder coat and paint and the finish is an absolute match to the OE one.

This is a subject I had researched regarding paint finish and manufacturers for well over a month as I could not bear the thought of it going wrong and with the reassurance of speaking to Arch gave me the confidence to go for it.

Im not a mechanic or work in a body shop by profession,My trade is with food and has been for over 40 years so give it a go,I'm so glad that I did and am just a little smug with my results.

I hope this helps you make you decisions and may help others thinking about what to use should they want to tackle their chassis.

 

[7 wonders of the world]

Here's a link to the paint Bruce use's

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-x-Simoniz-Large-Tough-Satin-Black-Aerosol-Car-Auto-Spray-Paint-500ml-SIMVHT51D/370978206919?epid=12017009093&hash=item56600634c7:g:fesAAOSwt6ZWWJDQ:rk:1:pf:0

 

[7 wonders of the world]

Rid the rear (and the front) suspension of any stock metalastic bushes and replace with Powerflex or spherical joints, if your running normal radius arms make a set of adjustable ones up.

[Paul Mason]

I have similarly this morning removed the trailing arms and a frame to get it powdercoated and new bushes. I wasn't going to remove the De Dion, rather just check and tidy it in place. I have however now realised (as I tend to start a job and work it out as I go) that there is a bush in the De Dion (I had assumed it would be in the points of the a frame). Can the De Dion bush be replaced in situ or does it need to come out (I am avoiding as I am very tight for space)

[7 wonders of the world]

DD bush can be removed in situ if you make up a simple puller, a length of M12 threaded rod with long coupling nuts, thick washers and 2 carefully chosen sockets - one to push and one to recieve.

 

[Paul Mason]

Ta, I'll sort that, and guessing the reverse for a new install?