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MG MGB Technical Leaf Springs removal BBS discussion at MG-Cars.info
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MG MGB Technical - Leaf Springs removal
| Hi All, I'm trying to get the old leaf springs off my '71B. So far I've managed to sheer of the lower bolt of the rear shackle plate (no problem I can get another one) but, the rubber bushing at the front end seems to have welded itself to the bolt and it is stopping the bolt from sliding out. I have removed the centre plate so the only thing that is holding the spring in place is the front bolt. It is so well sealed that if I try to turn it it's actually lifting the other end of the spring off the ground. Anybody got any ideas? Thanks Ken |
| Ken Martin |
| Ken. I have been through this several times. The most recent last week. You have to cut the bolt free. I use a pneumatic cut-off tool and cut through the rubber bushing and the bolt itself, on both sides. If you are careful, you will damage neither the spring, nor the spring hanger. When the spring is removed, heat the remains of the bolt with a propane, or hotter, torch and drive the inner steel portion and the rubber portion out of the spring eye. This leaves the outer portion of the bushing, a steel bushing, which needs to be driven out of the spring eye. This is best done using a hydraulic press and a piloted bushing driver made up for this purpose. Just did this earlier this week. Flap sand the eyes of the spring to make it easier to insert the new bushings. With the front, a hydraulic press is recommended. All Great Fun, and a part of enjoying the old British cars. Les |
| Les Bengtson |
| Ok thanks Les. I'm actually installing new springs so I'm not too concerned about damaging the old one - the spring hanger would be a different matter altogether. So are you saying I should cut through the bolt between the hanger and the spring on both sides. I don't have a cut off tool, but I guess a hacksaw will do. Thanks again, Ken |
| Ken Martin |
| Ken. If you are not worried about damaging the old springs, use one of those holders which hold a hacksaw blade and leave about one third of it, unsupported, projecting from the handle. Cut the bolt on either side of the spring and remove the spring and the ends of the bolt. I did this, one time, myself. That is why I, now, own a pneumatic cut off wheel. Les |
| Les Bengtson |
| Ken, Les, One of those thin cutoff wheels in an angle grinder is also a very useful tool. David |
| David Overington |
| I used a padsaw, took about an hour! |
| Stan Best |
| Hi guys, That's what I sort of had in mind Les, but I can see it would be a long and tedius job. I was thinking aboutDavid's idea with the angle grinder idea last night. If I can find a blade that's thin enough it would certainly save time........and probably an aching back and a few curses. Stan, I used to live in Aston Clinton, Bucks. Fond memories. Thanks guys, I'll get them off somehow. |
| Ken Martin |
| Hi Ken - home again Trying to make your B ride as smoothly as a TR6? Talk soon. Barry 75 TR6 |
| B.J. Quartermaine |
| Hi Barry, Welcome home........to the snow, the ice and the bad roads. Just getting the old lady ready for the season.......and the run down south. Is your TR6 up to it? See you soon Ken |
| Ken Martin |
| Ken, I'm sure your local hardware store will have the thin wheels - they are about the thickness of a hacksaw blade and go through sheet metal like a hot knife through butter. A half-inch bolt will take about a minute. David |
| David Overington |
| I think Ken is just bored being stuck inside with this cold, snowy icy crappy %$%@ weather. Hopefully it won't be long now. I'm glad your keeping the B Ken 70 B |
| Ken Harris |
| We've just had a visitor return to Ontario after a couple of weeks here in +30 degrees C. Must have been a bit of a shock arriving home! David |
| David Overington |
| Hi Guys.....and Ken, The weather is supposed to get above freezing by the end of the week. Then we get rain, which turns all that beautifull white stuff in to dirty grey slush stuff - wonderfull! But have faith one and all, spring will arrive. In the meantime I'm going back down to North and South Carolina where the weather is mild and the roads are smooth. Ok so the first spring is off after cutting with a 4½ cut off blade. When the old and the new springs are placed alongside there is a definate increase in radius between the new and old, as you would expect. So, that brings up the next question. How to get the new one back on. If the radius is tighter, then the ends are going to be higher and closer together when it is fitted back on the centre plate. So how do I align the ends with the shackle plate bolts and the pin bolt at the other end? I imagine I have to spread the spring somehow, but how? Incidently I'm going to replace the 'U' bolts as well. They look alright but I might as well, you never know. Ken |
| Ken Martin |
| With the body supported on axle stands ( which it will have to be to remove the springs in the first place) use another jack under the centre of the spring and raise it, compressing it, and the rear eye will slide along the chassis rail (the front eye is already bolted to the front mount by this time). When it gets to the right position you will be able to slide the shackle into the holes in the chassis rail and the spring, and this should happen long before the body starts lifting of its supports. Further compression of the spring on chrome bumper cars should then cause the rear eye to start swinging downwards as well as backwards, till it is taking the full weight of the car, by which time it should be nearly vertical, but before you get this far fit the new check-straps. On rubber bumper cars, because the hole for the chassis rail part of the shackle is lower than on chrome bumper cars, you may have to lever the spring eye downwards with a large screwdriver or some-such to start its downwards movement or it may just wedge up against the chassis rail which will give a very high ride-height and no springing! Note that most replacement springs these days seem to be way too hard/arched and I've heard of people having to get a couple of heavyweight friends sitting in the boot before they could compress the springs enough to get the check-straps fitted. This is completely wrong and the springs should be rejected. Unless you are going to ride around with those two friends sitting in the boot all the time you are likely to have very high suspension, the check-strap under tension all the time, and again little or no suspension (depending on your own weight, of course). |
| Paul Hunt 2 |
| Hi Paul, thanks for the help. Logical when you think about it I suppose, but better when advice given. The new springs are 1" higher at the center than the old when the are both inverted and sitting on the floor. I know the old springs were soft, so hopefully the new ones should be ok - fingers crossed. They were bought from a recognised MG parts distributor so hoefully they should be ok. Thanks again Ken |
| Ken Martin |
| Well I can catagorically state that it is a bitch of the first order - but I have the drivers side spring on. Whether it will all fly apart when I release the pressure on the jack is another matter altogether - stay tuned. Ken |
| Ken Martin |
| Ken, I used two jacks for safety as I was worried about stuff springing apart. I used one just in front of the mid point and one just to the rear of the middle, and jacked them up a little each at a time. Once the rear shackle was located I was then able to fit the U bolts etc as the middle of the spring was not blocked by a jack! However, I was simply refitting my old springs with new bushes. I didn't want to risk new springs after reading about the problems as there was nothing wrong with my actual springs, just the bushes etc. Hope you got it finished OK! Cheers Iain PS More details on mine and pics at http://www.mgbclub.com/cgi-bin/mb_blog.pl?uid=2&bno=1 entries at 20th of Jan roughly. |
| I D Cameron |
| Hi Ian, I think the main problem was the mistake of positioning the jack at right angles to the spring, which you would tend to do automatically. However, as the arm lifts the spring it also moves in an arc, therefore twisting the spring which makes it a devil of a job to get the shacklem pins through and misalignes the holes for the 'U' bolts. After about 5 tries the penny dropped and I placed the jack in line with the springs at the back and it worked a lot better. Took about 3 hours to install, but the outher side should be easier......maybe. Now if only I could find that 'U' bolt nut that rolled under the car......... Ken |
| Ken Martin |
| Glad to hear you got at least one side done Ken. Sounds like you've discovered the "dimensional instability" that exsists under almost any item you're working on. Dropped fasteners and sockets sometimes dissappear completely only to pop back into our space/time continuium when ever they choose. That nut will be there on the shop floor someday, and certainly right in a spot where you're sure you searched before. |
| Bill Young |
| Hi Bill, Yeh, probably disappeared down one of them 'black holes' that keep appearing in the garage floor LOL Ken |
| Ken Martin |
| When I did this I fitted the front eye bolts and then the axle to the springs then I jacked under the diff. It all went together pretty easily and they were new springs. It was long time ago and I had none of the spring probs others have reported so it seems that with decent springs this is an easy job. (Chrome bumper car) |
| Stan Best |
| I have the same experience as Stan. Changed springs on my ´63 five years ago, and was lucky to get a pair of NOS Unipart springs. Front eye bolt first, then the rear shackle with the axle loose on the spring, and then the U-bolts, check-strap and shock absorber. No violence, no swearing, no trouble. Tore |
| Tore |
| Well, I did the front eye bolt first, then jacked up the centre to allow the rear of the spring to slide to the point where the shackle bolts could be inserted, as per Pauls description. But maybe you were both using bottle jacks which compressed the spring vertically. I was using an hydraulic lift with an arm working from the side. So as the arm lifted and compressed the spring, it twisted it to the outside, which meant I was lying at the back of the car trying to keep the spring straight with my hands, while pumping the jack handle with one foot. Not a pretty sight! Once I moved the jack in line with the spring there was no twist and it was fairly easy. Now that I've figured that out, the other side should be easier. I fitted all new nuts on the centre plate today and released the pressure on the jack and everything lined up very nicely...and I gave a sigh of relief. Cheers Ken |
| Ken Martin |
| you can rent or buy a saws-all or sabre saw,and use a fine steel cutting blade for a fast cut. also works good on bumper bolts and exaust pipes, anything that gets rusted on... |
| J. Rozee |
| Hi guys Just to close off, both new springs are now on, the second being relatively easy as I had learned the sequence on the first one. She's not on her feet yet, as I still have some bits and pieces to check underneath, but everything looks about right. In fact it almost looks like I knew what I was doing......almost. Thanks for all the info and moral support. Spring is on its way! Cheers Ken |
| Ken Martin |
This thread was discussed between 03/03/2007 and 16/03/2007
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