Another Suspension Refresh

[TheRon]

SJS give you the worst case for postage on the website. When you click 'Buy' it sends a quotation request to them and then they come back to you to confirm delivery cost and delivery time (if they have the parts in stock or not) and a link to a page where you pay if you want to place the order.

[Elise+Imp]

are they normal hexagon head? if so here you go, spend another £6.02 and you get free delivery!,

 

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Screws+Fixings/Bolts+Set+Screws/High+Tensile+Set+Screw+M10+x+30/d90/sd970/p26426

 

they have a branch in lincoln if you're in a hurry, not sure how many boxes but the web-site say's they have them in stock.

[kayj_prod]

Thanks all. I managed to get some locally in the end after a bit more looking.

I've been at the car again today, but have been stumped by my old TREs. (I hadn't worried about them earlier, thinking I would take them off as I was ready to put the new ones on.) Despite a good soaking with with the penetrating stuff, I can't get them to shift. I'm not too worried as, once I can get it back together, I'm sure my local garage will get them off for me in no time... but any tips for me?

 

Another question about A130 and Duralac. I know why I need to coat aluminium/steel mating faces with Duralac, but what happens to the steel bolt going into aluminium. Does the A130 act as a sufficient barrier between the dissimilar metals too?

[TheRon]

One of my TRE's was stuck solid even though the lock nut undid without bother. A combination of a bit of heat from a blow torch on the TRE and a pipe stilson around the flats on the steering arm and it loosened and then came off easily.

[kayj_prod]

I didn't know that was the proper name for that tool- just had to Google it to see what you meant!

I'll have another go at them this afternoon, but the only heat I'm packing is my hot air gun and my portable gas stove...

Like you, my locking nuts moved on both near and off sides. I have what appears to me to be two locking nuts on each arm though... there is the TRE, then a 'normal' depth nut, say 10mm, then another nut which is about 5mm depth. It is the shallower nut which I have managed to wind back.

[Martin R]

A130 is a mild locking compound normally used in pipework IIRC. It also seems to prevent corrosion between metals. Thats what they recommend and what i use and it seems to work ok.

[TheRon]

Ah OK, the S2 only has 1 lock nut.

 

You'll have to undo both lock nuts before you'll be able to remove the TRE. You'll only need to use the stilson if the TRE is stuck once both lock nuts are removed. When undoing the lock nuts, hold the flats on the TRE with an adjustable spanner and have a normal spanner on the lock nut.

 

I didn't know that was the proper name for that tool- just had to Google it to see what you meant!

I'll have another go at them this afternoon, but the only heat I'm packing is my hot air gun and my portable gas stove...

Like you, my locking nuts moved on both near and off sides. I have what appears to me to be two locking nuts on each arm though... there is the TRE, then a 'normal' depth nut, say 10mm, then another nut which is about 5mm depth. It is the shallower nut which I have managed to wind back.

[kayj_prod]

Well I got the TREs off eventually. More penetrating fluid before lunch and improved post-lunch technique did it.

I have my wishbones in place and bolted -though not torqued- up. The washers were an absolute pain, especially that last little one for the top wishbone!

I'm going to see if the Plumb Center has any A130 tomorrow, (there seems to be a new replacement version according to the Permabond website; A1042 IIRC). It is the last place I have to try locally.

[Phil S1]

I finally got round to checking my geo today so I thought I'd post a few more photos of how I go about it.

First off I jack the car up, one side at a time and check each wheel for runout with a dti. I then put a dot of paint on the tyre at 2 diametrically opposite points. These points need be as near to the average dti reading as possible:-

 

Once I've done this for all four wheels I make sure all the dots are aligned vertically before lowering the jack, ready for the camber measurements.

I then ballast the car to the standard 150Kg:-

 

I then measure the camber at each wheel in turn using a horizontal (old aerial) tube from which I hang a plumb line:-

 

You measure from the plumb line to the wheel rim at the top and bottom and then, using a bit of trigonometry, determine the camber angle, a bit longwinded so I've created a spreadsheet that works this all out for me. All I need do is take the readings and punch them in the laptop

 

Fortunately for me, my recent suspension refresh had very little effect on my camber settings so I didn't need to make any adjustments on that front.

Measuring the alignment is the more time consuming part of the job. I now have a full aluminium box section jig that I fit around the car:-

 

The jig itself weighs a bit so I have to take a few blocks out to compensate

Basically, what you are trying to achieve is a perfectly square rectangle around the car where the two side rails are parallel to each other and also parallel to the centreline of the car. (This is pretty much as described in the Lotus service manual). To get the side rails parallel to the centreline I measure from the side rails to the wheel centres and keep tweeking the box until the readings are equal side to side:-

 

I then roll the car forwards by quarter of a wheel rotation to bring the paint dots onto the horizontal axis, in line with the side rails. Then I take readings at the front and rear of each wheel and punch them in the laptop again. My alignment readings were slightly out so it was then a case of adjusting the TRE's and tie rods until it was all back within limits.

Quite short that last sentence.....but in reality that's the most time consuming part of the job

Well that's me ready for the next trackday anyway

 

PS

Well done Keith, sounds like you're well on the way with yours now too!

[Martin R]

Phil, just out of interest can i ask what settings you use for toe etc ?

[Phil S1]

Phil, just out of interest can i ask what settings you use for toe etc ?

 

Pretty much standard Martin, so around 0.30mm overall toe-out on the front and 1.50mm toe-in per side on the rear.

I'm running just under 2 degrees of rear camber (std) but 0.7 degrees on the front which seems to give it a bit better turn in.

[Bob vanM]

Phill,

well done this job, makes me feel guilty about the state of my own car

 

the alignment job you did looks well organised and the tool you use looks very good.

 

I have done the same thinking about how to make the alignment job easyer (less time consuming setting up and easy to take away and put back for adjustment).

we came up with this :

http://bobvanm.brinkster.net/corbo.htm

 

same principle as you but as I said easyer to set up and use.

specially if you want to adjust the tracking after / before a trackday this can save a lot of time

 

I am more often on Seloc than on here so U2U me there if you have questions

[Phil S1]

Hi Bob,

Thanks for the comments.

I also frequent seloc from time to time so have seen your corbo tool on there. It looks a clever and well made piece of kit and as you say, yours does look considerably more portable than mine so looks ideal for use on trackdays or race meetings as well as at home.

[Martin R]

Phil, excellent job as always. Ive just started taking mine apart after removing the front clam. There was a bit of play in the ARB.

 

Mine has the motorsport ARB with the 5 adjusting holes. One of the nylon ARB bushes is cracked. £43 for a couple of blocks of nylon Also one of the drop links is completely shot. Ive a feeling this is going to get expensive.

[Elise+Imp]

Martin, you could buy some nylon and copy them, how complicated are they - you got a picture of them?, if you were closer i'd offer to make them for you provided you're not needing them like yesterday.