108's Suspension Overhaul

[stormduck]

Righto, my front sachs started leaking so i've removed them from the car, sent them off to BG to be stripped, they've sent them back to me to be blasted and coated then i'm sending them back for refitting. While that's being done i'm working on the rest of the susp.

Removed the arch liners and cleaned all the muck out of the arches, including a superb possible rust trap! I'll spray cavity wax in there before refitting the liner.

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Removed rear dampers and springs, arch liners and cleaned arches including the nice dirt trap in the lip of the arch.

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Removed calliper, discs, lower balljoint, arb end and then wishbone on both sides, and after this pic undone the pinch clamp from the gear lever and dropped the anti roll bar down and removed.

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More will be revealed tomorrow

 

[BenG]

Nice work. I wish I stripped down my dampers and got them powdercoated when they were being serviced, I just sprayed them but already they are showing signs of rust.

Last weekend I did what you did and removed the arch liners to expose 6 years of built up dirt, I removed what I could then sprayed some mild degreaser in there and used a paint brush to clean it up, then rinsed it out.

 

[stormduck]

Nice one, yeah without blasting, zinc coating and finishing the rust will just come back through. Keeping it clean will surfice, but as a daily driver and the fact i won't be taking the liners off often i'll use dinitrol cavity wax to keep the moisture from the metal.

As of yesterday morning:
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Went over the hub with a wire brush attachment on the drill, degreased with POR-15 Marine clean, followed by POR-15 Metal Ready:
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Same method with the rear arms:
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Once dried, two coats of POR-15 rust preventative paint, the top coat will be applied today and won't be so glossy. Tie rod ends are being replaced.
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Same method at the rear:
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And a clean shot of the arch:
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[Gazza]

So are you going to be replacing all the bushes with polyflex ones? With new ball joints and track rod ends? Really would be interested in how you get on with this as I am considering doing this myself or taking it to mark fish for him to do. Are there any bushes on the rear of the car that need replacing?

 

[liam1610]

Yer there is rear axle bushes, there rather big and rarely go unless with age they perish and split, Pure Motorsport do a nice conversion kit to bearings but not sure how it would hold up on road use its more for track use.

As for track rod ends i would save the money there £30 each side from memory and unless there is movement or the boot is split or there noisy there isn't much point in changing. Lower ball joints and top mounts on the other hand are a worth while cause if they have not been done already.

 

[stormduck]

Well powerflex do an anti-roll bar set which gives you the two ends where they meet the wishbone, and the two centre ones. The two centre ones i've removed the two large supports that run from subframe to floorpan that are like a funny shaped rectangle 12" x 8" ish, to gain better access. Only 4 torx bolts to get them off. Haven't refitted yet but the ends just push on, and the centres have a clamp...might be tight and fiddly but i'm sure patience will prosper!

And they do a lower wisbone kit, which are the bushes that are pressed into the wishbone and are positioned where the wishbone meets the subframe, 2 each side of car, and allow the wishbone to move vertically on a pivot point. A few people on here say to get the metal sleeves that come with the bushes tack welded into place to stop them moving, so i've taken them to a mechanic to have the old pressed out and the new sleeves tacked in. He's a decent fella but hasn't tried this before on a customer's car and was a bit hesitant...hopefuly he won't stripe me up with the bill. I'll take pics and put them on here for all to see when i get them back.

I'm replacing the ball joints for good measure, being 6 years old, and the track rod ends have cracked and split boots.

 

[liam1610]

Tack welding will be fine we have to do this at my workplace when fitting Ferrari 308 upper and lower arm bushes, takes 5 seconds to do. Let us know how you get on once all is done, i know powerflex bushes are rather noisy after a few months especially if your using them for road use and not track. Iv also known them to expand and creak however these were used for road use yet again.

 

[stormduck]

Tack welding will be fine we have to do this at my workplace when fitting Ferrari 308 upper and lower arm bushes, takes 5 seconds to do.

He was worried about locating them properly, but tbh the bush dictactes where the sleeve fits as it sits against a vertical piece of the wishbone, so once we'd chatted about it he was okay with it. Fingers crossed!

Let us know how you get on once all is done, i know powerflex bushes are rather noisy after a few months especially if your using them for road use and not track. Iv also known them to expand and creak however these were used for road use yet again.

I fitted them on my old fiesta and done quite a lot of miles on the road with them without a problem, so i wasn't hesitant about buying them. Time will tell!