Tricky Posted November 6, 2018 Report Share Posted November 6, 2018 Hi all. Been assembling my suspension units and eventually worked out how all the bushes and water shields go together on the rear units ! Problem now is that the rear wishbones duly assembled with bushes and water shields don’t remotely fit round the trunnion tubes on the vertical links. Any experience of this, and more important, any suggested solutions ?! Thanks a lot Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted November 6, 2018 Report Share Posted November 6, 2018 When you say they "don't remotely fit", how far out are they? As you mention wishbones I'm assuming this is a Rotoflex setup. When I rebuilt my GT6's rear suspension, many years back, I do remember one side being far too tight to force it in, although it would only have been half a mm or so. I got round that by carefully sanding back (well, OK, angle-grindering with a sanding disc) the bottom of the vertical link until it just fitted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky Posted November 6, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2018 6 minutes ago, NonMember said: When you say they "don't remotely fit", how far out are they? As you mention wishbones I'm assuming this is a Rotoflex setup. When I rebuilt my GT6's rear suspension, many years back, I do remember one side being far too tight to force it in, although it would only have been half a mm or so. I got round that by carefully sanding back (well, OK, angle-grindering with a sanding disc) the bottom of the vertical link until it just fitted. Thanks Rob. I suspect I may need to do that although I’ve since read elsewhere on here that maybe I don’t need all the water shields and seals with Superflex bushes........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted November 6, 2018 Report Share Posted November 6, 2018 The only reason for leaving out the shields and seals would be when the tubes the bushes run on are stainless so will not rust (the seals arent designed to protect the bolt which not being stainless should be covered with an anti-corrosion lubricant). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Posted November 8, 2018 Report Share Posted November 8, 2018 That’s right, no shields on poly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinR Posted November 8, 2018 Report Share Posted November 8, 2018 On 06/11/2018 at 22:09, johny said: The only reason for leaving out the shields and seals would be when the tubes the bushes run on are stainless so will not rust (the seals arent designed to protect the bolt which not being stainless should be covered with an anti-corrosion lubricant). The anti-corrosion lubricant will wash off quite quickly, then you will get water into the stainless steel bush which will be in close contact with the ordinary steel bolt, then you will get severe galvanic corrosion between the sleeve and the bolt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted November 8, 2018 Report Share Posted November 8, 2018 Gawd whats the answer then? Stainless bolt that might snap under load..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Flinn Posted November 9, 2018 Report Share Posted November 9, 2018 When I rebuilt the rear suspension on my Mk2 Vitesse I drilled and tapped for a Grease Nipple to the middle of the Vertical link part were the long bolt goes through. Every 6 months or so I would pump in EP90 Oil and give the long bolt a full turn to circulate the oil, this was to try and stop the usual long bolt seizure problem, it seemed to work? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted November 9, 2018 Report Share Posted November 9, 2018 a good idea but surely that would lubricate the stainless tube/bush not between the tube and bolt? Maybe the oil manged to flow round the end of the tube - did you use end seals? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Flinn Posted November 9, 2018 Report Share Posted November 9, 2018 I was more concerned about the long bolt seizing inside the vertical link tbh, a common fault on the Mk2 rear suspension. I didn't use any special seals, just the standard trunnion shields and rubber water seals. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinR Posted November 9, 2018 Report Share Posted November 9, 2018 I also put grease nipples on the lower wishbone and drilled a hole in the sleeve to get grease in between the bolt and sleeve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted November 9, 2018 Report Share Posted November 9, 2018 of course, yours is the rotaflex isnt it so different design. I think with the early design the only remedy is to take out the bolt every so often and re-lube it.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted November 9, 2018 Report Share Posted November 9, 2018 Or just leave it, then hacksaw it off in 10 years? No ideal answer. I have rotoflex, and decided on polybushes. May not have been ideal? But every now and again I loosed the bolt and shirt it about. So far so good. 5 years, but only about 15K. (all weathers though) Maybe I will take them right out over the winter. Time for all sorts to be attended to! (mainly the rear body where it got shunted in the summer) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky Posted November 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2018 Well I’ve got there eventually ! A couple of things really helped. First the extraordinary video skills of Richard Briscoe showing me how it goes together, and then the Paddocks trunnion kit with the hard bushes. I’ve also assembled everything with tons of grease and I have indeed ended up using the full water shield and dust seal kit so fingers crossed I should be fine. Interestingly, with the Paddocks kit, the wishbone slipped pretty easily on to the trunnion bolt “tunnel”. I need to speak to the guys at Superflex as the flanges on their bushes are too thick, making this assembly exercise impossible. I’m feeling reasonably confident about it all now, and the trunnion bolts are well lubricated. Meantime I also attach a picture of my new patented tool - a micro grease gun made from a vets horse syringe provided by my brother ! Did a really neat job of greasing the insides of the bushes etc. Thanks very much to you all for the helpful input as usual. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted November 12, 2018 Report Share Posted November 12, 2018 one small point coppa slip is an anti seize compound not really a lubricant or water repellent got some or those syringes for the cats and parrots , never thought of using, as a greaser the're good for other squirt jobs 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted November 12, 2018 Report Share Posted November 12, 2018 +1 for using a syringe to oil front trunnions (sometimes it helps to push in the little ball in the nipple first to ensure its not seized).... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky Posted November 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2018 5 hours ago, Pete Lewis said: one small point coppa slip is an anti seize compound not really a lubricant or water repellent got some or those syringes for the cats and parrots , never thought of using, as a greaser the're good for other squirt jobs Thanks Pete that’s helpful advice. What do you suggest ? I was going to ask separately what people use for the track rod ball joints inside the steering rack gaiters so your comments would be welcome on that too ! Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted November 12, 2018 Report Share Posted November 12, 2018 4 hours ago, johny said: +1 for using a syringe to oil front trunnions (sometimes it helps to push in the little ball in the nipple first to ensure its not seized).... Just take the nipple out completely, the oil will still fill the trunnion if the syringe nozzle is pushed into the threads sufficiently to stop oil coming back out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinR Posted November 12, 2018 Report Share Posted November 12, 2018 As a general purpose grease with very good water repellent properties, I use Molykote Longterm W2. Not the easiest to find, but very effective resisting washout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted November 13, 2018 Report Share Posted November 13, 2018 20 hours ago, Colin Lindsay said: Just take the nipple out completely, the oil will still fill the trunnion if the syringe nozzle is pushed into the threads sufficiently to stop oil coming back out. More work to take out the nipple than it is to check the ball is free! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted November 13, 2018 Report Share Posted November 13, 2018 1 hour ago, johny said: More work to take out the nipple than it is to check the ball is free! True, but much less pressure needed to get oil in without the nipple. The factory didn't fit nipples, they fitted plug screws, at least for some years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted November 13, 2018 Report Share Posted November 13, 2018 I find the oil goes in easily through the nipples with a large syringe but I do it with the weight off the wheels which maybe helps..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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