And i refered him to the service manual…following it gets the job done correctly…
Following the manual works if you already have some level of experience and understanding. Mr Geslak’s questions lead me to think he is very inexperienced when it comes to suspension work. I would rather talk someone out of doing something that is potentially dangerous rather than talk them through it. Or again, at least have someone present that can assist with the unloading of the spring process. And I’m responding to his comments on full suspension disassembly, btw, not just removing a shock.
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Over many years on this forum we have had numerous “newcommers” with little experiance…many have gone on to do full restorations and rebuilds…they come here to learn and pick the brains of the forum…reading this full thread the OP is not a novice…and with the correct advice and the service manual will in my opinion be up to tackle any job…weve advised that springs/torsion bars need extra care and i would expect the OP to reaserch…I was replying to you becaus of what you said in your previous post “Seems to me you are all speaking in shorthand when Mr Geslak needs a complete description of the process”. this didnt sound like you were talking him out of doing the job…the service manual has the full description that you advised
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This is only true if the car has been lifted and the suspension is in full droop. As I mentioned, if the car is STILL ON THE GROUND the shocks can be removed without a problem.
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Thank you for the kind words. I think my soul is a good one, and my life has been one of caring for others while engaging in the old car hobby. The hobby was a ‘release’ from dealing with other people’s problems on a daily basis. It was an escape from the pressure and tensions that come with trying to help others. I did a lot of tinkering and hands-on tasks with old cars that would represent a lifetime for some people. Dealing with old cars is not just a pleasurable passtime, but a real challenge for those who want to ‘bring them back’ to looking good and making them drivable once again. But, they can be a wonderful outlet for someone wishing to ‘switch gears’ in the life they have chosen. I want to wish you all the best in your project.
I agree the TB is not under load with the wheels off the ground. Should be neutral at that point
I don’t believe that to be correct. The shocks limit the free travel of the suspension. As a result with the car lifted and suspension at max droop (due to the limiting action of said shocks) the TB is still trying to force the suspension down, and therefore, the shocks are still under TB tension.
My view is that if the suspension is to be disassembled, AND the car is supported OFF the ground, I would remove the caliper, remove the hub assy, disconnect the steering tie rod ball joint, release tension of the TB, separate the stub axle top joint. That just leaves the upper and lower A arms together with the stub axle………YMMV
Hi All,
First I apologize that my questions have created a bit of a controversy on this forum.
Let me fill in some blanks:
- I retired from work about 18 months ago and now have the time to do something I have always wanted to do: restore cars, particularly from the 60’s (in truth, I started about 18 months before retiring)
- I certainly am not an expert mechanic nor an expert at restoring and rebuilding cars, but I have a reasonable/ base amount of knowledge that is growing all the time and I really love the work and the challenge
- I am not doing this to get into show cars, I want to drive them
- this is my second project, first was a 1967 Mercedes 250SL, which I still own and drive regularly
- I did a number of things with that car, and also had professionals do things I didn’t feel capable of doing and/or didn’t have the tools to do
- I am feeling more capable all the time, and also invested in a four post lift with two rolling jacks to make things easier
- I read everything I can find on the forums about whatever I am working on, and I read the manuals. I try things, make mistakes, and learn from them. I try not to ask the forum questions unless I am unsure of something, or worried that it could be a big problem that I could make worse (like the White Smoke where I was concerned about coolant getting into the engine via the head gasket). The collective knowledge of this group helped me solve that problem and identify a couple other issues
- I have done some minor suspension work, but this is the biggest suspension job I have undertaken and am trying to get some knowledge before I dive in. My questions were due to a concern that I could cause part of the suspension/axle to drop if I wasn’t careful (with the 250SL I did some suspension work but balked at doing the front springs when I saw the process for compressing them for removal!!)
I find this forum an incredibly valuable resource, I read each response carefully and I learned an awful lot from all the responses I received. I appreciate all the assistance and will try not to make any stupid mistakes!!
I hope all this makes sense.
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They shouldn’t, or they’d get broken pretty quickly.
If you jack the car up you can take the shock out. The suspension is under no tension.
Not at all. The whole point of the forum is for all of us to learn. I find out new stuff here all the time.
Making stupid mistakes is de rigeur :-). I do it all the time in the shed. It’s part of the fun.
Fun until you break a finger, I‘d loosen a bolt and if it’s not under tension the shock doesn’t hold the spring/TB.
What does hold it together if not the shock?
Ah but Ron ….wasn’t it fun to delude yourself!
Ok if that is the case does this mean that you are setting the car front height higher than usual?
Hi Andrew…I know that you are a very experianced E type mechanics and have worked on many…so im assuming there is some mis match in language here…UK, US, Aussie…if we talk about jacking the front of the car up…them im assuming were jacking the chassis/frame…so that both front wheels are on full drop…they are held by the full extension of the shocks…on a standard E type the full extension of the shocks is less than the torsion bar setting link…so on full drop there is still some tension in the torsion bars…the shock absorber should not be able to be be removed without first relieving this tension…jacking under the lower wishbone/hub does this…and you jack up until your holding enough of the tension for the shock to slip out…Steve
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This thread nay have some useful info info and photos. My plan if I ever split the front suspension it to fit the turn buckles in place of the shocks like in the photo in this thread. I have never played with torsion bars but this seems like a good method to me to unload them without any surprises.
David
68 E-type FHC
This was my salient point, and a point that, in my experience, was always needed.
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That would make sense however after reading this statement from Andrew I believe he’s referring to a car lifted under the picture frame without support under the front wheels :
Lets take this one step further :
With the torsion bars set up as per the factory manual, and the front end hanging without any support you should be able to just slip the oem front shocks back on.
In my experience this is not possible without preloading the torsion bars.
This is clearly stated in factory manual
in the removal procedure under the front end section.
Sorry I meant to reply to Steve H. using Andrew’s reply……
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Yes. Indeed it was. We do dumb things in our life, and think we are being productive.
I have tried to follow this series of posts on how to remove tension on the TB’s to allow me to do work on the suspension.
To remove the shocks with the car lifted it seems the best option is To Lift the car from Lower A Arm Pivot Point and support the hub with bottle jacks.
Is this correct?
Once the shocks are removed can I safely work on the rest of the suspension? Does lifting in this way remove tension from the TB’s
Thanks
Hi Michael,
Not sure where you define the lower A Arm pivot point is, but for me, I lift up one side by putting the jack under the lower A arm where the shock absorber bolts to the lower A-Arm. For me, this keeps the torsion bar tensioned so I can remove the shick absorber safely
Dennis
69 OTS
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