P38 RR front air spring removal - am I being completely stupid!?

Am in the process of replacing my front air spring. Got everything
apart, but can I get the lower retaining pin out? - can I b*llocks!

I have removed the bolt, and pulled and pulled and twisted and bent and
done everything I can think of, but the bloody thing refuses to move at
all. Am I doing something incredibly stupid? am I missing something?
All the instructions I read just say pull it out (By the looks of it,
it can only be pulled one way - towards the center of the axel i.e.
towards the bump stop) I've put so much pressure into trying to pull
the thing out that I've opened up the curled up end which the bolt sits
in.

What is weird is that the lower aluminium part of the spring seems to
be loose (but for the fact that I can't get it out because of the
bloody retaining pin!) so it isn't like there should be any pressure on
the pin holding it in.

Once I get this damn pin out, it is a 15 minute job as everything else
is sorted, but so far I've been messing around trying to get it out for
3 hours! Tried it with the car on the bump stops, jacked up as far as
I can, no difference! Drove it around with the bolt off so it might
free up, but still stuck in there!

At the moment I've got the axel on an axel stand and I've stuck a brick
below the bump stop to hold the chassis up higher (seemed an easy way
to do it!) there is nothing wrong with that setup is there?

Need some help please if possible as I am now completely stuck with no
ideas left!

Cheers,

Matt

>>>>> "matthew" == matthew maddock <[email protected]> writes:

matthew> I've opened up the curled up end which the bolt sits in.

I think you might have to resort to cutting it off and drilling out
the end 1/2" or so where it goes though the mount.

Next time, soak it with easing oil every day for a week before
attempting replacement.

(Took me five hours to do the two rears on a friend's car the first
time around)

Andy

--
Andy Cunningham -- www.cunningham.me.uk
"H" for the Hubris that makes lusers luse;
"I"'m the Important one, the person who su(8)'s.
"J" is for Jaded, see "C" above;
"K" is for Kill(1), a command we all love.
-- Ben (void)

Andy

Thanks for the advice.

I got it sorted this morning, brought Big Bertha out (my HUGE crow bar)
and tapped it between the base of the piston and the axel and a swift
push saw the pin snap and the spring just came out nice and easy after
that!

Matt.