Rebuild issues: disco axle on 90

I knew there was something I was meant to be doing.... off to the workshop in an hour or so.

Ok, the top picture is what I think the OP would like to see. A nice vertical spring. This has a heavy engine atop, but no other weight - just a bare chassis.

But if you look down the spring to my unbolted bottom seat you can see that the axle is an inch forward of where he and I might expect. Odd isn't it.



This is a Richards chassis, so slim chance of both being wrong. And no, it isn't galvanised yet, still got brackets to put on in odd places.

The OP may also note the axle colour.

flat said:

I still think that when the axle is in the correct position relative to the chassis it will line up, in his photos it isn’t.

It will be stiff to move because of the new poly bushes

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@Hammer'n'tongs , as per @flat , the front diff, radius arms [hockey sticks], dampers and springs can often look completely out of align...this is where the front end does need weight to aid alignement/easy'ish fitting. I've recently rebuilt all my suspension/driveline including SuperPro bushes. The radius arms were a bugger to fit and the diff looked in a similar position to yours. Once the car had been rolled with engine/ancillaries/radiator re-installed...and with all the suspension nuts/bolts only lightly nipped up...the radius arms fitted. Your best bet is to use a pair of large round hand punches to line up the front bush holes + lump hammer & wood. Use lots of grease too, this will ease front end into mountings and aid bolt fitting. Once fitted and engine back in allow the suspension to settle for a couple of days, and then torque up.

Thanks all, yes I have heard enough of you say there is nothing to worry about here, and I figure the big nut will tighten down more, bringing the whole axle back a bit. I can see that when the front end is loaded with its guts, that will bring the top and bottom spring seats more parallel. I plan to get this built up a bit over the weekend and will report back. Like the colour of that axle @boguing , light grey is it?

The other thing that's peculiar about the Land Rover setup is that the front springs and dampers are not vertical when the vehicle is in the resting position. They're tilted backwards such that the chassis end of the spring is further back than the axle end and a lot of the weight seems to be taken on the rear edge of the spring pan. This puzzled me at first, but there didn't seem to be any way of adjusting it as the spring seats and the hole for the radius arm are welded onto the chassis. It's been alright for over 140,000 miles and despite what people say I don't think the handling is too bad on Land Rovers.

I must say I don't like the look of it right now! I've just secured the springs with the nearly ¢ shaped retainers, and the springs are a pretty distorted 'S' shape. There isn't enough damper stud poking through to get the bottom bush and locknut on. The problem is mainly the angle, I see I need to fit the engine and gearbox now, it's just a hard fact to swallow to proceed from this stage.

I'm finding it hard to believe what I am seeing, given this was not evident on the axle I pulled off the old chassis. I'm thinking that it looked different purely because the bushes were so worn out, the slop in the joints allowed the axle sit back further..

@Hammer'n'tongs , all the above is quite normal. First get some weight in the front end by fitting your engine and gearbox and support front of chassis on secure/level on axle stands, then use this stable weight to ease up alignment. The bottom cup washers and nuts of the dampers are a bugger to get in. The trick is to remove 2mm off the lower bush, then use an open ended spanner to compress the bush and washer whilst turning the nut so it just catches the first thread, then spanner up. Once both sides are done, then lower front end onto wheels, settle the suspension, and then torque up all the suspension nuts/bolts. You will find that the suspension components will settle once the Land Rover is driven. It's worth untightening, re-grease, rotate bolts and re-torque all the nuts and bolts after your first 40-50miles.

v8250 said:

@Hammer'n'tongs , all the above is quite normal. First get some weight in the front end by fitting your engine and gearbox and support front of chassis on secure/level on axle stands, then use this stable weight to ease up alignment. The bottom cup washers and nuts of the dampers are a bugger to get in. The trick is to remove 2mm off the lower bush, then use an open ended spanner to compress the bush and washer whilst turning the nut so it just catches the first thread, then spanner up. Once both sides are done, then lower front end onto wheels, settle the suspension, and then torque up all the suspension nuts/bolts. You will find that the suspension components will settle once the Land Rover is driven. It's worth untightening, re-grease, rotate bolts and re-torque all the nuts and bolts after your first 40-50miles.

Click to expand...

v8250 said:

@Hammer'n'tongs , all the above is quite normal. First get some weight in the front end by fitting your engine and gearbox and support front of chassis on secure/level on axle stands, then use this stable weight to ease up alignment. The bottom cup washers and nuts of the dampers are a bugger to get in. The trick is to remove 2mm off the lower bush, then use an open ended spanner to compress the bush and washer whilst turning the nut so it just catches the first thread, then spanner up. Once both sides are done, then lower front end onto wheels, settle the suspension, and then torque up all the suspension nuts/bolts. You will find that the suspension components will settle once the Land Rover is driven. It's worth untightening, re-grease, rotate bolts and re-torque all the nuts and bolts after your first 40-50miles.

Click to expand...

All the weight is on now, the only thing left to go on is the bonnet and bumper, once the auto electrician has visited. The wierdness with (mis)alignment of the shocks in relation to the turrets is still apparent. Can't wait to get it on the road, as I need it for work, and I have been building it up for over a year! As you have suggested, a retightening of all the fixings is a good idea after driving it some, but what adjustment is possible now, by supporting the front of the chassis? The radius arms are drawn back as far as they will go, without exceeding the securing nuts past the specified torque. I do have flo-flex silicone bushes in there, perhaps they will squish down a bit over time?[GALLERY=][/GALLERY]