Front Spring Retainers

302Rover

302Rover

Member
Could anyone point me to a source for the three retaining rods that are used to hold the P6 front spring in a compressed condition so it can be removed? Over the years I recall reading about how some Rover owners made their own set from Grade 8 bolts but I've misplaced the plans for modifying the bolts. I would prefer to use the original retaining rods if they are available, either for sale or for loan. But if anyone could also provide a description of how to make my own set, that would also be quite useful.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Tom
 
Hi Tom

Best not to look too hard really. They have a habbit of rounding off the small notches that hold the spring cup at the other end, swiftly followed by a loud BOooiiiiing......

I'll give Harvey the pleasure of divulging the full "work around", but I'll give you a clue - it involves using long bolts in a related location...

Chris
 
chrisyork said:
Hi Tom

Best not to look too hard really. They have a habbit of rounding off the small notches that hold the spring cup at the other end, swiftly followed by a loud BOooiiiiing......

I'll give Harvey the pleasure of divulging the full "work around", but I'll give you a clue - it involves using long bolts in a related location...

Chris
Click to expand...

Hi Tom, I have unfortunately seen the result of the failure of the official spring retainers to do their job when under load, a mechanics hand was badly smashed and effectively finished his career - and this was 20 odd years ago in the UK - with our salty roads corroding the retaining rod detents to such an extent that they were just unsafe to use. However if your car has been in CA most, if not all, its life, the detents may well be in good condition - even so I would be very reluctant to trust their integrity when personal injury is a risk.

As Chrisyork mentioned above, Harvey will no doubt eloquently and accurately describe how to do it without the rods!
 
Remove each mounting bolt on the bulkhead individually, replacing it with studding held with a nut, until all 4 are held like that, the studding being long enough that you can slowly undo each nut by equal amounts until the tension is released from the spring as the top arm moves away from the bulkhead. Well, that's the theory anyway.....
 
With the front wing removed, it is possible to fit a pair of proper spring compressors and hold / compress the spring to remove it.
Mind you, cheap, bulky compressors won't help. You need some quality tools, long enough (at least 40 cm if i rememeber correctly) to accomodate the full length of the spring.

Harvey's method sounds feasible and totally safe. Just take care not to crossthread the studs / bolts on the pedestals.
Also late models (after '74?) i think that they were fitted with studs instead of bolts, and i am not sure how easy it will be to remove them.
 
harveyp6 said:
Remove each mounting bolt on the bulkhead individually, replacing it with studding held with a nut, until all 4 are held like that, the studding being long enough that you can slowly undo each nut by equal amounts until the tension is released from the spring as the top arm moves away from the bulkhead. Well, that's the theory anyway.....
Click to expand...

Harvey,
thanks for the brilliant work around suggestion. I do, however, have a couple of questions. Wouldn't the top link need to be uncoupled from the top ball joint first? And the anti roll bar disconnected as well?

Do you have any idea of how long the studs should be? I'm assuming that they should be the length of the original bolt, plus the difference between the free length and the compressed length plus a couple of inches for safety. And what about the stud material? The easiest thing for me to source would be threaded rods but my experience has been that the common threaded rod one buys at the local hardware store is fairly poor quality steel. Any suggestions on this?

And last I'm wondering about your last statement "Well, thats the theory anyway". I'm assuming a 'smiley' goes behind this and that you have actually done this job before;-)

Thanks again for your help.
Cheers,
Tom
 
302Rover said:
Harvey,
thanks for the brilliant work around suggestion. I do, however, have a couple of questions. Wouldn't the top link need to be uncoupled from the top ball joint first? And the anti roll bar disconnected as well?
Click to expand...

However you proposed to remove the top arm or spring, they would have to be removed anyway, along with the damper.


302Rover said:
Do you have any idea of how long the studs should be? I'm assuming that they should be the length of the original bolt, plus the difference between the free length and the compressed length plus a couple of inches for safety. And what about the stud material? The easiest thing for me to source would be threaded rods but my experience has been that the common threaded rod one buys at the local hardware store is fairly poor quality steel. Any suggestions on this?
Click to expand...

Your calculation of the length required would be right as far as I can see. I think if you buy cheap studding now it will be Metric anyway. The chances are if you buy 3/8" UNF studding (which is the thread type IIRC) the quality will be better, and you're not going to put them to multiple use I wouldn't think so it should be fine. And what's the alternative. Just keep everybody clear.


302Rover said:
And last I'm wondering about your last statement "Well, thats the theory anyway". I'm assuming a 'smiley' goes behind this and that you have actually done this job before;-)
Click to expand...

I have done it before, but that was in the days before the cars rotted away. I'd worry about using the proper tools even if I had them (which I don't) and so that's the way I've come to the conclusion is the best way to do it. As said in another thread you can use ordinary clamps or keeps, but they never strike me as very safe even in the applications they were designed for.
Plus the wing has to come off to do it that way really, and you need at least 3 fat mates to sit on the inner wing to compress the spring initially so you can get them on and get some further compression.
 
This might seem off thread, but interesting anyway:
I had an AMC Product, an Eagle, I believe, which wouldn't accomodate conventional Spring Compressors since the spring was tightly enclosed in the wheel well.
I used parts from an extra P-6 Jack, dropping the threaded portion through the shock hole and compressing the spring by
tightening a nut from above.
Just an example of creativity to save buying a special tool,or farming the work out
 
They cetainly don't look very safe .Keep them on the shelf with a rear caliper windback tool as conversation pieces
 
Remove each mounting bolt on the bulkhead individually, replacing it with studding held with a nut, until all 4 are held like that, the studding being long enough that you can slowly undo each nut by equal amounts until the tension is released from the spring as the top arm moves away from the bulkhead. Well, that's the theory anyway.....
Click to expand...

What about when reassembling. Do you need to compress the spring with the studding then swap each stud for a bolt ?
 
pat180269 said:
What about when reassembling. Do you need to compress the spring with the studding then swap each stud for a bolt ?
Click to expand...

That's about the strength of it, unless you can compress the spring and hold it that way while it's off the car and reassemble it all with the spring compressed.
 
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