S2 3500 Auto front suspension rebuild parts list

R

rottenlungs

Member
Hi

I am planning to rebuild the front suspension on the Elegant Thirsty Dinosaur this winter (Southern Hemisphere). I am in the process of trying to work up a parts list.

The main reason for this is due to various clonks from the front and general slop. Plus, the rear end has been rebushed , the front remains untouched.

I want to do as many bushes as I can , as many ball joints as I can. Probably new shock absorbers if possible too. The ride height is good so I don`t feel the need to replace the springs.

My current list of parts looks like this (prices are in NZ$ from Scotts):

Part nos Qty Unit Price Description
529789 & 529808 2 49.5 Top link inner + outer
534667 2 28 Ball End
534824 2 59 Lower Link Bushes (pr)
565395 8 3.13 Shock Absorber bushes
600566 2 9.4 Side arm dust boots
2 10.67 Ball joint boot upper
2 10.67 Ball joint boot lower

What I haven`t managed to work out is, 1) shocks , 2) ball joints, 3) there may be other bushes I haven`t spotted. Also, are there any components in the steering I should look to replace? I really ought to flush and filter-change the PAS system. This would be a good time to do it when the front was in bits.

Any recommendations and supplier choices would be gratefully received.

Thanks
 
Hi James,

The N/S front wheel will exhibit "shopping trolley syndrome" if the steering dler is noticably worn. You can check it by jacking that side up, grasping the type at 2:45, then pull and push whilst looking at the idler. There should be no movement between the arm and the body of the idler.

Are you replacing the ball joints or just the boots?

Don't use poly bushes for the top link, as they will squeak and that will drive you to distraction.

Ron.
 
Hi Ron

Good point about the Idler I have heard mention of the idler coming loose on the firewall and causing slop / knocking. To that end , I tightened the mounting bolts about a year ago but it didn`t make any difference. I will definitely try your trick for looking for play in the idler itself.

What I did find was, with the car on the ground, if grabbed the drivers` side wheel at the top and push/pulled, there was a knock coming from that side. There is also quite a loud knock when I go over a judder bar (or similar ridge in the road surface) just as the wheels make contact with the leading edge of the ridge. I suspect it is the same root cause.

I would like to replace all the ball joints if I can. I understand the bottom ball join (?) is part of the bottom arm and not serviceable so I may have to be realistic about what I can do.

Thanks
 
Hi James, FYi, I sourced poly bushes for the front end which were competitivley priced from;

http://www.ringwoodautoparts.com.au

email; rob@ringwoodautoparts.com.au

They are located in Wonga Park, Victoria, Australia

They usually have them for sale on ebay as well,

top link, inner & outer set, superpro poly, SPF0784K, $39.00 (rover part No.s 529808 (inner) & 529789 (outer))

ball end top link, superpro poly SPF0714K, $19.00 (rover part No. 534667)

lower link inner bushes, superpro poly, SPF0690K, (rover part No. 534824 (for both lower inner bushes)

above prices were from 2012.

Regards,
Scott

ps, I also got top and bottom ball joints from Oz ebay, Minibits (they're in Tassie apparently)

2 x upper ball joints, $62 ($83 all up with delivery back in 2012)

2 x lower ball joints, $90 ($113 all up with delivery back in 2012)
 
Thanks Scott, I`ll check those suppliers out. Have you found the poly bushes squeaky?

I have a couple of poly bushes at the rear of my car and I have heard / felt nothing untoward.

Cheers
 
I'm at the same stage as yourself, done the rear with poly bushes but nothing of note to report sound/squeak wise from the rear, and waiting for time to do the front end, so have poly bushes for the front but not fitted yet.
Scott
 
Bruiser's rear suspension is at least partly poly'ed, which the last owner had done. Though I've had a quick look in the past & am not sure that every bush is poly'. However, even with the stiffened suspension set-up there is no squeak or noise evident, bar the normal disturbance caused by our rapidly deteriorating side road surfaces in the UK.
 
I am sure that I read on the forum of another member who had poly bushes fitted into the top links. He said that he could not stop them from squeaking, even though he had lubricated them as specified in the instructions. They were to be removed and rubber bushes installed in their place.

There has also been reported P6 suspension failures in cars that were fitted with poly bushes, especially in the rear suspension. In some locations, the use of poly might be quite suitable, but in the trailing arms (bottom links) for example, such use is considered ill-advised.

Ron.
 
SydneyRoverP6B said:
I am sure that I read on the forum of another member who had poly bushes fitted into the top links. He said that he could not stop them from squeaking, even though he had lubricated them as specified in the instructions. They were to be removed and rubber bushes installed in their place.
Click to expand...
I read that one as well.

SydneyRoverP6B said:
There has also been reported P6 suspension failures in cars that were fitted with poly bushes, especially in the rear suspension. In some locations, the use of poly might be quite suitable, but in the trailing arms (bottom links) for example, such use is considered ill-advised.
Click to expand...
As someone who is about to fit new poly bushes in the rear trailing arms of his V8, I did search the forums before ordering anything, in the hope that any problems encountered by others would be documented on here somewhere. Since I found nothing to advise me to steer clear of them, did I not search properly, or did you hear of these failures from elsewhere Ron?

Can any other members who have fitted poly on the rear lower arms of a V8 tell me if they have had any issues with fitting them please :shock:

As yet I have not got around to actually fitting the bushes to the new arms I have purchased, so there is still the alternative for me to use rubber instead, but I would like to know if poly really does have a bad name at the rear of a P6.
 
If by fitment issues you mean negative experiences with polybushes at the rear, I have so far not had any - touch wood etc. I did inspect metal thickness and look for any visual signs of distress on the lower links first. Fitment however was very easy, removing the old ones not so much.
 
I have poly pushes at each side on the rear crossmember to base unit connections. I think the panhard rod has polys on it as well. They have been on for about a year with no problems so far.

I can imagine the rear trailing arm front (i.e the end which goes into the crossmember) bush would be more sensitive to bush type, given that they endure a much larger amount of rotation. And the rears where it meets the de-Dion come to think of it

By choice, I would prefer to keep stock, ie rubber / metalastic rather than poly. But I will take what is available in a timely fashion as this is a daily driver for me.

One more unrelated question and I admit I haven`t searched these boards for an existing answer: is there a way of removing the front springs without using spring compressors?
 
It was me that fitted polybushes at the front top links (just because this was what i could find at the time), didn't like them (harsh and squeeky), and changed back to new metalasticks later when i found some available.
But i am sure that i have read in here that other had also similar issues.
 
codekiddie wrote,...
As someone who is about to fit new poly bushes in the rear trailing arms of his V8, I did search the forums before ordering anything, in the hope that any problems encountered by others would be documented on here somewhere. Since I found nothing to advise me to steer clear of them, did I not search properly, or did you hear of these failures from elsewhere Ron?
Click to expand...

Hi Phil,

The rear suspension failures were mentioned here on the forum. If I recall correctly, poly bushes had been used at the sites where the arms failed. That is why Rich made this post above,...
Hope you've left the arms as rubber?
Click to expand...

I have seen local cars with poly bushes fitted, but have not heard of any failures as a result. It could be that the level of corrosion on the U.K cars involved was such that the added stress that poly bushes create through less shock absorption lead to the suspension failures.

Ron.
 
Hi,

When we still ran the standard Rover back end in our car it was all Polybushed, we worked it very very hard over 2 or 3 years and never had any issues. I do tend to believe the reported failures are more to do with corrosion and not as a direct consequence of using polybushes.

Tim
 
rottenlungs wrote,...
is there a way of removing the front springs without using spring compressors?
Click to expand...

Any particular reason James why you would prefer not to use spring retainers?

Ron.
 
Hi Ron.

Just saw your comment. THe only reason I wanted to avoid using spring compressors is because I don`t have any; well I do have a set of the single-claw type, not the disc-type. I understand they don`t fit symmetrically enough to work safely on the front springs?

I was looking at a set for about NZ$250 but I would rather spend the money on parts than on a tool I use once every 10 years.
 
I re-bushed the back of mine last winter and used rubber because I wanted to keep it original. At the time I was buying the bushes one of the forum members had been involved in a fatal car accident when an elbow broke on a P6 in the UK. There was considerable conjecture about the cause and polybushes and corrosion were mentioned. The car in question had a polybush rear end IIRC.

I decided that I would have the rear suspension shot blasted and acid dipped so that I could thoroughly inspect the elbows. The drivers side elbow on my car when I bought it had been badly welded up and was in poor condition so I replaced it with an elbow which appeared to be in good condition. After shot blasting I was shocked at the condition of the replacement elbow. The metal at the outer lower link fastening point was very thin possibly half the thickness of the inner and there where pin holes around the welded on strengthening washer. This spooked me and I tried to obtain better elbows but decided that without blasting I couldn't be sure of the condition of any i bought.

I eventually decided strengthen them by making doubler plates to be seam welded in place on all the mounting points.







I then had the suspension parts zinc plated and powder coated and injected them with dinitrol.



I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with polybushes but I agree with others that corrosion is a big factor on UK cars. You cannot inspect the condition of them easily, mine looked ok but were seriously weakened. I suspect like others have said that polybushes might give the suspension a harder time though plenty of standard cars have had elbows break here.
 
pat180269 said:
At the time I was buying the bushes one of the forum members had been involved in a fatal car accident when an elbow broke on a P6 in the UK.
Click to expand...

I don't remember hearing about that....
 
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