10th August 2015, More front suspension stuff.

When I was doing the subframe I thought the bottom arm ball joints didn't look too good so decided it would be worth having a good look at them after the Cotswold Show. It would also be a good opportunity to do the anti-roll bar as well.   This was another little job which turned out to be a good idea but getting them off proved to be hard work.  The two bolts that secure the steering arm to the bottoms of the struts were VERY tight and it took an 18" breaker bar with as much force as I could put on it to move them. They were hard work all the way to the end, one flat at a time. This was caused by the shoulder of the bolts being very tight, almost seized, where they go through the steering arms. Needless to say they went back nicely cleaned up and with plenty of copper grease!!

Next thing being difficult was the bottom ball joints where they fit into the struts. These had old style castellated nuts which were an odd non metric size with split pins.  One of the nuts refused to budge until I used a chisel start it but they finally came apart.  You can see from the picture the ball joints with the dried up grease that they definitely needed doing but had not developed enough play to give them away yet.

These have seen better days.

With the anti-roll bar off I found the ends inside the bushes where it goes though the bottom arms was also badly rusted and it had actually reduced the diameter quite noticeably so that bar went into the scrap bin as well.

"New" and nicely painted bottom arms and anti-roll bar went back on with the almost new polybushes I had saved from my old car.  I had the usual battle to get the bottom arms lined up in the subframe but a handy 2" ratchet strap pulled them in and sorted that problem.

With the front all back together a brief road test felt good so I called in at the local KwikFit depot to get the tracking alignment checked.  I thought it was off a little as the steering wheel was now slightly off-centre when driving in a straight line. KwikFit have a brand new very expensive specialised ramp system with a sender unit that fits on each wheel and links to a computerised display. All fantastic stuff but you have to tell it what kind of car its testing and the TR7 did not appear on its menu.  There is also no kind of manual option.  I spent about 10 minutes with the operator looking though all the makes and we eventually found Triumph cars listed under Rover and sure enough found the TR7 listed there. Only minor adjustment was required but they struggled to find a spanner to fit the TR7 steering arm nuts which proved to be a non metric size. No surprise there then!

25th July 2015, Subframe replacement.

When I was poking about under the car recently I noticed some signs of corrosion coming through on the subframe so I though it was time to have a proper investigation. Look what I found, some very nasty rust that made it urgent to get the subframe changed.

Perforation showing which caused the change.

 

Very nasty rust where the bottom arm mounts.

 

 Luckily I had a spare good one in stock which just needed a clean up and a touch of paint. I will also fit the polybushes I kept from my old car to replace the perished rubber ones I took off.

Nice and shiny with no rust and ready to fit.

Update: 27th July

Fitted the new subframe today and the car is now sitting back on its wheels again. Had the usual battle with pulling the bottom arms in enough to get the bolts lined up but a big ratchet strap soon did the trick.  Just need to pop down to the local tyre fitters to get the tracking checked now.

Polybushes and anti-dive blocks ready.

That's much better, all new and tidy.

Only thing now is I did notice doing this job was the ball joint rubbers on the bottom arms are looking a bit tired so that will be another little job to add to the list.  I took a couple of minutes to soak all the nuts with magic spray in preparation because they looked a bit dry. Time will tell if it works.

2009, New Suspension

In 2009, after 36 years,  BT offered me money to leave and not wishing to be rude I accepted their kind offer.  I decided pretty quickly in case they changed their mind!

Now being officially retired meant I had more time to spend working on the TR7, but the better half also had plans for the house so I couldn't spend all my time in the garage just yet.

Driving the car more also meant the poor condition of the suspension became more obvious.  The ride was generally not very good so I decided that new springs and dampers were called for.  Not surprisng really, as they appeared to be the original ones fitted in 1980. This is a pretty simple job on the TR7, the biggest problem was battling with the spring clamps on the front struts. This is a bit scary as there is a lot of potential energy stored when you have a road spring fully compressed, but I managed it without losing any fingers. I also fitted a set of roller bearings in the strut top mountings to improve the steering.

With the ride now improved, other things started to suggest themselves to me. I decided a set of polybushes for the suspension would be a good idea and I would also like to upgrade the front brakes at some time.

Polybushes must be one of the best things to do on an old car.  They are much easier to fit than replacement rubber ones and they are said to last for ever.  You can get a variety of different grades to suit all driving styles from soft road to hard race settings. Mine are somewhere in between.  I also replaced the front subframe mountings with polybushes at the same time. Interestingly the old subframe mountings I took out were standard rubber but seemed almost  new so I kept them "just in case".

The front subframe job is another slightly scary one. The engine has to be supported separately whilst the subframe with all the suspension and steering attached is lowered.  There are four long bolts holding the subframe to the chassis rails and all mine came out nicely.  I have heard these can be a problem sometimes as they seize and have to be sawn off.  Not a nice thought.  Bit of a fiddle lining it all back up but it went together  pretty well.  The manuals do not show the layout of these bushes very well but luckily one of the guys on the TR7/8 Forum (Odd Hedberg from Sweden)  has produced photos showing the proper sequence which makes it all very simple.

Odd Hedberg's Excellent Pictures

Better handling and steering were obvious as soon as I drove the car so what to do next?
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Rear Axle Bump Stops.  Working on the rear suspension I happened to touch one of the axle bump stops and it just fell off.  Turns out it was some kind of original foam material and it just fell apart - perhaps not too surprising after 30 years.  I spoke to Robsport about new ones and decided that the cheaper rubber ones would be fine, no need for the much more expensive poly ones. The way I figure it 10-15 years with the rubber ones will see me out anyway.

Fittting them was interesting. No way could I get them to push into the chassis mounting hole so I devised a special tool method as shown in the pictures.
Just needs a piece of wood cut to length and a Jubilee clip (hose clip).
Apply plenty of lubrication and fit the Jubilee clip (not too tight) round the mounting lug.  
Then with the piece of wood in place as shown you can jack up the axle which pushes the bump stop into its mounting hole, taking the Jubilee clip off once the mounting lug has engaged.   EASY.

Wood block and Jubilee clip in place

Jacking pressure applied,  now remove Jubilee clip