From the Jensen FF Mk1 sales literature: ” Front. Independent. Wishbones with double combined spring/damper units. Rear. Semi-eliptic dual rate springs with rubber button interleaved separators. Armstrong telescopic driver controlled adjustable dampers. Panhard rod.”

FRONT

Photo of front suspension.

I bought four new front shocks and four new front springs from Cropredy Bridge garage in January 2004 they cost £450 I also bought 4 upper suspension link bushes at £12.65 each and 4 lower suspension link bushes at £15.72 each. The bushes were all fitted with steel inserts. I would have preferred polybushes but superflex do not have a cross reference for these on the FF.

1) After jacking up the one side of the car and removing the wheel, the old units (there are two each side and consist of a spring over shock absorber arrangement), were easy to remove. You undo the Simmons nut on the single bolt holding the shock absorber top eye and top suspension link arm to the frame and lever it out. This was then repeated for the second shock/spring unit. At the bottom there is a single long bolt holding the lower eyes of the two shock/spring units to the lower suspension link . this was removed by undoing one of the Simmons nuts and levering out the bolt. Both units are only held by these bolts and can then be dismantled on the workbench.

2) Some time was spent messing about with spring compressors. The big problem was that the springs are well compressed and there isn’t much room between the coils to get the claws of the compressor in. The first one I did, I did using an old spring compressor with relatively thin threaded rod and small clamps. It wasn’t long enough or strong enough and I had to use a second pair to finish the job. I threw the old weak pair away. On the second unit I used a stronger pair (they are equivalent to the Sykes Pikervant pair available from Halfords. Cutting a two-hour story short I ended up grinding down the top nose of the compressor claw to allow it to fit more easily between the coils (it still needed a whack with the hammer). the compressor was half unwound (see photo) with the bottom claw under the shock absorber base and the top claw on the 9th coil

3) If I didn’t get both of the spring compressors on the 9th coil then it wouldn’t compress enough to remove the split collet at the top of the spring. Once this was eased out the compressors could be unwound.

4) Putting the new springs and shock absorber together was a little harder because the new springs had an extra coil and the bottom collars on the new shock absorber that locates the spring is in a slightly higher position such that the final compressed length of the spring will be 1 cm shorter than the original.
I asked the list about this:
I bought a set of shocks and springs for the front suspension on my Mk1 FF (four Monroe shocks and springs (£450)). They were very easy to remove as a unit consisting of a spring with shock inside. However, although the new springs have coils of the same thickness there are fourteen instead of the 13 coils on the old spring. What are the practical effects of extra coils? I also asked- The part number for my cars springs/damper unit is 26447 can anyone tell me what it is for the Mk2 FF, just so that I can see if it is the same.

Photo comparing new and old springs/shocks

The replies were:

1. Extra coils gives a softer ride.
2. The Mk II parts manual gives the FF II front springs (4 off) as 27084.
3. The shock assembly for the FF Mk II is 27084. According to the drawing in the parts manual it is 8 to 8.5 turns in the coil. I do have a new complete set of them but they’re in store a couple of kilometres from here so I can give you an answer tomorrow of the actual number of turns.
4. I think it is worth measuring the diameter of the coils, adding this up and working out if the new coils make your dampers coil bound, and if so, how does this compare to the original springs. It could be that your supplier has made a mistake at some point? I would suggest comparing to an old set and not a new one. There were two different types of front shocks on the Mk1. Later Mk1 and Mk2/Mk3 shocks were all the same, as I understood it.
5. A coil spring is simply a torsion bar in a different layout. The spring action is by twisting the bar (in the coils) and to a lesser degree by bending (deflection). The properties of the spring are decided by length, the diameter of rod and the material. So judging the spring must be done by measuring the force needed to compress a given amount (as noted in another mail). Simple dimensional measurements alone doesn’t really say a lot.
6. Maybe you missed my last mail in the noice, but I counted to 13.5 coils in total but only about 10 are free to do the job as in the ends some coils are “dead”. I can do some further measurements on the length and diameter of the coils and the diameter of the thread for you. My four spring assemblies, painted in blue, are bought from JP&S in the early eighties, so they should certainly be original. The measured figures of my springs are:
The wire size = 11.2 mm
Outer coil diameter = 91 mm
Length of the mounted spring = 234 mm (i.e. mounted on the shock)
Length of the shock (c/c mounting holes) = 325 mm
These are the figures of one of the shocks. I trust they are all the same.

I measured mine to compare
The wire size = xxxxxxx mm
Outer coil diameter = xxxxxx mm
Length of the mounted spring = xxxxxxxx mm (i.e. mounted on the shock)
Length of the shock (c/c mounting holes) = xxxxxxxxx mm

Further I checked the specifications directly with Cropredy garage. (I went back and spoke to them with the old and new shocks/springs to hand). The ones I had matched their stock items, which they have been fitting to the FF’s for some time without problems. Martin Robey advised me that they had had some re-manufactured but no longer have any as they had sent their last set to Cropredy in 2002.

5) The extra coil posed problems: After part releasing and re tightening the springs I ended up removing the split pin at the bottom of the spring compressor threaded rod (this pin is intended to stop you unwinding the claw off the rod) to give me the length I needed to compress the new spring. (I worked on the basis that at the start of the compression there wouldn’t be much tension!). The bottom claw had to be placed under the base of the spring retainer plate on the shock with it opened to its maximum extent and with me putting extra hand pressure on top of the spring to get it on the tenth coil up.
6) The third unit took about half an hour to do. I would have preferred off the shelf spring compressors with slightly longer threaded rod and a shallower claw nib to get in between the coils
7) Replacement of the spring/shock units was the reversal of the removal procedure

UPPER BALL JOINT BOLTS

Torqued to 35 lb.ft

1 2 34

The only problem I came across whilst doing this work on the suspension was that I noticed, through comparing the right and left hand side upper suspension link arms (photos 1 and 2)was that the left hand side upper suspension link arm was bent. As it only consists of two steel bars I just hammered the bend out. I then looked harder and found the lower suspension link arm (photo 3) was also slightly
bent upwards. As it is a substantial tube I did not attempt to remove it and bend it back. I had the tracking, camber and so on checked and have been driving it for some 18 months, without any noticeable problems, so I’ve chosen to ignore it put it back together and try and forget it ( note: see below for its replacement in March 2005). The two bolts that hold the upper ball joint in place ( photo 4) were badly corroded (I had to remove them to straighten the upper suspension link arms. I obtained replacements from Cropredy Bridge Garage.). Note the 2 shims either side of the upper, which are there to allow for caster angle adjustment.

I asked the list about replacement suspension bolts:
Still doing the front suspension on the Mk1 FF. There are two five sixteenth diam. bolts that hold the top ball joint in place between the upper suspension link arms. They are both corroded and misshaped. The markings on the head of the bolt are not really readable. The question is what standard of bolt can be a replacement in the suspension area. In particular can I use a stainless steel bolts?
The replies were:
1. I replaced mine some years ago for the same reason. I used high tensile UNBRAKO bolts with load spreading discs either side, recommended at the time by some very knowledgeable lads. I seem to recall that stainless are sometimes more brittle and should be used with caution.
2. No, no, no, no, for God’s sake don’t use stainless bolts, they’re not strong enough.. Please only use grade 8 fasteners on suspension components.. your life can depend on them.
3. I always use grade 8 bolts. Be careful with Stainless Steel, some have the equivalent to grade 5 and more but some are low grade designed for show and
corrosion resistance only. Generally, 18.8 stainless bolts have a strength slightly more than Grade 5 and so should work on the suspension. Just be sure, check with your supplier.
4. Do not use SS bolts for the suspension, they may not be strong enough. Titanium aircraft bolts are very strong but than again do not use them because of electrolytic corrosion. For metric steel bolts there is a standard for strength of the bolts, for the suspension you need 8G (or 10K) coded bolts. I am not sure if these codes are also used for non-metric bolts but I am sure that this learned fraternity can supply you with these for UNF bolts.
5. Don’t use stainless steel! It is one of the weakest bolt materials in terms of tensile strength, which is what you’re interested in here – a stainless steel bolt would be little stronger than an everyday grade 2 bolt. Grade 8 is the strongest bolt readily available (without getting into specialized aviation products). Stainless steel is good for specific applications – highly corrosive (e.g.. marine) and high temperatures. You can tell what grade a bolt is by the markings on the head, as follows in increasing strength:
grade 0/1/2 – unmarked
grade 3 – two opposite dashes
grade 5 – three equally spaced dashes
grade 8 – six equally spaced dashes
If in doubt always use grade 8 – they are the best and the only disadvantage is that they cost more – but we (hopefully) don’t use them in sufficient
quantities for that to matter. ( These grades are inch sizes (US SAE designations) – there is a separate system (ISO) for metric sizes which similarly have designations on the heads – the higher numbers again being stronger e.g. 8.8, 10.9

I couldn’t source them locally but did get four 5/16th diameter grade 8 bolts to replace the old ones from Cropredy.

REPLACEMENT OF THE LOWER LINK ARM
Probably from a fairly hefty whack to the nearside lower suspension arm was bent upwards by about half an inch. This caused the front end to dip down on that side (also the rear end appeared lower that side even though it had had new rear leaf springs (part no. 26108)). I replaced it in March 2005.

I contacted Rejen and obtained a replacement arm off a Mark 2 FF ( £120cost). Unfortunately the suspension bushes were soggy and the arm was also bent a little (but not as much as mine). I had some replacement bushes from Cropredy Bridge Garage (which are the same as the spring eye bushes on the rear leaf springs.) However when I removed the bushes from Rejens replacement arm the new ones wouldn’t fit. They were to big having a larger diameter. This was confirmed by them not fitting the arm and directly by comparison with the removed bush, which was smaller. I went to Cropredy and talked to Allen. The bushes were undoubtedly the right ones and the problem was with the MK2 lower suspension arm, in that it was unusual?
I then went to Martin Robey with the arm to look at their stock of bushes. After looking at a few bushes they confirmed Allen’s opinion. At this point I was losing heart with the thought of either having to ream out the bush mounting holes in the arm or locate smaller bushes plus the fact that it was still slightly bent. Then Keith at Martin Robey said “but we’ve got a new lower link arm in stock”. I bought the arm, including the bushes which were already fitted ( cost £180??) and it obviously wasn’t bent.
During this exercise some interesting points were highlighted:
1. The early Mk 1 FF’s that do not have role bars fitted obviously do not have the role bar fixing bracket on the lower link arms and so are not handed.
2. Later Mk 1’s and Mk 2’s are handed because of the role bar mounting points. Apart from the brackets the lower link arms are the same. If desperate and you can’t get the correct arm for that side you could get whichever arm is available, cut off the bracket from the old arm and weld it on the new arm in the right place.
3. There is at least one Mark 2 FF at Rejen that was fitted with a lower suspension link arm that had smaller outside diameter bushes fitted and I have no answer for this. (They were about 11/1000th of an inch in diam. smaller)

Fitting the new arm was reasonably easy.

1.

Photo of diagram in parts manual. It would appear that before 119/050 there was no front ant role bar so no mounting bracket on the lower link arm. . Mine being 119/191 and a late Mk1 has these brackets and is therefore handed.
2.

Comparison of a replacement second hand one and my original link arms showing the large bend in the original. Gave me the impression that this is actually a weak point on these cars.
3.

Removal of the nut from the shock absorber mounting spindle. The shock then just pulls off. However on the second hand one I bought the metal sleeve from the shock absorber mounting was firmly rusted to the spindle so that one would not have been easy to remove.
4.

Removal of the front anti role bar mounting nut.
5.

A ball joint separator was necessary to remove the bar because it is mounted into a tapered hole. The 4 bolts holding the lower suspension ball joint to the swivel pillar were undone and the link arm just drops down suspended only by the main mounting bolts.
6.

Removal of the nut from the mounting bolt and bush. Bolt should just push out.
7.

Removal of the castellated nut fixing the ball joint tie the arm was made very easy now it was off the car. The split pin was obviously rusted in. Undoing the nut sheared the pin, which was just drifted out.
8.

Photo showing the ball joint. I presume it is original?
9.

Photo showing the new link arm. Nice and straight.
10 .

I bought a new spindle at the same time as the arm. Note there are two sizes of spindle, but I can’t remember why.
11.

I just put some copper ease on the spindle and inserted it into the arm
12.

When I came to reinstall it, it was almost the reversal of its removal. However when it came to inserting the 4 bolts to secure the ball joint to the swivel pillar they would all line up.
13.

It turned out that the bulbous end of the new arm was fouling on the swivel pillar as the marks show in this photo
14 .

I used a block of wood to hold down the arm while I used an angle grinder to grind it down. Because the swivel pillar swivels (now there’s a surprise?) I had to jack the other side up so I could move the joint from full lock to full lock and ensure that there was no fouling

FRONT BEARINGS/BREAKE DISC REPLACEMENT

I asked the list:

I have bought front discs for my FF and want to replace them. The manual gives little indication of what’s involved, however, as there is nothing wrong with my bearings, I would prefer at this point only to replace the discs. Here is the QUESTION: When the books refer to inspecting and repacking the front bearings does this mean that I can undo the large castellated axle nut holding the front hub in place? Just pull the front half of the hub off (with a hub puller?) or will it just pull off, leaving the rear portion of the hub in place. Then repack the bearings and replace the disc which is attached to the front part of the hub and nd just put it all back?

The answer was basically no and this was borne out by my own experience In practice when you use a puller on the front hub it pulls the whole unit of the front drive shaft. The two parts, swivel pillar and hub all come off as a one. They are dismantled on the workbench to give access to the bearings and brake disc.

The advise from the list was as follows:

1. Brett, first of all, what is your chassis number? Ref. note a, there is a mix of bearing/seal sizes and disc centre hole sizes that need to be clarified before ordering. Unless the bearings and seals are nearly new I would replace the lot while having it opened up. Ref note d: the outer outer race need to be drifted out with a long thin drift through the two holes in the hub. Ref. note c: A workshop having the tools and routine should do this in 2 – 3 hours depending on how badly things have rusted together.
2. Although the hubs wary a bit, I believe a common denominator will be that the crushable spacer which must be renewed is difficult to remove without disturbing the bearings with possible resulting damage. The inner race of the inner bearing must be removed to access the spacer. Special tools developed just for this would help Jensen doing it then I suppose. But do try If you want to.
3. Very interesting. ‘Tnx fer the tip ‘how-to’ description. I am in the process of replacing the front disks myself. My FF failed what you call MOT test this summer partly due to play in one hub and rubber defects in both upper ball joints. The disks are also bad. I have the disks, four bearings and two collapsible spacers. I will also replace the upper and lower ball joints. I have not really started yet, (vacation.) , but do collect parts. When front suspension is apart, I also want to replace drive shaft – rubber and seals. Thought these items might be easily accessible, common type or similar to a more common car. They were not accessible from Robey’s. Questions 1. How brutal force are needed to split the hub /bearings. If any? 2. Do the list have any tip on source, type, part number for these rubber parts?
4. I have the later Girling calipers and from the workshop manual it would appear I need Timkin no. LM.29749 and LM.29710 Bore 1.5 Outside Diam. 2.5625. (I presume Timkin was/is a trade name? are the better alternatives to Timkin?)I’ve already bought the front discs which should be according to the book eleven and three eighths in diameter.
5. With your chassis no you should have late spec everything. I haven’t access to my files here, and won’t for another week or so. Timken is a trade name and should be readily available at your local bearing trader, the seals likewise. The discs are basically the same, but the centre hole is smaller on the first cars, unless modified later, as most were. I seem to remember that it all comes apart easily; it is the removal and replacement of the races which can be a bit troublesome.
6. Splitting went OK, just used something to press ‘things’ apart. I did remove the hub from the car, and then spitted it. I’ve not re-assembled it yet, miss the oil seals. Hope they are underway…Could not make it without the knowledge of the list!
7. One of the list members gave the following information:

1) Jack up and support under chassis.

2) Undo the bolts holding the caliper and tie it up to avoid straining the brake hose. DO NOT TOUCH THE BRAKES NOW OR YOU’LL POP OUT THE PISTONS AND SPILL BRAKE FLUID EVERYWHERE!

3) Undo the hub nut. Tap the shaft end with a soft faced mallet to unstick it.

4) I simply used a couple of hefty levers to separate the hub and the hub carrier. The point is to balance the forces. You should now be left with the drive shaft protruding through the hub carrier.

5) Jack up the lower A-arm a wee bit. Place wooden blocks near the hub carrier but do not block access to the four bolts underneath it. Undo the four bolts underneath the bottom ball joint.

6) Undo the bolts holding the top joint to the upper arms. You may have to drift the bolts out. They are most likely rusty and will need replacement. NOTE WHICH SHIMS GO WHERE!!!!!!

7) Support the drive shaft with some string to avoid damage to the CV joints. Remove the upright with hub carrier.

8) Drift out the outer races from the hub carrier.

9) The inner race of the outer bearing must be drifted out from the hub using the two rather small holes in the outer face of the hub, i.e. at the face of the hub where the hub nut was.

10) And as they say, assembly is the reverse of removal. Unless the seals are newish and in perfect condition, renew them. This job being the kind of job it I would replace the bearings too unless newish. And of course the collapsible spacer.

The above guide formed the basis of my experience:

Photograph from manual showing the front suspension setup. Note part number 20, the front hub, remains attached to the swivel pillar throughout. The bearings are actually taper roller bearings so don’t look much like the diagram

 1. You will need

picture is missing the one bearing and one of the spacers is in the packet top right

a. Two Inner and two outer tapered roller bearings . Note there are several different sizes of bearing used on the MK1 FF. The bearings actually consists of two parts the inner tapered race and the outer ring in which the bearing runs. In my case with a late Mk1 they were inner No 18690 and outer ring 18620. I ended up with a mix of Timken and another make called Powerdrive. Because of time constraints I used those provided. I know I would have been happier with Timken, so suggest you specifically specify Timken when ordering. They do appear slightly different.

b. Four seals (2 seals each side). The seals are about 3 inches in diameter would appear to be the same for all FF’s

c. Two collapsible spacers, one per side. Collapsible spacers are about £6 from Martin Robey. NOTE I had a lot of trouble and couldn’t’t get the new space to collapse, ending up stripping three nuts. I finally ended up flattening the bulge in the old spacer and re using these.

Problems with the collapsible spacers and the Axel nut

I asked the list for help:

I tried to refit the front hub/swivel pillar assembly back on the car this weekend. Put it on the half shaft coming off the front differential, screwed up the axel nut (in theory this crushes the crushable spacer) using a three-quarter inch drive socket. The first part was OK forcing the bearings together until I got to the crushable spacer, which would not crush. I ended up stripping the castellated axel nut thread (one and half inches AF with a three quarter UNF thread) Then tried the axel nut from the other side which turned out to slightly different (it was a one and a quarter inch AF size, but obviously the same thread). Unfortunately I got the same result, a stripped thread! I am worried that next time I will damage the shaft thread and then I’ll be in real trouble. Martin Robey doesn’t stock the nuts anymore so I will have to source them elsewhere. The problem however remains. 1) How do I crush the spacer without stripping the thread? and 2) which is the correct nut? Any advise welcome

Responses were:

a. I took some photos of my nut. See attachment. The dimension is 1 1/2 inch. I get worried regarding the collapsible spaces. When I measure the old, it’s less than 1mm thick, but more than 0,5mm (I cannot measure more exact at home). The new one’s I got from Robey’s are 1mm sharp. Thicker, hence more powerful. When I went to the garage just now, I could not recollect where both the old ones where, but found only one. But it had the thickness of about. 0,7mm. Perhaps I should have new spacers machined?

b. I found one nut and took it to my local supplier. He identified it as a 3/4 UNF castle nut. He had, in stock, standard nuts, but the castle nut he would need to order in – and then probably there would be a difference in the head size. The standard nuts are as deep as the FF nut – and should therefore be a bit stronger, because they are not cut at the ends.

c. Brett, from the sound of it an unoriginal nut was used, slightly recut maybe, to fit? Get a correct nut with the right hardness. I have not experienced any trouble, and I’ve had the hubs off twice on each side.

d. Sounds like the spacers are just too bloody heavy! When performing a similar task on the rear hubs of my TVR, I simply made up a spacer out of tubing – I think it was about the thickness of old style exhaust pipe, nothing too heavy, and it worked perfectly. Maybe you should look at something similar, as I wouldn’t want to contemplate what lies in the direction you’ve been going! The spacer is just that – it sits in there and maintains clearance; it doesn’t have to be strong enough to hold up the whole damned car. I wonder if the ones that were given to you were incorrect.

e. Bill may have a point. Are they of recent remanufacture? Are they thicker than the old used ones? Or are they made from considerably harder steel?

f. I’ve looked up my notes. The old and new spacers were the same thickness (1mm exact, micrometer measurement). My spacers were bought from Cropredy. So I believe Robey have used the wrong material, or the nuts are wrong. The nuts quite probably being original the spacer are the most likely culprit. BTW, I tried reusing one spacer in the way described, but found that 10 miles were enough to slacken the hub badly. So keep an eye on them.Per

g. Hi List Found both my old spacer’s. Examining them now with your problems in mind, the old one have a 3mm part in the middle where the metal have been made thinner , some lathe work. My English do not include the name / description on metal work (guess lathe) , but what I mean is they have been in a machine where it is possible to rotate the spacer, and a tool have been used to remove some metal on the spacer. Perhaps the English term is ‘having been machined?’ This thinner part I believe is more than probably where it is intended to collapse. The new ones do not have this thinner part in the metal.

h. Dear List: Is it OK to reuse the spacers? Lengthen them a bit, and reuse. It is very tempting to do.

i. Was the machining clearly visible on the new ones? I certainly didn’t see anything like that. And no trace on the old ones either. The old ones didn’t bulge exactly in the middle, but quite a bit offset, and not entirely concentrically either in the way that the axis of the bulge is slightly at an angle to the axis of the hub.

I tried the whole thing with the other side including another new crushable spacer again stripped another nut. That’s three nuts in total I’ve stripped. The good news is that Cropredy Bridge Garage has had them re manufactured. The bad news is that they cost twenty-three pounds each and I had to buy two. In order to successfully put it all back together I had to remove and split both sides again and then take out the new spacers. I thought about what Bill wrote on the list including the purpose of the crushable spacer and decided to re use the old ones. I would advise anyone to retain theirs. I slipped the old ones back on the shaft and tapped the bulge flat again. Effectively lengthened it a bit. I re used these and had no problem overcoming the initial “crush”. If you use the new crushable spacers just be aware of my problems. Perhaps I’ve just had a lot of bad luck but I failed to crush two spacers and stripped nuts on both sides. The new spacer is definitely different.

Photo showing the correct Axle nut in its original position before removal

Photographs showing the bulge in the old “compression spacer” caused when the axel nut is done up forcing the inner and outer bearings together until they seat themselves

Photos showing the old spacer being reformed by hitting the bulge with an hammer after replacing it on the hub shaft and the final reformed spacer. Note the ribbing.

Photo of the removed hub with the new spacer, still in tact after the stripping of two nuts in an attempt to crush it.

 2. Unbolt caliper and hang to one side. Take care to note the location and number of shims/thin washes between the swivel pillar and the caliper. These are fitted at the factory to properly align the caliper and the disc. Put something between the pads to hold the brake pistons in place.

Photo of the washer shims from the top and bottom caliper bolts

3. Remove cotter pin, undo/remove the axel nut using a one and half inch AF spanner. At the time I did mine the opposite wheel was still on the ground so this resisted any hub rotation and undid reasonably easily. Later I jacked the other side up and ended up using a sheet of plywood mounted on the wheel studs to stop the hub from turning

 

Photos of axle nut and washer. Undoing the nut and 3rd picture of the plywood triangle with wheel stud aligned holes used to hold the hub still when undoing the second side and doing up the axle nut

4. Now remove whole hub/pillar assembly by:

a.

Undoing the 4 bolts holding bottom ball joint to the pillar.

b.

Disconnect top joint by removing the two bolts. Theses may be rusted , but in my opinion this is easier than trying to split the top ball joint (its angled location makes it very difficult to get a ball joint separator in)

c. Remove cotter pin and undo the track rod end nut and separate.

5.

Fit a large hub puller on to the hub. There is a nice lip all the way round where the hub part fits against the brake disk. Pull the hub/swivel pillar assembly off.

It comes off gently (not with a snap or anything) but it is quite heavy so be ready.

Photo of splined front axle

6.The hub/swivel pillar assembly is in two halves pressed together. Suggest you mount the lot in a vice with wood protection on the jaws. The first time round I mounted it by the pillar. Second time of doing it I found mounting it by the disk better.

View of the swivel pillar showing the old seal and the position of the hub flange shaft as it fits through the inner bearing and before the two parts are pried apart.

Note photo only shows one crowbar because my other hand was holding the camera.

Use two large crowbars or whatever, on opposite sides, between the pillar and disc. Leaver at the same time and the two halves will gradually separate. Be careful and try to have someone available to hold the one part as it comes away. (taking into account you have two hands on the crowbars).

View part way through the splitting operation showing movement of the hub flange shaft through the bearing.

One of the tapered bearings will fall out from its location in the swivel pillar as it just comes off.

7.

photo showing pillar removal from hub shaft notice the outer shell of the outer bearing in the pillar. The two outer parts of the bearings, will need to be knocked  out later.

Photo showing the outer shell of the outer bearing. to be removed later.

8.

The other part still in the vice will have on its shaft a spacer, the bearing and the crushable spacer.

I suggest at this stage you unbolt the disk and remove it. This allows easier access to the bearing for its removal.

9.

Once you’ve got going or before you start with the drifting of the bearing you may be able to pull of the crushable spacer with your fingers

10.

Removal of the bearing. This is done by using a drift through the two small holes at the front of the hub. Note the spacer bearing race and the crushable spacer

Photo of spacer showing the dished side that goes towards the hub flange.

Ideally the drifting this should be done through both holes at the same time to evenly drift off the bearing. In practice I knocked through each hole separately a bit at a time. After hitting through the one hole I put a wedge in the gape made then hit through the other side.

The first one I did I drifted it all the way and this was hell. The holes are at a slight angle and drifting ends up bending the drift. Anything other than a hardened drift just bends.

The second time I did it I just kept alternating until I was in a position to get the crow bars behind the bearing then eased it a little further until I could get a gear puller on the bearing and used this to get the bearing off. Note the use of a large socket in the last picture to extend the hub flange shaft so the bearing could be pulled off.

11. I took the opportunity to replace the wheel studs with new ones. Just knock them out and knock the new ones in. If I change to larger wheels on the MK 1 I will need spacers so I thought better studs would be an improvement. I mentioned uprated studs to the list the result was that no one seems to do them accept possibly Automotive Racing Products in America. They do a stud you can torque normally up to 90 ft/lbs but this was outside my timescale for fitting.

12. Pre-Pack the bearings with grease and refit:

Grease and pre-packing the front bearing on the FF

I had asked the list about the availability of a better grease than the recommended Castrol LM for the front Hub bearings on the FF. Thank you for the replies. I also eventually managed to contact the technical Department of Castrol. The result of these discussions was:

• Castrol LMX grease is an all round improvement on LM grease. It is used in sports applications. Not so easy to get hold of. Got mine over the Internet from RS Components UK as a large 3 kg tin for £14.46 plus delivery. They also sell it in 400-gram tubes for £1.98. The BP equivalent is “Ener” grease LC2. Timken also make a special “automotive wheel bearing grease” which I was told was effectively the same as LMX but red in colour.
• The technical advisor at Castrol also said that you shouldn’t’t use molybdenum containing greases. The Molybdenum element is very slippy and is used where the joint may go dry due to impact. Hence its use in CV joints where there is a lot of crashing about.  With roller bearings this very slippy nature can cause the bearings to skid rather than roll and result in uneven wear.
• I was also given some other advice from a bearing manufacturer about how to pre-pack the bearings prior to installing them, using the “grease in the palm” method.
  • You put grease (approximately the size of a golf ball) in the palm of one hand (use latex gloves) and then with the other hand, you push the large end of the bearing cone assembly into the grease. Force the grease between the rollers from the large end until the grease is forced out evenly around the smaller end.
  • Also the bearing housing should only be filled one third to half full as the rest of the space is needed to allow room for excess grease to be thrown from the bearing and for heat removal. Too much grease in the housing may cause churning of the grease and high temperatures.
  • Finally, there should also be a space between the bearing and the seal. It is essential that this cavity is also filled with grease.

 

13. Reassemble by replacing the spacer with the flat side towards the bearing.

Then drift on the new tapered bearing . . I just tapped the bearing down bit at a time because I couldn’t get a tube or as one would normally use, a correctly sized socket, to fit. Next put on the collapsible spacer which will eventually be sandwiched between the two bearings.

Remove the 2 seals and outer bearing shells

renew the outer bearing shells:

Photo showing the bearing shell/outer casing being driven evenly into one side of the swivel pillar. The outer shell is for the other bearing goes much deeper in the swivel pillar and I just gently knocked this in using a drift and hammer.

renew the seals on both sides of the swivel pillar

Put the swivel pillar with its new bits in place on the hub shaft and then tap down the inner bearing until it reaches the crushable spacer. It will be all wobbly but fixed together.

Photos showing the bearing . being put into place and tapped down before using a large socket to knock it down evenly until it meets the crushable spacer.

View of the final location of the bearing after being tapped up to the crushable spacer.

15

View of axel stub before putting the hub/swivel pillar assembly in place.

Put the unit on the Axel stub and hold in place with the axel nut and washer. Then reconnect the bottom ball joint,top joint and track rod end. Do all these three up properly to remove any play that might disguise the feel of free play in the hub when tightening it up.

Picture of the front suspension showing the torque settings for various fixings.

16. Place whatever means you have to stop the axel turning in place. Do up nut by flats whilst rotating wheel. Do up until no play, then one flat more. (Advice from Dave Barnett). I’ll see how it goes but I couldn’t bring myself to do it up one flat more. I just did it up a hint more, enough to get the cotter pin in.

17. Misc. Notes

a. It is at least one day a side.

b.

Originally I was supplied with the wrong discs. As can be seen the inner hole on the one at the back was to small. The brake discs are basically the same, but the centre hole is smaller on the first cars, unless modified later, and it has been suggested to me most were. My discs are 11 3/8 inch outer diameter with a 3 ¾ inch inner hole.

c.

Pictures showing the removal of the spacer from the hub flange. Although I did this it was one of those totally unnecessary jobs that you do when you don’t really know what your doing. It would appear to just fill a hole and give support and resistance when the washer/axle nut is done up. Maybe of some interest.

REAR SUSPENSION

Jacking up the rear

I asked the List about jacking the rear of an FF:
“I would normally jack up the rear with my trolley jack on the forward rear spring bracket but I am going to remove those springs. Where do I put the jack away from the spring?”

the responses were:

1.Jacking up whole of rear of car: If I recall correctly, when I replaced my springs last year I carefully jacked up the back of the car by putting the trolley jack under the rear diff. I then placed axle stands on the chassis tubes (I think). Regarding the springs. I used new Robey springs but had to have them taken off and a couple of leaves added due to the rear still sagging (I have two LPG tanks fitted to my Interceptor so there is quite a bit of extra weight on the rear).[ Note: The chassis tubes on an FF run down the outer sills whereas on the Interceptor they run down the middle of the car).
2.Jacking up one side: I usually wedge a block of wood along the rear part of the chassis tube, between the vertical part of the outer sill panel and the side of the floor. Then a padded jack below the wood block.

Polyurethane bushes

Photo shows the “SuperFlex” shackle ( £26.00 + vat) and panhard (£14.00 + vat) poly bushes bought from Rejen Classics.

The specification list from SuperFlex for their polyurethane bushes reads: SPF 0809/70 replaces OE No. 6734- Rear panhard rod bush 1 of 4 – £2.76 (although the SuperFlex specs don’t say it these fit the Mk.1.FF as they have the same part no. as the Interceptor). SPF 1037 replaces OE No. CT 282- Rear leaf spring shackle pin bush 1 of 8 -£2.16 (again these fit the Mk.1.FF -same part no.as the Interceptor). As of May 2002 the front anti roll bar bushes and the rear leaf spring front bush (and stainless steel sleeve) have not yet been produced but are “due”?

Replacing rear bushes.

Photograph nicely showing how it is done courtesy of Per Eie

Removal- Put a block of wood between the shackle and the chassis. When undone the shackle spring end will want to move upwards.Jack up under the axle so that the spring is up against the wooden block. Undo the bolts holding the spring, lower the jack until the spring is free of the block, and then undo the other end.
Replacement- I actually put 2 pieces of wood in the gap to allow the insertion of wooden wedges between them. I kept inserting wooden wedges (carefully) to force the eye to its new location so that the shackle could be inserted in the bushes.

Rear Springs

T J Higgins Elongated shackles to re-establish the ride height.

Photos of rear suspension showing the wooden wedges used to force the spring eye to its lower position to take the new temporary elongated shackles that reestablished the ride heights on my car.

My FF was sagging unevenly at the rear. I read through all my saved information from this list on sagging rear ends ( see below)and decided to go the “redneck engineering” route as detailed on TJ Higgins website ( http://home.hiwaay.net/~tjhiggin/hwystar/rearsag.html ) and use longer shackles. As my car was sagging unevenly I drilled additional holes so that the shackles were effectively different sizes. I used the method in “replacing bushes” above to fit the new shackles. The car now sits level with three fingers between the wheel arch and top of the each rear tyre.

Replacing Springs.

In April 2004 the rear dampers were both leaking and I decided to bite the bullet and replace the rear springs. I received much advise from the list ( included at the end of this section) but decided to do it by jacking one side at a time as follows:

1) I decided to jack up and do one side at a time ( in retrospect not such a good idea)

2) As I was replacing the dampers as well as the the rear springs I jacked up the car under the rear end of the chassis tube on one side and placed an axle stand for under the same tube

3)

The axle was jacked up a little using a second jack, to take the load off the damper and allow its removal NOTE: there is no need to remove the damper to just do a spring change. In fact it is much better to leave it in place because it holds up the axle. In my case the axle ended up resting on the exhaust because without the spring and damper there is nothing to hold the axle in place.

4) Rear parcel shelf was removed and the four damper securing bolts undone ( see section on replacing dampers)

5)Remove damper.

6)

A piece of wood was placed in the shackle ( see “replacing bushes”) and the second jack, jacked up further to force the spring against the wooden block. I then to tried to undo the four self locking nuts from the spring bolts securing the spring to the axle pad.

7)

The bolt heads of the four spring/axle bolts are not readily accessible. In the end I used a Dremel to cut through three of the four bolts which had seized nuts. I had tried to release the tension on the bolts by undoing them a little, however because they were seized, when I cut through the first one it went with a “bang”. When I did the remainder I only cut through three quarters and was able to shear the bolt using a ring spanner on the seized nut. Still a twang but much safer.

8)

The results of the Dremels work

9) The shackle bolts were then undone

10)

When I lowered the second jack holding up the axle two things, that I hadn’t thought of happened Firstly, as the pressure came off the spring/axle and because the left hand wheel was still on the ground the axle decided to jump off the locating pin on the spring a shoot some eight to ten inches backwards along the spring. When replacing the spring I had to use a third jack to force the axle back to the centre of the spring and for the centering pin to locate itself. Secondly, the axle ended up resting on the exhaust pipe. I was probably lucky that the exhaust pipe mountings were sound.

11)

Removal of the foreword eye bolt. Jacking the car up on a 2 X 4 wooden block on the chassis tube just left enough room to undo the eye bolts.

12)

The exhaust box also had to be levered a little to allow the eye bolt to be withdrawn.

Comparison of new and old springs Note the the distance from the locating pin to the spring eyes at either end are not the same i.e. it is offset. Measured from the centre locating pin on the spring to the centre of the eye mine are approx. twenty three and half inches to the forward eye bolt (i.e. not the one attached to the shackle) And twenty-six and a half from the pin to the shackle end. When I bought the new springs they already had the forward eye bolt bushes in place.
1969 MK1 FF

Comparison of the old and new (Interceptor replacement spring)

Photo showing the eleven thinner leaves of the original FF rear spring

In retrospect what I should have done was raise the whole rear end as follows:

1. Jack up each side.(or jack up car using trolley jack under the diff casing (this is often the quickest and easiest). Lift as high as you can, then position a couple of axle stands under the rear end of the chassis tubes, immediately in front of the rear forward spring attachment point-eye bolt)
2. Remove both wheels.
3. With the trolley jack under the diff, you can support the entire axle and spring assembly with the jack, while the weight of the car itself is on the stands. Jack up the car under the tubes until the rear shackle is about vertical. Wedge blocks of wood in the rear shackle, jack up the axle until the rear spring eye rests against the underside of the blocks in the shackles, undo the “rear” shackle nuts from the shackle and lower the jack or not until the shackle can be removed from the chassis and spring shackle bushes. Lower the jack until the spring is free of the wooden block and the weight of the axle is held by the damper.
4. Undo the rear spring forward eye bolt nut and remove the bolt.
5. Undo the 4 nuts that tie the axle to the springs.
6. Remove the springs.

NOTES:

1) When I lowered the axle it came to rest on the exhaust pipes. I placed a jack under the spring and jacked it up so I could undo the 4 nuts. After loosening off the nuts the bolt began to turn. It was very difficult to stop this and I ended up using my Dremel to cut through some of them.

2)The car still doesn’t sit evenly at the rear the left hand side being lower than the right. Picking up a point made by someone on the list that his front springs were slightly different in length and only after swapping them over did the rear of the car sit correctly, believe that because of the left hand side front lower suspension link arm being damaged in the past and bent upwards a little this is probably causing the difference at the back. (So back to the T.J. Higgin’s method perhaps?)

Refitting:

Refitting is the reverse, but have a couple of blocks of wood approximately 2″ by 1″ and 3 or 4″ long to assist in refitting the rear shackles. The new spring will most likely be a sharper “U” than will easily fit due to being in the unloaded condition.
1.Place these two small blocks of wood between the rear of the rear spring and the box section above it through which the shackle also passes.
2. Slowly jack up the axle and spring assembly so that as it begins to push up against the wooden blocks, the spring begins to unbend and slides rearwards along the blocks. With a little bit of adjustment you can get the eyes of the spring in just the right place so that the shackles slide in easily.

General info.

Martin Robey sell the rear springs, which are the same for the FF and Interceptor for £96.50p +vat (March 2004). They come with the spring eye bush already installed. However, the original FF rear springs have eleven leaves compared to nine thicker leaves on the new ones that I bought from Martine Robey.(On the question of spring stiffness. I was advised: As discussed before, adding extra coils to the front springs will soften up the ride – however, on the rear leaf suspension removing 2 leaves will also soften the ride. This is because with a coil spring, adding coils effectively lengthens the single rod which is being twisted, making it easier/softer; whereas, on the rear, removing 2 springs makes the spring assembly thinner and easier to bend, which also softens the suspension. Thus, you will have a softer ride front and rear, which is balanced. This is based on the assumption that the spring material dimensions remain the same in each case.

From the Jensen list and in response to my questions I gathered the following information on rear springs (summarised):

1. Original FF springs have one more leaf than Interceptor ones and are no longer available. Springs supplied now are the same for both cars. Generally, I am told that if you have original springs you should have them re-tempered, but my FF already had the “wrong “springs on. It is possible technically to put an extra leaf on the Interceptor springs but the cost would be prohibitive. The ride on my FF is very harsh at the rear. The other interesting thing is that I changed springs on the Mk 1 two years before the FF and they have barely sagged at all whereas the FF ones look as if they could do with replacing again.
1. Others may not agree, but I think the best solution when your rear is sagging is to have the springs re-arched and, perhaps, have an extra leaf added. That’s what I did with my rear springs back in 1993. Because I removed the springs myself (a hateful and nervous-making job which I probably wouldn’t do again), the work on the springs cost only $80 I believe that Delta Motor Sports can supply new springs, but I’ve never really looked into that. If you DO buy new springs, you still have the hateful and nervous-making task of removing the old ones and replacing them with the new. Or hiring someone else to do it.
2. There are only 3 things to remember when removing the springs…1. Be absolutely certain there’s no tension on them. 2. Be absolutely certain there’s no tension on them. 3. Be absolutely certain there’s no tension on them. Don’t ask how I know!!!!!!
3. Hmmm… Remember to disconnect the Shock absorbers before jacking up the car. Actually I found that getting the new ones back on was far more entertaining – involving many happy hours playing with “G” clamps, blocks of wood, two trolley jacks, and stretching my vocabulary of bad language to its absolute limit..
4. Re:Rear Springs – UK only.From: “DSM” david@desem.co.uk (Apr 2002) Those in the UK who are going to undertake leaf spring “off” and “on”. I made myself a strong tee bar with hook bolts which was absolutely brilliant to hold the spring to the eye centre’s required. Anyone wishing to borrow it is more than welcome.
5. I usually change my own springs – not all that big a job, though sometimes a bit grimy. The rear shackles rarely present any problem, and the U bolts that are double nutted come off easily with a deep socket on an air ratchet. The front bolt is the only one that can be troublesome, so I’d start there and if it is truly seized in place, take it to a shop. I have even disassembled the springs at the track – the clamps are soft iron, and all you need is a big hammer to bang them open, remove a leaf and knock them shut again – shades of blacksmith work I used to do for the horses. Had I not needed to soften the springs between races, I wouldn’t have done that of course – just removing them yourself will save a few bucks, though. You can now get fibreglass composite leaf springs for various cars (MGs included), and I’d be tempted to at least look at that possibility, as they are reputed to not sag as easily, aside from being quite a bit lighter (not a consideration in an Interceptor as much as in a race car).
6. My own experience came after Dave Crowne had done his and gone to the trouble of removing the springs himself. The spring shop were not all that pleased about it, not only because it made the bill lower (I guess) but they wanted to see how they sat. They mostly did trucks and commercial vehicles. I just drove mine over and told them I wanted “two fingers above the tire”. This is not exactly precise instructions but I think I found it in the old Tech Tips manual assembled by the JIOC. It was good enough for them to install an extra leaf. The handling seemed to improve and the sag disappeared. I seem to remember it costing $200.
7. The old “rule of thumb” (no pun intended) was two fingers width above the tire tread.
8. I took springs to the biggest spring shop here in Nashville, TN and they refused to re-arch them saying they would go right back to where they were. I bought new ones myself and they placed the car in the same position as my old tired ones. Longer shackles worked for me….
9. Interested that Bob’s local chaps added an extra leaf to the rear springs. Doesn’t the FF have one extra leaf anyway? Also, I seem to recall discussing rear springs with Jensen Parts and Service in about 1979 and they said that for the North American market the springs had a greater camber, making the rear of the car higher. Having considered both these alternatives I replaced the rear springs on my late MK1 with new ones from the factory. Now, 23 years and perhaps 40,000 miles later (mostly lightly laden) they are still fine, though perhaps slightly softer than I would like as it can ground with four people in it. Static height is fine though. Is my memory getting as old as I am, or does anyone else know about the North American springs?
10. Perhaps a better dimension, and one easier to measure, is the height from the ground, front and rear, of the stainless steel sill cover. As long as the front and rear measurements are the same, the exact number of inches isn’t all that significant (although I don’t mind telling you that on my car it’s 10 ¼” both front and rear) because it will vary slightly with tire size, tire wear, and inflation. The principle is that the car should sit level on the road, not tail-down (or, very rarely, nose-down). If you insist on using wheel-arch height as a key dimension, please be aware that there’s a difference between front and rear. On my car it’s 28″ front and 27 ¼” rear, even though, as I say, the car sits exactly level. Let me take the opportunity to recommend that, unless your rear springs are badly rusted or otherwise significantly impaired, instead of replacing them you have them re-arched AND HAVE A LEAF ADDED by a competent spring specialist. That will give you two desirable results-a more long-lasting repair, and an improvement in handling.
11. The rear end of my recently-acquired Mk II was sagging noticeably and unevenly. I took the advice of the esteemed list and, after searching out the largest spring shop in town, I replaced the leaf springs. I now look like I’m driving a ’69 Chevelle SS (this may not translate to those across large bodies of water). The spring shop built custom springs using the existing springs as guides. The guy told me that he could simply measure the bits and re-create a new version of the same. I offered to track down any specs that he might need, but he said “no worries, mate” (this is a translation from the actual Florida English). Basically, instead of having the recommended two-fingers of space above the rear tire, I can put my whole (relatively small) hand in. And forget about the rocker panel being horizontal. While the “jacked-up” look is better than the sunken-rear that I had a week ago, I was hoping to achieve a more modest level. Moreover, the rear end is extremely rigid and yields only slightly when pushed upon. As you can imagine, I feel every bump and the handling seems a bit stiff.
12. “According to the spec’s for the interceptor the ride height should be 51/2inch. from floor to bottom of the stainless steel sill from front wheel to the rear wheel” While Dave Martin said: “I think my set up is a little high @ 12.5″ (320mm) front sill tip and 14 1/8″ (360mm) tip of rear.” specs coming from Roy indicate that the sill should be perfectly horizontal, but Dave’s specs indicate that the rear will be about 1 5/8″ higher. From ground to bottom of sill, my car is now 9 ¾” in the front and 11 ½” in the rear (a delta of 1 ¾”-similar to Dave’s, but certainly not level). Note that I am now a good 4 to 6 inches higher than Roy’s specs. On the “springiness”, should I assume that the springs will break in? Also, wouldn’t the spring shop have lubricated the springs?

13 “I agree that getting the correct ride height seems to be a problem in the good old U.S.A. but I can confirm that springs supplied by our own specialists Martin Robey & Cropredy Garage give the correct ride height(after an initial bedding in period) and I have no reason to believe Rejen or any of the other specialists in this country would be any different. I can also confirm the ride quality of your car would be greatly improved with new springs and bushes fitted and although costing slightly more than eighteen pounds they are still very reasonably priced. I’m sure any of the afore mentioned specialist’s would give you the same advice”
14. Regarding the springs. I used new Robey springs but had to have them taken off and a couple of leaves added due to the rear still sagging (I have two LPG tanks fitted to my Interceptor so there is quite a bit of extra weight on the rear).

The above are pictures provided by a member of the Jensen list of his rear spring removing tool .

Rear Dampers/Shock absorbers

View of left hand wheel arch showing orientation of selectride damper.
The Armstrong Selectarides can be reconditioned by Steveson Motors,(Derek) Birmingham 0121 472 1702 They will quote for the work after seeing the shock absorber. Rejen will also get selectarides rebuilt. I was also advised that in a late 70’s road test it was commented that the MK2 suspension setup was not as good as the earlier MK1 (it was to soft). The MK1 selectarides giving a choice of firmness.

Spax Settings:

I fitted Spax adjustable rear shocks as it was quicker and I wanted the car back on the road ASAP. I bought them from Cropredy Bridge Garage at £69.95 + vat each. Mine are set at 14 clicks back from the hardest setting as advised by Cropredy. There are 24 clicks from weak to hard.

One alternative from the list was:

” I had new springs from Robeys 3 years ago and it sits up like new. I also use Spax adjustable’s set to 7-8 (presumably from the lowest setting) and get a very good ride.”

First photo shows top mounting bolts for rear shock absorber located under parcel shelf cover. Second photo, shows bottom mounting bolt. The shock absorber is removed by undoing these 4 bolts and the bottom shock absorber bolt. The bracket and shock together are then removed. The bracket and shock being separated when off the car.

Undoing the damper nut was a bit difficult because of space restrictions but a short spanner and hammer did the trick

Photo of the cut washer needed on the selectarides ( with the the Spax replacement shocks an ordinary washer is OK

View of of right hand side rear damper and mounting bracket showing the angle at which it is attached to the damper.The manual provides: “When fixing brackets to top of damper, the rubber bushes should be tightened when the top faces of the brackets form an angle of 82 degrees, in side elevation, with the centre line of the damper”

view of the rusted and pitted bottom damper mounting spindle 17 photo of the damper mounting bracket showing how the spindle should look

Comparison of the selectaride and Spax shocks

PANHARD ROD

View of the panhard rod mounting in the rear offside (rear right hand side) wheel arch.

View of Panhard rod mounting in the rear nearside ( rear left hand side)wheel arch.

Replacing the Universal Joints

I had developed a clunk and rattle from beneath the car that manifested itself on the way back from the FF and Interceptor day at Sandwell.

It turned out to be the U/J joint on the rear of the secondary shaft (one of the 2 front drive shafts).

Photos 123 &4 showing copies of the workshop manual

 

Photo 1 Diagram from manual showing the FF “front drive shafts”. Made up of the secondary shaft and primary prop shaft.

Photo2

Photo 3

Photo4

I was sent the following information, which I followed and also added to with photographs:

Diagram: Below: Generic diagram showing prop a shaft and U/J joints

 

General

• 1) A bad U-joint can normally be detected by a metallic clunking sound when the vehicle is placed in gear. Other symptoms of a failing U-joint are vibrations from the drive shaft, noticeable especially between 25 and 35 mph and shudder on acceleration. To check a Universal Joint for play, rotate the drive shaft back and forth by hand, checking the joint for any play. Also look for signs of rust. This usually means a U-joint that has no grease and is ready to be replaced soon.

 

Photo 5 showing the damaged joint. It showed play and was rusty.

• 2) The Jensen has a Spicer Snap Ring (or C clip) that sits in a groove outside the yoke to hold the bearing caps in place.

Diagram:

You don’t have to worry about trying to save these clips. You get a set of each type when you buy a new U-joint

Photos 6 and 7 showing the Hardy Spicer joint box front and rear with joint information.

Photo 8 showing box contents

Removal from car.

• 1) Photo 9 to 12 show the removal of the rear cross member. This allows access to the flange bolts on the secondary shafts rear universal joint. The “front driveshafts” are made up of the primary propshaft and the secondary shaft –see diagram photo1.
• 2) Support the transfer case before removing the cross member.

Photo 9 showing support of the transfer case

• 3) The cross member has 2 bolts either end (locations can be best seen by the holes shown in photo 12).

Photo 10 sowing the rear cross member. Note the two centre bolts that attach the rubber mounting to the…………………………………………

Photo 11 showing the bolt location on the rear cross member

Photo 12 showing rear cross member after removal

• 4) Before undoing the U/J bolts index-mark each side of the shaft where they bolt to one another so it can go back together in the same position. This avoids any possibility of unbalancing the driveline. Undo the 4 bolts holding that U/J.

Photo 13 showing flange bolt removal. There are obviously 4 bolts

• 5% The front cross member must also be removed to allow access to the universal joint flange bolts on the front end of the secondary shaft. Again index mark the flange joint to ensure it goes back together as it came apart.

Photo 9 showing the front cross member, above which the front universal joint is located. The photo also shows the bracket that holds the steady bearing through which the secondary shaft passes before it connects to the primary propshaft.

Photo 10 showing the front U/J (after removing the cross member for access) on the secondary shaft.

Photo 11 showing side view of front cross member

Photo 12 showing:???????????

Photo 13 showing secondary shaft after removal from car. It was the rear U/J joint on this shaft that was worn.

Disassembly:

• 6) Place U-joint in a vise.
• 7) Index-mark each side of the joint before dismantling so it can go back together in the same position

Diagram:

• 8) Remove all the snap rings (or C-Clips) that retain the bearings in the yokes. Most times you will need to tap the bearing cap in a little to make removing the Snap Ring

Select a wrench socket with an outside diameter slightly smaller than the U-joint bearings. Select another wrench socket with an inside diameter slightly larger than the U-joint bearings.

• 9) Place the sockets at opposite bearings in the yoke so that the smaller socket becomes a bearing pusher and the larger socket becomes a bearing receiver when the vise jaws come together

Diagram:

Photo 19 showing use of small and large sockets to press out the bearing

• 10) Close vise jaws until both the bearings are free of yoke and remove bearings from the cross or spider.
• 11) If bearings will not come all the way out, close vise until bearing in receiver socket protrudes from yoke as much as possible without using excessive force. Then remove from vise and place that portion of bearing that protrudes from yoke between vise jaws. Tighten vise to hold bearing and drive yoke off with a soft hammer.
• 12) To remove opposite bearing from yoke, replace in vise with pusher socket on exposed cross journal with receiver socket over bearing cup. Then tighten vise jaws to press bearing back through yoke into receiving socket.
• 13) Remove yoke from drive shaft and again place protruding portion of bearing between vise jaws. Then tighten vise to hold bearing while driving yoke off bearing with soft hammer.
• 14) Turn spider or cross ¼ turn and use the same procedure to press bearings out of drive shaft.

Photo 20 showing the actual wear to the joint

Replacing Universal Joint

• 15) Check new bearings for adequate grease before assembling.
• 16) Press one bearing part way into drive shaft.

Photo21

• 17) Position spider into the partially installed bearing and then place second bearing into drive shaft.

Photo 22

Photo 23

• 18) Fasten drive shaft in vise so that bearings are in contact with faces of vise jaws.
• 19) With the pusher (smaller) socket, Press bearings all the way into position and install snap rings.
• 22) Install bearings in yoke in the same manner.
• 23) When installation is completed, check U-joint for binding or roughness. If free movement is impeded, correct the condition before installation in vehicle. If there is a little binding, try striking the yoke with a brass or plastic hammer. It will be somewhat stiff, but that’s okay.