Front Suspension Step By Step

One of the things I did today was to put together the passenger side front suspension and decided to take pictures if each step of the process.

The first step is to fit the upper and lower wishbones on to the chassis. This is done via a nylon bushes and a 12mm bolt.

This is actually much harder than it sounds as it is very tight. The technique that I used was to use the end of a screwdriver to provide a ramp which the outer bush sides down in to the bracket. Without this it is very difficult to get the bushes in to the brackets both sides. I also used a bit of grease so help things along.

Next was fitting the top and bottom ball joints which is what connects to the hub.

 

Next I fitted the ‘mushroom’ to the hub. This domed fitting goes in the top of the hub and is used to adjust the vehicle setup (but how I am not sure).

Again, this is a bit of a tight fit but with the use of a little grease, a big screwdriver and a rubber hammer, it was fitted.

The hub is then bolted to the top and bottom ball joints.

Next up was the coil-over which is bolted to the bottom wishbone the chassis at the top. I used a couple of washers to pad the coil-over and stop it moving laterally.

With that all largely assembled, I did a little work to get the hub upright.

It is fairly irrelevant at this stage as once the car is on the floor and the weight of the car is on it, it will need doing again. But I  thought I might as well get it level to start with.

The adjustment is made by changing the length of the upper ball joint thing.

So there we have the finished front passenger suspension. The steering rack is also extended out to the hub but I have not fitted them yet as the paint was still drying at this stage.         

Front Suspension Trial Fit

Today at work, a colleague showed me a magazine article about front suspension geometry on Land Rover vehicles and how the chamber, toe and caster angle effects handling.

It was all interesting stuff but it also go me thinking about the front suspension on my own car, and how little I actually knew about how it all fitted together.

The rear suspension was done ages ago (before xmas I think) and took me ages to do but because the front suspension can not be fitted until the side panels are on, all of the front suspension components have remained in the box.

But tonight, I decided to put together one side of the front suspension just to see how it would look and work.

I certainly think that my car building skills have improved since I did the back suspension. I remember that the back suspension took several days with me spending hours trying to fit the wishbones to the chassis. Back then, if things didn’t side together perfectly, I assumed I had done something wrong or that the kit was not right. Now, I realise that something I would have worried about not fitting perfectly 6 months ago, just requires a little extra leverage or maybe a tap with a hammer.

The rear suspension took days but I put together the front suspension in less than an hour!

Here is how.

The first step is to fit the lower ball joint to the lower wishbone.

Next, the lower wishbone is attached to the chassis. This is done by inserting nylon bushes in to the ends of the wishbones, these are then pushed in to the brackets on the chassis and an M12 bolt holds it all in place.

Next, I screwed in the ‘drag link arm’ in to the top wishbone. The top wishbone is then fitted to the chassis in the same way as the bottom wishbone.

With the two wishbones in place, I next fitted the front hob. The bottom of the hub sits on the ball joint on the lower wishbone.

 

The ‘drag link arm’ on the top wishbone sits in the ‘mushroom’ which is pushed in to the top of the hub.

The mushroom is a special part supplied in the kit. The hole in the top of the mushroom is offset to and is initially set with the hole in the front most position but by twisting the mushroom, you adjust the toe angle (I believe) of the front wheel.

The drag link arm can be screwed in to the upper wishbone to alter the chamber of the front wheel.

With the upper and lower wishbones fitted along with the hub, I next fitted the front coil-over damper.

   

This shock-absorber is fitted by simply bolting the top to the chassis and the bottom to the lower wishbone.

Finally, I decided to also fit the steering extenders which attached the steering rack to the hub. These rods translate the lateral movement on the steering rack to the pivoted movement on the hubs (and wheels).

This proves that the steering will work but it also showed me that the paint job I did on the steering rack extensions was rubbish so I will have to redo it at some point. This painting was done really early on and I suspect I rushed it in my rush to get on with some more significant building.

So there we have it. Front suspension worked out and fitted in just one hour. It will all have to come back off at the weekend ready for the side panels to be to be fitted.

    

Next job, finish the wiring!!!