Looking good Ant 
. That's an awful lot of work you've got through on your own already, excellent work.
. That's an awful lot of work you've got through on your own already, excellent work.
Rear subframe overhaul
- Thread starter Antm72
- Start date
They say time flys when you having fun !! been nice to do it Steve been on the cards a long while i really enjoy stuff like thisLooking good Ant
Nice work Ant, this is a job most of our cars would benefit from, but most of us would shy away from.
I can understand that i shy'd off it for along time and in all honest not now sure why. If you have tools and can weild a spanner its a pleasure of a job and quite rewarding
I'd recommend anyone to take the plunge you may just surprise yourselves!
Last edited:
It shows that you enjoy it Ant with all your enthusiasm shining through.They say time flys when you having fun !! been nice to do it Steve been on the cards a long while i really enjoy stuff like this
Those look pukka Ant, satisfaction guaranteedTotally agree some people/ garages just bung them in. The tools and parts worked out cheaper than a garage anyway.
Tony.
Can't imagine you would shy away from that mate, seeing the pictures of your engine in bits and the mods you're doing to that
Tony.
Do you mean Revshift bushes?
I do believe you right amended.
Great work! I recently completed pulling everything out myself TWICE! I put in the toe and camber weld in kits, changed all the bushings under there and whatnot. Takes me about 5 hours to pull out and 5 to put back in, but the first time took about 18 hours round trip. It is a lot of work especially if you are on your own.
So Day 3 and its back in 
and im knackered but happy. I went back single handed with a little thought applied to how .
I started the day later than i wanted but good old british weather predicted sun and clouds and get rain
.
Thankfully just a shower so started by cleaning down the underside before adding back the beam.
A little sanding and removing of the odd spot of rust and a coat of Vatcan to treat the areas cleaned off.
I let that dry as i can revisit it to recoat the treated areas as all are pretty much accessible.
I was going to paint the arms once all was back in but needed to pain the top of the arms at the mounts as they are not accessable with it in so ended up coating up the most part of the top so its re touching in when i finish the rest tomorrow.
I stripped the arms to the hub. Calipers,disks handbrake shoes and the handbrake cables so i cleaned the back plates up and lightened the weight in the process.
The wood underneath i used to reinsert the beam i had the beam weight balanced on the wood so it was just amatter of finding the balance point on that and it lifted striaght up and in.
Fiddly to say the least beam balancing on the jack whilst locating the prop !!
Saying that it jacked up and bolted back, its all torqued up to spec thanks @Lee for the figures any missing you already sent me the Bentley manual so i found what was needed.
So its back in
As said alittle bit of underside touch up and the arms to address and then i will fit all the other goodies..
Still to do.
New handbrake cables
New handbrake shoes and new fitting kit
Repaint the arms / diff and fit new pipe clips
Remake the brake pipes and fit the remaining flexi hoses.
Repaint the rear calipers.
Refit all new spring pads 22mm uppers to get alittle lift
Fit springs
Fit Bilstein B6 sport rear dampers and new bilstein top mounts.
Refit all the heat shields.
Refit the exhaust.
Bleed the brakes. ( Another new tool a vacuum bleeder.
Refit the wheels hoping now the camber has been sorted they still fit !!
Only kidding on the last one i have already checked
The tires clear the arch at least passenger side no reason to think driver will be different but i will check fit first thing tomorrow.
The Beam lift bushes / diff drop kit have worked well at first glance its never gonna to removed all the camber but it is defo an improvement on what i had before for sure. Its over halfed it
having tucked in and pushed out the top of the wheel they fit the arch to perfection so very pleased be nice to see it sat on the floor.
Heres a pic for a rough idea i have no springs in so jacked the wheel up it hits the rear bumper first and it would catch the rim not the tire and its not that low so its good.
Another sucessfull day
and im knackered but happy. I went back single handed with a little thought applied to how .I started the day later than i wanted but good old british weather predicted sun and clouds and get rain
.Thankfully just a shower so started by cleaning down the underside before adding back the beam.
A little sanding and removing of the odd spot of rust and a coat of Vatcan to treat the areas cleaned off.
I let that dry as i can revisit it to recoat the treated areas as all are pretty much accessible.
I was going to paint the arms once all was back in but needed to pain the top of the arms at the mounts as they are not accessable with it in so ended up coating up the most part of the top so its re touching in when i finish the rest tomorrow.
I stripped the arms to the hub. Calipers,disks handbrake shoes and the handbrake cables so i cleaned the back plates up and lightened the weight in the process.
The wood underneath i used to reinsert the beam i had the beam weight balanced on the wood so it was just amatter of finding the balance point on that and it lifted striaght up and in.
Fiddly to say the least beam balancing on the jack whilst locating the prop !!
Saying that it jacked up and bolted back, its all torqued up to spec thanks @Lee for the figures any missing you already sent me the Bentley manual so i found what was needed.So its back in
As said alittle bit of underside touch up and the arms to address and then i will fit all the other goodies..
Still to do.
New handbrake cables
New handbrake shoes and new fitting kit
Repaint the arms / diff and fit new pipe clips
Remake the brake pipes and fit the remaining flexi hoses.
Repaint the rear calipers.
Refit all new spring pads 22mm uppers to get alittle lift
Fit springs
Fit Bilstein B6 sport rear dampers and new bilstein top mounts.
Refit all the heat shields.
Refit the exhaust.
Bleed the brakes. ( Another new tool a vacuum bleeder
.Refit the wheels hoping now the camber has been sorted they still fit !!
Only kidding on the last one i have already checked
The tires clear the arch at least passenger side no reason to think driver will be different but i will check fit first thing tomorrow.
The Beam lift bushes / diff drop kit have worked well at first glance its never gonna to removed all the camber but it is defo an improvement on what i had before for sure. Its over halfed it
having tucked in and pushed out the top of the wheel they fit the arch to perfection so very pleased be nice to see it sat on the floor.
Heres a pic for a rough idea i have no springs in so jacked the wheel up it hits the rear bumper first and it would catch the rim not the tire and its not that low so its good.
Another sucessfull day
We'll done mate, the hardest work is done now .
The rear wheel certainly looks like it sits much squarer, be very interested to see how it feels when out on the road......not long now
.
.The rear wheel certainly looks like it sits much squarer, be very interested to see how it feels when out on the road......not long now
.
It looks good to me mate too it was rather extreme as the car is low it may not sit quite as low i only want a small lift as i like its stance. but 5/10 mm i will be happy withWe'll done mate, the hardest work is done now
The rear wheel certainly looks like it sits much squarer, be very interested to see how it feels when out on the road......not long now
We use a stone guard that is cream coloured but it is sprayed on and can be painted over, it is quite thick and has a textured finish similar to the texture on the lower sills, other then that I'm not sure what to suggest
Thanks Sean will see what i can find
So day 4 and another long day 12 hours today but have just about got it done.
I'm just waiting on some rear anti roll bar poly's that arrive in the morning and i need to get the hardtop off so i can replace the rear mounts and dampers. Will need to re visit brakes to get them better but all back together and fluid to all corners.
New spring pads in but think these may need to halfed but a good test drive will tell me that.
Handbrake shoes refitted with new fixings and handbrake cables.
The old shoes stamped 1998!!.
Original
but where failing but little surprise after 20 years
Had to renew the rest of the brake lines and flexi's
Fully built.
Exhaust back on.
And finally back on the ground....
The rear camber is improved heaps so the bush kit has done its job.
Will get the roof off first thing and get the suspension done my post is normally mid morning and the bushes should arrive then i can get a run.
Car sits flat on measurement arch to arch it was before this 15mm down on drivers side worked out as a temp fix with spring pads but all now matching and the works fixed the issue.
Going to remove the front struts and adjust the bump stops also whilst i'm in tool mode but its been a good journey and will be getting close to finish tomorrow.
I'm just waiting on some rear anti roll bar poly's that arrive in the morning and i need to get the hardtop off so i can replace the rear mounts and dampers. Will need to re visit brakes to get them better but all back together and fluid to all corners
.New spring pads in but think these may need to halfed but a good test drive will tell me that.
Handbrake shoes refitted with new fixings and handbrake cables.
The old shoes stamped 1998!!.
Original
but where failing but little surprise after 20 years Had to renew the rest of the brake lines and flexi's
Fully built.
Exhaust back on.
And finally back on the ground....
The rear camber is improved heaps so the bush kit has done its job.
Will get the roof off first thing and get the suspension done my post is normally mid morning and the bushes should arrive then i can get a run.
Car sits flat on measurement arch to arch it was before this 15mm down on drivers side worked out as a temp fix with spring pads but all now matching and the works fixed the issue.
Going to remove the front struts and adjust the bump stops also whilst i'm in tool mode but its been a good journey and will be getting close to finish tomorrow.
Hats of to you Ant great job.
Grand job mate Rear camber looks much improved Ant.
Tony.
Rear camber looks much improved Ant.Tony.
The Revshift bushes are ace and make a noticeable difference to the camber