Shock Absorber Bushes.........

[jerryd]

I've fitted new King Springs and Terra Firma Shocks to the front of my County, but I'm finding it impossible to compress the bottom bushes enough to get the nut on the bottom of the shocks :eek:

Is there a secret I don't know about ?? The bushes supplied with these shocks seem a lot larger than the ones I removed.............advice please

[MinniTheMoocha]

I've fitted new King Springs and Terra Firma Shocks to the front of my County, but I'm finding it impossible to compress the bottom bushes enough to get the nut on the bottom of the shocks :eek:

Is there a secret I don't know about ?? The bushes supplied with these shocks seem a lot larger than the ones I removed.............advice please

Are you using the cups from the old shockers? When i did my shocks which are the Delphi units they didn't come with cups.

Just an idea.

[jerryd]

Got new cups which are a lot thicker than the old ones, I've tried compressing bushes in a vice overnight but only gained 1mm :D

At the moment I'm leaving the bottom bush off so I can get it all back together,as I need vehicle for work. Will probably have to get MR Automotive to do it if I have no success today :mad:

[LowRanger]

You might try loosening the nut on the top mount,which will allow you to move the shock and change the angle that the shock goes through the bottom mount,giving the extra thread you need to start the nut.

[I Love My Landy!]

Just a long shot, but maybe you could submerge them in boiling water for a minute or two. This may make them a lot softer and easier to compress for a short while. I do this all the time with rubber hoses and other rubber components.

Edward :)

[MinniTheMoocha]

Got new cups which are a lot thicker than the old ones, I've tried compressing bushes in a vice overnight but only gained 1mm :D

At the moment I'm leaving the bottom bush off so I can get it all back together,as I need vehicle for work. Will probably have to get MR Automotive to do it if I have no success today :mad:

Do you mean you bought the cups separate from the shocks? If so you might be creating the problem by adding in more cups than needed.

As mentioned the Delphi shocks only come with cups for the end rubber bushes.

The first rubber bush is hard up agains the shock mount both top and bottom.

[5teve]

Jerry i have just put the big bore expedition ones on my defender and had the same issue!

The trick i found was getting a file on the outer corner of the bushes and adding a 2mm ish chamfer. This allows them to sit inside the cups (and form correctly) and to allow the thread to move just enough to get the nut on...

Good luck!

Steve

[jerryd]

After lots of messing around I shaved off 2mm from the bottom bush and let this push tight underneath the shock mount,this allowed me to just get the nut started. Above this I used the locating type cup which sits nice and tight in my newly welded washer (to eliminate the elongated holes) :)

Imagine my horror when it's all back together and the vehicle is sitting 20mm lower than when I started :eek: It should have been 25mm higher taking into account the fitting of a winch/winchbar.........yes they gave me the wrong springs :eek:

So I've now spent the whole day taking it all to pieces and collecting and fitting the correct springs,I've just finished putting it together and have test driven it. I must say it has certainly improved the ride and handling as the old ones were rather worse for wear. I'm going to tackle the rear end next week. I also cleaned up and painted the hard to get at bits while it was in pieces ;)