ChatterBox
I had a leaking ram so I ordered another one to change it. I thought it would be a simple couple of bolts, purge the system and away it goes. Oh yeh, at that point I must have forgoten it's a Land Rover.
So I start reading RAV. All looked pretty simple until I need some special tool? The tool is used to remove the nut from the end of the ram shaft. The problem is the nut is captive so you cant use a spanner, you need a socket or as you'll see a tube spanner. The next problem is you cant hold the end of the shaft from turning once you have a socket over the end.
I went to the Local Darwin Land Rover spare parts just on the off chance they may have the special tool in stock. They told me they cant lookup special tools, only the workshop can do that. Oh Darwin Land Rover parts is at the Mitsubishi Dealer but the workshop and dealership is at the BMW Dealer. So of to the Workshop (10km up the road) but they recently moved and only have Disco 3 and 4 tools.
So this is what I did.
I loaded up the postie and away I went. Handling was pretty bad with this much weight rocking around.
Here is the nut in place with the flat part of the end of the shaft that I needed to hold to keep from turning while I undid the bolt.
So I bought a small tube spanner and bashed the end out of shape to go on the end of the shaft.
It went on the end of the shaft like this.
Then I used a socket on the other end like this.
This is how the nut was captive. I should have taken more photos before I removed it but the shaft was in the middle.
Then I used a 18mm tube spanner over the small tube spanner.
Like this.
It took me about 4 hours of visiting various shops to find somewhere that would sell individual tube spanners and that was after I had worked out this was how I was going to do it.
FYI the ram on the bike is the old one so I wasnt worried about getting dirt in it.
Happy Days.
Master
Good job done. There's nothing like a bit of improvisation. Sometimes it's the only thing that gets us back on the road before a deadline or whatever.
I've got to do some more homework before I tackle replacing bushes on my ACE arms soon. All indications so far are that it's an unpleasant job for the home mechanic who doesn't have a hoist or a hydraulic press...
ChatterBox
You wont need a hoist. The removal is pretty easy. 2 bolts in the saddles that hold the bar to the chassis, one bolt on each end of the bar and the 2 oil hoses and out the whole unit comes (thats what's on the postie).Originally Posted by bell1975
I'd remove the ram, use something like I did then it's just a simple bolt at the other end. Then take the bar to a shop to have the bushes pressed out and new ones pressed in.
The worst part will be buying the bushes. I priced a couple and they were around $200 - $220. Mine arn't that bad so I didnt worry.
Happy Days.
TopicToaster
Does it allow you to hold the nut and rotate the shaft of the ram from below?
ChatterBox
You'd have to remove the boot and then just grab the shaft with some pliers or the like. I wouldn't like to damage the shaft of the new ram though. The new ram also came with the boot installed so I didnt want to remove it.
Happy Days.
Swaggie
SubscriberAnother way to do it is like Macpherson struts on a BMW.
Get a short socket or grind one down so that the shaft sticks out of the 1/2 inch square drive or drill out if necessary. Grind flats on the socket so that an open end spanner fits on it.
Get an open end spanner that fits on the shaft flats snugly and turn which one you prefer.
From your pictures I do not know if the shaft is long enough to use my method, but just putting it up as IMHO it is more sturdy that a squashed tube spanner.
In any case your solution is a great one and you gain an A for Aussie ingenuity in the face of Pommie crazy complexity. Now try to get the bottom bolt undone on a RRC Load leveller.
Regards Philip A
YarnMaster
SupporterWhat size is the small tube spanner that you squashed down?
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