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Re: So, today was the day...

Posted: Wed Jun 19, 2019 8:38 pm
by Alan 480
for what it's worth I try and grab the edge of the spring pan as well, gives more of spring within the compressors .

and I make a point of doing it in middle of garden pointing away from house window (even been known to tie the SS1 spring to something as they are double the poundage as 'inboard' with REAL issues getting compresser into/over coils )

and just to be extra canny stand at side of compressors (I'm sure you do but folk reading this might see your feet straddling the spring)

no reflection on your skills just covering all the bases in this 'sue you cos I'm an eejit' world we now seem to live in ;)

(although I'm sure there is a disclaimer somewhere on the FORUM :D )

Re: So, today was the day...

Posted: Thu Jun 20, 2019 9:08 pm
by jifflemon
Did the other side tonight so took some of the missing pictures....

So, with the wheel off, I undo the ABS wiring from both clips, then pop the brake hose out of the strut and then undo the 2 caliper holding bolts.

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The first point of pain will be the drop link. Two options here.... just buy new ones and cut them off. Or use some huge Mole grips to apply pressure on the joint whilst your impact gun wizzes them off

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Gets easier now as you undo the two strut bolts (stop panicking, I'm holding the caliper up with my left hand!)

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then two 13mm top bolts and you can jiggle it out.

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after repeating the bomb disposal bit again, I thought I should see just how bad they were, so did a standard compression test

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thats them, an hour later...... Think it's fair to say they were a teeny tiny bit knackered. :rofl:

Re: So, today was the day...

Posted: Thu Jun 20, 2019 9:12 pm
by jifflemon
Was also a tad annoyed to discover that the brake disc dust shield is pressed on, rather than bolted on.

Was hoping to blast and paint that along with the spring tops, but will have to attempt it in-situ :cry:

Re: So, today was the day...

Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:03 pm
by Alan 480
jifflemon wrote:
Thu Jun 20, 2019 9:12 pm
Was also a tad annoyed to discover that the brake disc dust shield is pressed on, rather than bolted on.

Was hoping to blast and paint that along with the spring tops, but will have to attempt it in-situ :cry:
mine were pressed on by Volvo, fell off in my hands :-)

made new from 1/16 ally plate and bolted onto a couple of dog legs that pickup on the caliper mounting bolts. got commented on as a 'nice repair' at last MoT

ref 'holding caliper up', I always recon 'sod that' if it can't hold its own weight it ain't keeping hydraulic pressure :wink:

Re: So, today was the day...

Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 8:35 pm
by jifflemon
Final few pics until I can blast and paint the spring seats....

The strut bearings:

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Pulled apart, old grease removed with petrol and left to dry out.

being re-greased with this:
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because:
1. It's a far better solution than the 25 year LM2 grease that was in there.
2. I get it for free
3. It smells really nice

Now point 3 may not seem important, but ask anyone who's been covered in gearbox oil whether oils and greases should smell pleasant! :rofl:

Pop the seal back in - NOT this way, it goes the other way round! :lol:

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Add way more grease than this:

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and they'll be good for another 25 years. It puzzled me for a few minutes as to what seals the rollers from the elements - Then I remembered there's a 250 lb/ft spring pressing down on it!

What has seriously impressed me, is the volvo dust covers... I did the V70 shocks last month and the dust covers were shot. Look at these things!!

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I mean firstly, the rubbers are superb - Good strong, flexible rubber boots. But even more importantly they lock into place both top and bottom and STAY locked into place!

So finally, these are the bits to be blasted and painted: The lower spring cups and the upper dust boot retainers

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Re: So, today was the day...

Posted: Sun Jun 30, 2019 10:02 pm
by jifflemon
Got slightly distracted this weekend (boy was it hot...) so strut tops didn't get blasted. Contemplating just painting the POR15 on; It'd work just as well over the original powdercoat and rust, but the nagging voice at the back of my mind says to do it once, do it right.
Am also STILL waiting for the rear shocks to turn up - Case opened with eBay.
Don't want to fit the fronts to discover I've got to ship them back (my argument is I've only got 50% of what I've paid for).

In the mean time, I've done some more, totally unnecessary, cleaning of the lower engine bay....

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I'll start on this side soon too....

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Re: So, today was the day...

Posted: Sun Jun 30, 2019 10:30 pm
by arthuy
I love to see bits being clean. Helps to see any damage or leaks. Never see a white subframe before.

Have you got plan for refitting the struts? I wish I had disconnected a few more parts. I would consider draining the gearbox oil and removing the driveshaft gaiter as it is easy to pull the shaft away from the gaiter and lose your oil, which is messy and expensive.

Re: So, today was the day...

Posted: Mon Jul 01, 2019 7:52 am
by jifflemon
arthuy wrote:
Sun Jun 30, 2019 10:30 pm
Have you got plan for refitting the struts? I wish I had disconnected a few more parts. I would consider draining the gearbox oil and removing the driveshaft gaiter as it is easy to pull the shaft away from the gaiter and lose your oil, which is messy and expensive.
As I'm doing the wishbones at the same time, I'll pull the shafts out of hubs to give me extra clearance.

Re: So, today was the day...

Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2019 7:18 am
by jifflemon
other wishbone done (and subframe cleanup)

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Re: So, today was the day...

Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2019 9:29 pm
by jifflemon
Another quick update - As well as Britney, I did finally blast these bits:

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They've also had the first coats of some POR15.

If you've ever used it, you'll know. But it's properly good stuff. The only problem is that it dries like rock, which means that if you forget to put some cling film between the lid and paint tin, you'll be coming back to a solid block of paint.

So, I tend to either find LOTS of things to paint and do it all in one hit, which is kind of a problem, as POR15 needs 2 coats, and takes 6-8 hours to dry.

More handily is that carbuilder solutions will, rather naughtily, sell POR15 in the 113ml tin.

Naughtily? Well, normally you only get that tin in the 6 pack. Your single tin comes with "not for Resale" over it but its kind of the perfect sized tin for doing small jobs.

Re: So, today was the day...

Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2019 11:37 am
by Alan 480
jifflemon wrote:
Sun Jul 07, 2019 9:29 pm
Another quick update - As well as Britney, I did finally blast these bits:

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They've also had the first coats of some POR15.

If you've ever used it, you'll know. But it's properly good stuff. The only problem is that it dries like rock, which means that if you forget to put some cling film between the lid and paint tin, you'll be coming back to a solid block of paint.

So, I tend to either find LOTS of things to paint and do it all in one hit, which is kind of a problem, as POR15 needs 2 coats, and takes 6-8 hours to dry.

More handily is that carbuilder solutions will, rather naughtily, sell POR15 in the 113ml tin.

Naughtily? Well, normally you only get that tin in the 6 pack. Your single tin comes with "not for Resale" over it but its kind of the perfect sized tin for doing small jobs.
no image?

and good to know about the 'six pack option' :-)

Re: So, today was the day...

Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2019 8:36 pm
by jifflemon
there was much rejoicing today as the Rear B4's finally turned up....

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So I thought I'd better finish the POR work. First coat on the underside

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and this is the topside after 2 coats have dried

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Re: So, today was the day...

Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2019 12:24 pm
by dekkb
What is it with rear b4's??? Ordered a full set of springs and shocks for mine, springs have been here weeks. The front shocks are in stock and hopefully being shipped, the rears? yeah, still waiting..............
I'm really liking this thread though as your a couple of steps ahead of me, means I hopefully have everything ready to go and not get to that awkward ' oh bugger' stage :lol:

Re: So, today was the day...

Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2019 10:34 pm
by jifflemon
Apparently bilstein we’re out of stock and we’re making up new ones, so hopefully yours will be arriving soon

Re: So, today was the day...

Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2019 3:00 pm
by dekkb
jifflemon wrote:
Fri Jul 12, 2019 10:34 pm
Apparently bilstein we’re out of stock and we’re making up new ones, so hopefully yours will be arriving soon
Turns out the only bloody big school on the street wasn't obvious enough for parcelforce so I'm collecting my fronts tomorrow from the depot :wall: :wall: :wall: ( handy being in Coventry, along with the international hub) rears are still on back order even though Bilstein had promised them last week. Oh, well, they'll get done eventually. Although it has meant some other jobs have been done on the Subaru and some shows attended with the 480, the former showing just how poor the 480's suspension is actually becoming :cryhard: .

Re: So, today was the day...

Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2019 7:20 am
by jifflemon
So, in the best possible HBOL (Haynes Book of Lies) way, reassembly is the reverse of disassembly! :lol:

You should hopefully have something like this:
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Drop the bumpstop onto the shock,put the dustcover on it's cap

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and seat the pan bearing

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Drop on the spring pan and dust boot

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Compress the spring (won't need too much - these are shorter remember!) and drop on, then bolt down the top plate.
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Slowly decompress the spring making sure it sits into the recesses on both bottom plate...

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and top plate
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et voila!

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Re: So, today was the day...

Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2019 7:26 am
by jifflemon
Putting it all back together on the car is straightforward but I found the following:

1) it's easiest to put strut in with the driveshaft removed
2) I use a big screwdriver to line up the lower strut bolts
3) Remember that droplinks are handed if you're replacing them....
4) The disc screw doesn't need to uber tight - just nip it up (remember that the disc is held in place by 4 bolts!)
5) The droplink is the last thing to be bolted up (and watch your brake hose routing!)
6) I'm a fan of copperslip - If it was tight coming off, copper slip it!

Re: So, today was the day...

Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2019 8:52 pm
by jifflemon
Rears now done!

Much simpler than the front.

Jack as high as you possible can, get axle stands under, wheels off and let the beam sag down. Keep the jack underneath it.

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Old shock off, Drop link off (I actually removed the bar completely, as I was replacing the drop links and access is much easier with it off)
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I've got the later type axle (I believe), so two screwdrivers under the lower mount and some gentle wiggling and...

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New springs are shorter, so much easier to fit but some notes....

1) The HBOL talks of a special tool to re-seat the mount - I used a a round drift and large washer to press it back home.
2) When refitting the shock, do the top bolt first, BY HAND. You really don't want to cross thread that one... Twisting the bottom mount 90 degrees to the hole means you've got jiggle space to help locate the thread.
3) Don't tighten anything up when it's in droop. Ideally drop the car down to ride height and torque, or if thats not an option, use a jack under the beam to get it as near as dammit to ride height.

Oh and were the rear shocks in need of replacing? Here they are two hours after being compressed....

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Re: So, today was the day...

Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 2:56 pm
by dekkb
I did all of mine Saturday, minus the rear shocks ( still waiting) and WOW its like a completely different car! possibly the biggest transformation on any car I've ever worked on. My front shock to hub bolts were shot before I started so I had a quick chat with Keith Cooper about spares then checked with my MOT man and decided to chop them off and replace with new. That lower rear mount caused me a brief headache while I worked out how to get it off, I found a large G clamp and a big washer popped it back in place easily, but apart from that a breeze.

Re: So, today was the day...

Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2019 8:30 am
by jifflemon
Update time!

So, finally tackled the wiring.... We've gone back to the mega fuse but instead of my amazing fuse box that wont' fit, I've had to use a single megafuse in a holder and essentially run everything from it. Looks like this:

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As you can see, space is at a premium! :shock:

I've got some black convoluted tubing coming so that it'll look a lot more "factory finish".
It's 70 amp cable running between the alternator and the battery.

Do you know what better than one piece of 70 amp cable? Yup, 2 pieces! I'm well aware that the alternator only delivers 70 amps max, but as my old Auto-electrical Tutor used to drill into us:

"If it'll carry more, it'll carry less".