A friend is helping me change the suspension and we are putting the front back together and are finding the spring seat is moving when we try and tighten the centre bolt with the wheels down and the weight on it, We have done everything else and were just applying the correct torque but the rubber mount and spring are moving. What have we missed, any ideas?
Thanks
Colin
I had to compress the spring, if I remember correctly, to allow the mount to turn without damaging the rubber. Even then, it was a pig to get everything sitting correctly when I had finished.
Interesting point. I think if you compress the spring far enough you will find the metal spring top mount (not the strut top mount but the bit the spring actually squashes the rubber mount to) fits far enough down onto the damper rod and there is a notch that presumably prevents it from rotating. However, if you do this the strut top nut screws down way further than it was fitted at the factory, so I'm not sure it's necessary to do this. Where you have got to is probably fine if you have a few threads showing above the strut top nut. That is what my car looked like on original dampers.
Quote from: "lamcote"Interesting point. I think if you compress the spring far enough you will find the metal spring top mount (not the strut top mount but the bit the spring actually squashes the rubber mount to) fits far enough down onto the damper rod and there is a notch that presumably prevents it from rotating. However, if you do this the strut top nut screws down way further than it was fitted at the factory, so I'm not sure it's necessary to do this. Where you have got to is probably fine if you have a few threads showing above the strut top nut. That is what my car looked like on original dampers.
You are quite right lamcote, we tightened it up off the car in a vice holding the first seat plate, and it came to the correct torque and there were a couple of threads showing so your guess was correct.The first corner at the back took an hour, we got to 40 mins at the front due to the fact we had it on and off so many times.Impact guns make it so much easier.
Thanks lamcote and Fin for the help.
Colin