Hughsehhh Posted June 2, 2019 Report Share Posted June 2, 2019 Help, I couldn't refit the bolt through the coffin arm that connects to the chassis, after a failed replacement attempt. Now with no bolt holding the coffin arm to the chassis, the nesrside front wheel is pointing in all directions. The car is undriveable, even a few short yards. So today I tried to replace my coffin arms, as they have been squeaking in the hot weather and the front end has been vague. Managed to get both sets of bolts out, the set holding the coffin arm to the chassis and and the set connected to the tuning fork. Also removed the nut where connected to the hub, but a long story short, the coffin arm itself wouldn't move from the chassis fixing and the balljoit wasn't going anywhere, so I decided to put everything back together and reluctantly take it to a garage in the week. However the coffin arm must have moved slightly from its housing where connected to the chassis, as no matter what I did the bolt wouldn't go through the coffin arm to connect to the chassis. Now I'm in a massive pickle and have an undriveable car. Any advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobbie Posted June 2, 2019 Report Share Posted June 2, 2019 Maybe try jacking under the coffin arm ball joint so that the arm is at it's usual operating angle, it may be tricky because it's at the extreme of it's travel with the suspension unloaded. Obviously be very careful that nothing slips and you don't put the full weight on the ball joint. Maybe jack up in stages to see if it helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughsehhh Posted June 2, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2019 Thanks for the suggestion, have tried that but no luck. Once the jack starts going the compression is taken up by the suspension, there's too much resistance/ friction to move the coffin arm joints Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonybandit Posted June 2, 2019 Report Share Posted June 2, 2019 Get a big pry bar or two. The coffin arm sounds like it gone to far in to it's place and the hole is out of line. Pry bar in and pry it and push the hole arm and wheel outwards. Gonna be a little hard but the other way is to take the ball joint out and put that in last. The weight of the wheel and anti roll bar isn't making your job easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonybandit Posted June 2, 2019 Report Share Posted June 2, 2019 Where is the country are you? That may help as someone close could help you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobbie Posted June 2, 2019 Report Share Posted June 2, 2019 29 minutes ago, Hughsehhh said: Thanks for the suggestion, have tried that but no luck. Once the jack starts going the compression is taken up by the suspension, there's too much resistance/ friction to move the coffin arm joints Do the coffin arm hole and the chassis hole line up at all? Sometimes you can whack a big screwdriver through and use this to lever the coffin arm into the right position. A big hammer is usually quite useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shazbot Posted June 2, 2019 Report Share Posted June 2, 2019 Which direction is the mis-alignment, any pictures ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughsehhh Posted June 2, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2019 The coffin arm has effectively moved away and slightly downward from the chassis, but still partially held in that area if that makes sense. I've looked for lever points to use a pry bar, but as I need to move the arm back toward the car, there's nothing to lever against. Also the hole for bolt has come away far enough that you can't get any purchase with a big screwdriver. I tried the balljoint earlier but that is seized in too. No pictures unfortunately and I've had to put the wheel back on as I don't have a drive. Nightmare I'm located in Enfield, north London. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobbie Posted June 2, 2019 Report Share Posted June 2, 2019 How about loosening the top mounts of the suspension strut, this might give enough play to allow the coffin arm to be pushed towards the chassis mount. Other idea is to use some rope looped between chassis and hub and then put a screwdriver in and twist to bring the hub closer to the chassis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Caped Crusader Posted June 2, 2019 Report Share Posted June 2, 2019 If the bolt has bent in any way it'll be very difficult to get out. If the coffin arm currently stuck is the one you're going to replace then I would initially remove the caliper, disconnect the drop link from the anti-rollbar and remove the track rod end connection. Once you've got all that apart, get a reciprocating saw and just chop the control arm in the middle. Then take the three nuts off at the top that hold the strut assembly in place (tape up the positions so they choose back in the exact same place) and remove the whole assembly. You'll then have loads of space to chop out the coffin arm with your reciprocating saw. Use a bit of metal or plywood to protect the water pipes directly behind the coffin arm bolt that is stuck. You'll also then have access to the outboard bolt connection that is stuck too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonybandit Posted June 3, 2019 Report Share Posted June 3, 2019 1 hour ago, The Caped Crusader said: If the bolt has bent in any way it'll be very difficult to get out. If the coffin arm currently stuck is the one you're going to replace then I would initially remove the caliper, disconnect the drop link from the anti-rollbar and remove the track rod end connection. Once you've got all that apart, get a reciprocating saw and just chop the control arm in the middle. Then take the three nuts off at the top that hold the strut assembly in place (tape up the positions so they choose back in the exact same place) and remove the whole assembly. You'll then have loads of space to chop out the coffin arm with your reciprocating saw. Use a bit of metal or plywood to protect the water pipes directly behind the coffin arm bolt that is stuck. You'll also then have access to the outboard bolt connection that is stuck too. The bolt is out and because he can't get the ball joint out he is trying to put it back together but found he can't put the coffin bolt back through the chassis and coffin arm. It's moved away from the hole so as to stop the bolt from being pushed through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Caped Crusader Posted June 3, 2019 Report Share Posted June 3, 2019 Apologies, I should have read the thread better. What's the problem with the balljoint that it's not coming out? Have a tried well-fitting balljoint breaker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlieboy2608 Posted June 3, 2019 Report Share Posted June 3, 2019 Hi everybody. Not to hijack this thread but i have a question regarding this. Am i correct in thinking that the chassis end hole that receives the coffin arm is actually elongated to allow the cam of the bolt to alter the chamber setting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughsehhh Posted June 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2019 Thanks for the suggestions so far, i will look to try these when i next get chance. Everything is effectively seized when trying to remove the coffin arm, I.e. the arm was not budging in the housing where it is bolted to the chassis, plus the tuning fork would not rotate after I had removed the bolt from the tuning fork to the coffin arm. I also tried loosening the bolt to the opposite end of the tuning fork to allow some leverage but this didn't work. Anyone had any similar experiences? The videos on YouTube just show a quick pull and the coffin arm removes when all bolts are out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlieboy2608 Posted June 3, 2019 Report Share Posted June 3, 2019 6 minutes ago, Hughsehhh said: Thanks for the suggestions so far, i will look to try these when i next get chance. Everything is effectively seized when trying to remove the coffin arm, I.e. the arm was not budging in the housing where it is bolted to the chassis, plus the tuning fork would not rotate after I had removed the bolt from the tuning fork to the coffin arm. I also tried loosening the bolt to the opposite end of the tuning fork to allow some leverage but this didn't work. Anyone had any similar experiences? The videos on YouTube just show a quick pull and the coffin arm removes when all bolts are out. I did have similar issues but with plenty of plus gas and the use of a long breaker bar (750mm) eventually everything started to move....perserverance is the order of the day plus a breaker bar moving in both directions..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Caped Crusader Posted June 3, 2019 Report Share Posted June 3, 2019 I've previously had to have a front control arm cut out due to a seized inboard bolt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Caped Crusader Posted June 3, 2019 Report Share Posted June 3, 2019 This is the balljoint breaker I've previously used for the coffin arm. A great fit and very robust. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Laser-2708-Ball-Joint-Separator/dp/B003AMQ9Q4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonybandit Posted June 3, 2019 Report Share Posted June 3, 2019 As above.☝️ they work very well but you may need to remove the disc to get a good position. Your half way there now, you may as well get the arm out. But fit back in this order. Put arm in chassis first and then fork then the bottom ball joint. If it's to springy remove the bolt holding the anti roll bar to help but you will then need a hand and a bar to get the anti roll bar back in. It's not as hard as it sounds. I've done tons of bottom arms on alsorts of cars. Hope you get it sorted. If you was close by I would have come out and done it for ya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beicmynydd Posted June 3, 2019 Report Share Posted June 3, 2019 Charlieboy, the bolts are not elongated and the arc is fixed. Camber adjustment is done via the slots in the strut tower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlieboy2608 Posted June 4, 2019 Report Share Posted June 4, 2019 10 hours ago, beicmynydd said: Charlieboy, the bolts are not elongated and the arc is fixed. Camber adjustment is done via the slots in the strut tower. Thank you for confirming what i was trying to describe in a rather more fuddled way....... Its not the bolts it was the eccentric washer either side i meant which revolve on the ''strut tower slots'' giving you a chamber adjustment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonybandit Posted June 4, 2019 Report Share Posted June 4, 2019 Any news on if hughsehhh got his car back on the road? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughsehhh Posted June 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2019 42 minutes ago, Tonybandit said: Any news on if hughsehhh got his car back on the road? Not yet mate, a busy day in work today. Going to be up early tomorrow morning to tackle it. I'm hoping the copious amounts of plus gas I've sprayed has has some time to take effect. I will follow your advice and just try to get the thing out and the new one swapped in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonybandit Posted June 4, 2019 Report Share Posted June 4, 2019 20 minutes ago, Hughsehhh said: Not yet mate, a busy day in work today. Going to be up early tomorrow morning to tackle it. I'm hoping the copious amounts of plus gas I've sprayed has has some time to take effect. I will follow your advice and just try to get the thing out and the new one swapped in Ok cool. I hope you get it done and it doesn't rain on you like it has me today. I've had to change a wheel bearing and rear brakes as well as make up a new brake pipe on my nephews car. Bloody soaked isn't the words. You have got this far you may as well get the thing out. Don't let it beat you. You will feel really good once you have done it. 😎 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughsehhh Posted June 6, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2019 Just to update, tackled this again this evening and success. Thanks to everyone who offered up advice. I'm somewhat stumped but I think the existing coffin arm I've just removed is not the correct part, as it had big rubber washers where the arm connected to both the chassis and the tuning fork. Its part no. 996 341 341 06. These rubber sections are not on the meyle replacement arm I've just put on. I think this didn't help in my struggles to physically remove the unbolted arm, see above. New arm in all fine, for anyone reading this in future, don't forget to preload the suspension before tightening the coffin arm where it meets the chassis. Now I've just got the other side to do in the next free bit of time. Should be much easier. My only concern now is the tracking looks visually out. With the coffin arm removed and even levering it when in place to get it removed, this obviously put some strain on the track rod. The rh wheel is dead centre along with the steering wheel, but the nearside wheel, the one I worked on is a degree or so out. I need to do the top mount on the offside (nearside already done) so will have the tracking done shortly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughsehhh Posted June 6, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2019 To update further, it appears from some research that the bushes being so large were due to them being polybushes, so must have been replaced at some point. They still were annoyingly squeaking in dry weather though and the ball joint has a bit of play, so no real regrets now one is done at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.