Sunbeam ALPINE I SERIES: APLINE II SERIES, Workshop Manual

Page: 201 / 413

WSM.124
Section F (Front Suspension)
The Insulator Is fitted to the top of the front
spring and then fed into the crossmember.
ii Compress the front spring until the fulcrum
pin of the bottom link can be fitted to the
underside of the crossmember.
Iii Tighten the four fulcrum pin bolts and the nut
of the tapered ball pin to the torque given in
the "General Data" Section.
iv A full front suspension and steering check Is
carried out.
FRONT SPRING-To remove and refit
The front spring Is removed as described under
"Bottom Link- To remove and refit" but in this
Instance there Is no necessity to detach the lower
swivel bearing from the bottom link.
The spring compressor is slackened off and removed
from the crossmember, then the stub axle and
bottom link are moved outward and downward so
the front spring with its insulator can be withdrawn
from below the crossmember.
The refitting Is the reverse of the removal sequence
and the fulcrum pin bolts tightened to the torque
given In the "General Data Section".
To check front springs
Full details of the lengths and loadings for checking
the front spring on a spring testing rig are given In
the "General Data Section".
While it Is possible to check the front spring
heights by taking the height ·of the car and com­
paring it with one known to be In excellent con­
dition, the possibility of incorrect spring(s) or
packing plece(s) that may be-fitted, particularly to
unknown second-hand cars, makes this method of
checking very unreliable.
SHOCK ABSORBERS-To remove and refit
A change has been made to the shock absorber
attachment to the bottom link but can be removed
from the crossmember In a similar manner to that
Page 37
described under "Stub axle-To remove and refit"
earlier in this section but particular attention must
be given to the followlng:-
After detaching the upper shock absorber
attachment from the crossmember, remove the
two nuts and washers which secure the lower
shock absorber mounting bracket to the under­
side of the bottom link and withdraw the shock
absorber downward.
ii Remove the lower mounting bracket from the
shock absorber eye by withdrawing a nut,
washer and bolt; eject the tubular distance
piece from the centre of the rubber bushes and
withdraw the latter from the shock absorber
eye.
iii Refitting Is the reverse of the removal sequence
but the rubber bushes are Inserted Into the
shock absorber eye, long tapered end first and
the mounting bracket set at an angle.
Iv The shock absorber is fed into the bottom link
in its fully extended condition and so the
mounting plate Is inclined downward and
outward.
LINK BUSHES-To renew
To carry out this operation a workshop press Is
required and no attempt must be made to remove
or refit the link bushes without supporting the arms
of the top or bottom links. Special tools are
available for this purpose, as follows:-
! Plain support tube ii Slotted support tube
Ill Driving tube Iv Mushroom driver
which comprises Churchill Special Tool Set Num­
ber-RG. 318.
Two of the tubes are plain and one Is slotted. The
slot allows the fitting of the tube around the fulcrum
pin when fitting the llnk bushes. The operational
procedures are the same for the top and bottom
links.