| Author | Message | ||
     Benoit Leus Prolific User Username: benoitleus Post Number: 217 Registered: 6-2009 |
Last week I replaced both rear lower bearing pins. From the picture you can tell how far they were gone. They are not clearly visible and do require some work to replace, but the result is amazing. The whole front feels much tighter. Next on the agenda the ball joints (as time and funds allow).  | ||
| Robert Noel Reddington Grand Master Username: bob_uk Post Number: 574 Registered: 5-2015 |
The ball joints have shims which can be removed to take up slack. Assemble joint with no shims adjust big nut to take up slack. Using a feeler gauge measure gap and select appropriate shim(s). Then with the ball pin in middle turn the ball pin a couple of turns to seat it. Then move the ball pin side to side. It should take a 6" tube over the end of the ball pin to8 move it with out un due force. RR give a torque figure. If the ball goes tight and loose it is worn a bit to much. In the bottom of the ball pin hole is a plastic cup. Which can be replaced. (Jaguar used the same idea). The boots are available separately and see Tee one Topics because a boot from elsewhere on the car fits and is cheaper. The steering ball joints or track rod ends can be adjusted in situ by undoing the big nut. Inside is a ball bearing. If if not round any more get new ones from push bike shop or brg suppliers. Halfords bike spares for the UK. I needed one and broke open a skate board bogie to get a ball out. It has worked fine for 15 years. Plenty of grease. Greased regularly these joints outlast the car and probably you too. Regular is once a year. But every 3 years is maybe a bit too long. The big nut is big because the joint is big. The big nut is not big because it needs to be very tight. It needs to tight enough not to come undone that is all. The joint is so designed that if the big nut fell off the joint can't disconnect but the play would be massive probably a 1/2 a turn of the steering wheel. Modern ball joints are not repairable like these and is one of the reasons the cars cost so much. Very old design school stuff. Lovely engineering. With the sealed joints carefully lift the boot of the bigger end and squirt oily grease in with a small medical syringe sans needle. CV joint grease works. I use hot motor bike chain grease even gear oil works. 3 per side sealed joints top bottom and shock damper lower ball joint. Your car is early and may have plugs in the joints which can be unscrewed and grease pumped in. Then put plug back. Smashing photos. This is an early car my car has a tie bar to triangulate the top suspension arm. The cone design is also to be found on other makes. It works well and is easy to service. Slack bushes give the driver the idea that these cars are vague on the helm. Which they are even when new but its been overstated by the motoring press. They drive a sports car and then a Shadow and start comparing them. I think the front ones on my car are also different. Check the give in the front subframe mountings. Yours has pan scrubbers I think. Pre compliant suspension. At the very front is a sway bar that goes from body to front subframe. Check the bushes out. These are cone rubbers one end and silent block the other. The cone end has a lock nut. If slack undo lock nut and tighten other nut a bit. If that doesn't work new bushes. Mini engine stabiliser bar cone rubber bushes look like they fit. Many years ago I brought a rat bag XJ6 for 100 quid. When the body was lifted the rear suspension rubber mounts broke and the axle fell down. So I drilled through the rubber monts and put bolts through. This had the effect on taking the intended compliance out of the mountings. The car road a wee bit harsher but the car rolled less and felt sharper on the steering. It handled even better than standard but at the expense of noise and ride. I used to drive it like a mad thing it surprised a few other drivers by cornering that fast. Similarly the same would happen with a Shadow. The pan scrubber technology is well out of date and gave no real advantage over silent block designs. So if the subframe mounting are weak then PTFE bushes would tighten the front up no end as would shimming the bushes to crush them a bit (bodge). The compliant suspension was introduced to take advantage of radial tyres. The compliant suspension design is not really needed because radial ply tyres are much better than the original radials. I think RR marketing got on board and blew the idea up to hallowed levels. The compromise between ride and handling is subjective and horses for courses. Some like the wallow other don't. A Shadow is never going to handle like a MX5 but certain tweaks will improve the handling without noticeable effect on the ride. Cheapest and first is tyre pressure 32 psi works well for me. Experiment. Max safe ptessure for a tyre of this type is around 70 psi. So up to 36psi is perfectly safe and much too hard and the tyre wont grip properly. It won't burst. 28psi is crash in comfort pressure. I would like to whip the front subframe out of my car and powder coat it etc. But to whip it out is a lot of work and other bits that one might as well change while they are out. 3 months later a nice looking subframe and lots money spent. One has to draw the line somewhere. Anyway my car steers fine and don't fix what aren't broke sort of thing. | ||
| Benoit Leus Prolific User Username: benoitleus Post Number: 218 Registered: 6-2009 |
Hi Bob,, my car is not an early one but a '79 Shadow 2. The bushes are the rear lower bearing pins. Thanks for the info on the ball joints. I'll certainly look into it. Benoit | ||
| Robert Noel Reddington Grand Master Username: bob_uk Post Number: 581 Registered: 5-2015 |
Oh I thought they were the early upper ones. Your car is about the same mine SRH 17768 No plugs in the top bottom or shock damper ball joints. Not sure the shock damper ball joint plug hole went any where. A good crow bar shows up slack. Mine is nice and tight. No knocks. My Jeep was terrible for knocks but a dose of grease no knocks. Still rides like a 3 legged camel though |
