Stubborn stub axles
S ometimes life can have a funny way of helping to get those things done that life has been getting in the way of – let me explain. Dealing with a few busy weeks, dodgy weather and with little spare time to get to the garage, this month’s diary could have had me explaining how I spent a wonderful afternoon polishing my tyres as I’d not been able to find the time to sit down and order a new pair of wishbones for the A40. With a weekend looming that included a trip to Middlesbrough for the christening of a friend’s daughter, it suddenly dawned that on the way back I’d be driving down the A14 on Monday morning and would pass within a couple of miles of the MG Owners’ Club’s premises at Swavesey in Cambridgeshire. With the weekend celebrations behind me, a swift detour off the A14 resulted with me picking up a pair of brand new wishbones for the car, which came complete with the trunnion pins.
Buying the complete wishbone assembly would allow me to fit the new stub axle on the bench and then on my first free day I could simply swap the exiting stub axle and wishbone on the car with the newly assembled one. Regular viewers will recall how the trunnion pin on my car was stuck fast, so I had no option but to remove the wishbone and stub axle as a complete unit. Doing this would hopefully allow me to persuade the stuck pin to come out so I can send off the old stub axles to get a refund as these items are sold on an exchange basis.
With the wishbone and stub axle assembled – how nice it was to stand up to do this job rather than kneeling on the ground – it was time to turn my attention to the car itself
and the existing setup. As the car was safely supported, it was a simple case of removing the brake caliper and hub before putting the jack under the wishbone to take the force of the spring. Next, the top trunnion bolt connecting the stub axle to the lever arm damper was undone and the whole assembly lowered down to relieve the spring’s pressure. With the inner bolts undone, a small wrestling match took place while the wishbone was persuaded to come free and after being one submission down at one point, I eventually emerged victorious.
Cleaning up the area behind the wishbones to prevent any pockets of dirt rotting out the bodywork, I swapped over the poly bushes from the old wishbone, popped them into the new one and began the reassembly of the front corner. This went surprisingly well until it came to tightening up the hub nut, whereupon a 30 minute search of the garage failed to reveal the whereabouts of my large torque wrench, which was to say the least darned annoying! Needing to get the car back into the garage, I opted to tighten the hub nut, which should be between 45 and 70 Ib/ft, as tight as I could until a hole in the castellated nut lined up. I’ve still got the other side to do as a torrential downpour stopped play, so I know the car isn’t going to be driven in anger until then.
There now remains the problem of trying to get the old stub axle separated from the wishbone and that troublesome trunnion pin. I’ll try some heat first to see it that solves the problem, but may have to resort to some cautious drilling of the trunnion pin. Failing that, a powered hacksaw will simply cut through the trunnion pin, after all a £50 refund is at stake! AUGUST 2016
With the inner bolts undone, a small wrestling match took place while the wishbone was persuaded to come free