Ray Hill Posted March 1, 2010 Report Share Posted March 1, 2010 I'm in process of fitting new rear springs. Something that looked wrong with those on the car when I got it was that the diff was forced to point downward, putting the prop shaft right at the bottom of the transmission tunnel. This was effected by the position of the locating stud on top of the spring for the big aluminium spacer, putting the spacer nearer the rear than central and thus rotating the axle. I see that on the new springs the locating stud is in the same place so it looks as though the diff will again point down. I can not see anything I can adjust. Any comments would be very welcome Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted March 1, 2010 Report Share Posted March 1, 2010 I will have a look at mine in the morning as I have the same type of axle and see if I can get some pictures posted. Its sixteen years since I put mine together so the memory of fitting it is a bit dim and I havent done another solid axle 4a since. I know I struggled to get the springs fitted and had to use a couple of load straps to hold each side of the axle down to fit the other side spring! It also took some considerable time for the springs to settle enough to get the axle off the chassis. There was an issue a while back with the actual "set" of those springs as well and there had been a number of complaints to Moss USA from owners over there(in the words of one owner "It sits like a jack rabbit ready to spring" ) and I had to send them over some ride height and clearance pictures. Stuart Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted March 2, 2010 Report Share Posted March 2, 2010 I dont know if these pictures will help you but here goes. Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted March 2, 2010 Report Share Posted March 2, 2010 And some more. Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ray Hill Posted March 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2010 Many thanks Stuart I guessed it would be you. What a pity we live at opposite ends of the country. Your photos look awfully like what mine was and will be once I get the new springs on. Temperatures up here are not conducive to garage work. I'll be letting you know how the Spax fitting goes. ray Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted March 4, 2010 Report Share Posted March 4, 2010 Many thanks Stuart I guessed it would be you. What a pity we live at opposite ends of the country. Your photos look awfully like what mine was and will be once I get the new springs on. Temperatures up here are not conducive to garage work. I'll be letting you know how the Spax fitting goes. ray Yes do let me know about the spax conversion. You may notice I am running not only uprated lever arms but also spring clamps as well to try and stiffen the back end up. Spring clamps have made the most difference but take a lot of tuning to stop your teeth rattling Stuart Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlueTR3A-5EKT Posted March 9, 2010 Report Share Posted March 9, 2010 (edited) I am not familiar with the solid axle TR4A having never had one. A couple of thoughts hit me. Can the front spring eye brackets be fitted upside down or on the wrong sides of the car? If you moved the front eye up the spring would become more level. Are the rear spring shackles correct? TR2/3/4 rear shackles are shorter than TR4A (I know this 'cause we used to sell them at C & B ) That too would level the spring and drop the nose of the diff. Peter W Edited March 9, 2010 by BlueTR3A-5EKT Quote Link to post Share on other sites
randall977 Posted March 9, 2010 Report Share Posted March 9, 2010 Hi Stuart, great photos and lovely car! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted March 9, 2010 Report Share Posted March 9, 2010 (edited) I am not familiar with the solid axle TR4A having never had one. A couple of thoughts hit me. Can the front spring eye brackets be fitted upside down or on the wrong sides of the car? If you moved the front eye up the spring would become more level. Are the rear spring shackles correct? TR2/3/4 rear shackles are shorter than TR4A (I know this 'cause we used to sell them at C & B ) That too would level the spring and drop the nose of the diff. Peter W Peter I had thought about that and no you can only fit the front brackets one way up otherwise the spring is further down and they are definitely handed with the angle of the trailing arm. The rear shackles are the originals and are at a steep angle until the car settles and do sit at a different angle to the earlier cars and need careful fitting of the bumper side bracket otherwise that fouls the spring. Unfortunately there is only one spring available for these cars and the "set" and spring rate arent really correct but thats all there is! At least that was the situation when I built the car sixteen years ago. Stuart Edited March 9, 2010 by stuart Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 Hi Stuart, great photos and lovely car! Not bad for a company hack although she is showing her age a bit now. Stuart Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kiwifrog Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 Not bad for a company hack although she is showing her age a bit now. Stuart Stuart, I remember that all my company cars used to be able to do over 60MPH in every gear including reverse and the clutch was always "optional" for gear changes, how about yours Then again driving Vauxhall vectra's was always a punishment and we tried to put them out of our misery as quick as possible Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ray Hill Posted July 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 The photos you gave looks exactly like my setup, Stuart. I've now got the Spax dampers on and have found a considerable improvement. I plan to do an article for TR Action but if you would like advance details, Stuart, drop me a note at ray@rayhill1.force9.co.uk ray Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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