Front suspension on a 5

[Guest Michael E Field]

I apologise for posting a question relating to a 5 but as the suspension is near identical I hope i`ll get more replies. Having bought one that was mainly restored I have since found the front suspension to be loose i.e upper wishbone nuts finger tight & no split pins, steering arm bolts that connect to the vertical link loose etc.  My question is this now that the susp is apart.  1. Should there be any movement between bolt which secures the trunnion to the lower wishbone and the trunnion itself.  The bushes in the w/bone are ok its that there is some lateral movement on the trunnion to the bolt.  The bolt appears almost new.

2.   When screwing the trunnion to the vertical link just how tight should it be.

[marvmul]

It's a long time ago that I fitted new trunnions in my TR6 but I believe that there is no movement possible between bolt and trunnion, since the trunnion is pressed between the bushes in the wishbones by that big bolt. The trunnions are screwed onto the uprights as far as possible after removal of the small bolt of the trunnion, then turn the trunnion backwards with one turn. But perhaps, when there is rather much play between trunnion and upright it's better not to turn back the trunnion in order to get less play?

[Richard Crawley]

Michael

Firstly, 5 or 6’s makes no odds so no worries there but, from what you describe, whoever assembled your front suspension either did not finish the job or needs shooting! Assembling & setting up the front suspension properly is rather safety critical & too detailed to go into here. For your own safety, either get yourself a manual (this will tell you how to set it all up properly) & follow this or get someone else who knows what they are doing to assemble & set it up for you. It sounds like either the brass trunions or the screw on the virtical link itself is worn; if so, get some new ones. With new components, there should be no discernable movement here at all; mine were worryingly stiff at first but have now freed up nicely. It's also critical you turn back the trunions the required ammount to get the correct steering geometry + it could also bind or even lock up if it bottoms!