Fitting rear dislocation cones

[Ryan]

I'm just about to go and put some cheapy rear dislocation cones (sticky-downy ones) on my Discovery as a stop gap until I can get come better ones. Lifting-wise, I ony have access to a bottle jack and a small trolley jack. Is there an easy way to get these inside the springs, or am I going to have to bite the bullet and compress the springs and take them right out as if I was going to change them over?

Ryan

[Orgasmic Farmer]

You dont need to compress the rear springs at all. Simply disconnect one end of the rear shock absorbers and then jack up the truck using the chassis forward of the axle. Eventually the springs will come loose. You will then need to unbolt the spring retaining bars from the spring seat (say it quickly!). The bolts will probably shear off so be prepared to soak with easing oil and go gently or face the prospect of grinding off the captive nut and using a new nut and bolt. With the retaining bar removed the spring will lift out. The cone can be inserted and fixed and the spring slid back in onto the cone and the whole lot bolted back together. Repeat for the other side!

[FridgeFreezer]

All you need is to dislocate the spring, so getting it cross-axled is the name of the game. Jack one side up as far as possible and prop with axle stand, on the other side jack it up, remove wheel, drop as low as you can. Hopefully that will give you enough, it's how I changed springs.

[Ryan]

You dont need to compress the rear springs at all. Simply disconnect one end of the rear shock absorbers and then jack up the truck using the chassis forward of the axle. Eventually the springs will come loose. You will then need to unbolt the spring retaining bars from the spring seat (say it quickly!). The bolts will probably shear off so be prepared to soak with easing oil and go gently or face the prospect of grinding off the captive nut and using a new nut and bolt. With the retaining bar removed the spring will lift out. The cone can be inserted and fixed and the spring slid back in onto the cone and the whole lot bolted back together. Repeat for the other side!

Thanks,

I should have a problem with the retaining thingys as they were new heavy duty jobbys when I replaced the springs. I just hope I get get it jacked up high enough.

[Ryan]

All you need is to dislocate the spring, so getting it cross-axled is the name of the game. Jack one side up as far as possible and prop with axle stand, on the other side jack it up, remove wheel, drop as low as you can. Hopefully that will give you enough, it's how I changed springs.

Sorry John, didn't see you there

I hadn't thought of jacking the opposite front at the same time, I'll give that a go.

I'll let ya'll know how I get on.

[FridgeFreezer]

Alternatively, find something to drive up - a Ford Fiesta is ideal

[Turbocharger]

If you can get access, try unbolting the spring retainer while the vehicle's sat still, a few days before. If you can, it means they can snap off and you can get on with bleeding/swearing/sourcing new bits before the real job. And it's all a little less precarious.

If you find you need an extra half inch(!) when it's all askew, I've managed to wrap ratchet straps around the coils before now BUT KEEP YOUR FINGERS CLEAR!!! (and don't put it down 'on end' with any stored energy, ask me how I know)

[Br00n1e]

If you can get access, try unbolting the spring retainer while the vehicle's sat still, a few days before. If you can, it means they can snap off and you can get on with bleeding/swearing/sourcing new bits before the real job. And it's all a little less precarious.

If you find you need an extra half inch(!) when it's all askew, I've managed to wrap ratchet straps around the coils before now BUT KEEP YOUR FINGERS CLEAR!!! (and don't put it down 'on end' with any stored energy, ask me how I know)

boing crash bang

[FridgeFreezer]

Oh and of course you're taking photos and going to write a bit for the club mag about how you did it, aren't you?

[Ryan]

Oh and of course you're taking photos and going to write a bit for the club mag about how you did it, aren't you?

Er, I took two photos (well it's the same on the other side as well innit?).

It all went well...ish.

In the end, I jacked up the front wheel on the same side as high as it would go and stuck and axle stand underneath (after engaging 1st gear and the diff-lock). Using the bottle jack (with the top wound out most of the way), I jacked up the rear axle just enough to get the wheel off. Then a slight diversion - the rear calipers had a lot of mud/sand/cr@p all over them, so I cleaned them up and found I need new rear pads!!

I then lowered the bottle jack so that the bottom of the disc was about 6 inches off the ground. The using the ever-useful trolley jack and two blocks of wood balance precariously on top, I jacked up the rear underneath the towbar bracket until it was just about to lift the axle off the bottle jack (I didn't undo the shock as it caused all sorts of problems the last time I had to take them off). The spring was quite loose but not enough to come out all on its own, so I used a small crowbar and eased the bottom over the axle and off.

The dislocation cone was a bit fiddly to put on due to two problems:

1. The bodywork is too close to the top mounting; and,

2. THE BODYWORK IS TOO CLOSE TO THE TOP MOUNTING.

This meant that it was a bit awkward to get the nut on. So using the crowbar I was able to get a bit of space between the bodywork and the mount and get the nut onto the bolt and tightened. I then had to use the crowbar to get the bottom of the spring back onto the axle and was then able to attached the bottom retention plate.

And of course, the second one took half as long as by then I knew what I was doing!

We'll see how well they do at Brick Kiln on 4th November.

[Ryan]

Now that I have fitted these cones, should I expect some knocking from the rear when I pull away? Or do I have a problem with my rear end (ooer)? There was always a bit of slack at the diff, but it's a different noise now. Is it likely to be the spring knocking against the cone, or has something else given out?

[Escape]

Unles the springs are dislocating, they shouldn't cause any noise.

Regarding the install, wasn't it possible to dislocate the springs at the top, without undoing the retaining plates, put the cone in, slide everything back and then tighten?

BTW, I know how hard it can be to fit the top nut, on a RRC we even had to use a different kind of mounting plate for the cone, as there was no way we could get a nut in between.

[Ryan]

Unles the springs are dislocating, they shouldn't cause any noise.

Regarding the install, wasn't it possible to dislocate the springs at the top, without undoing the retaining plates, put the cone in, slide everything back and then tighten?

BTW, I know how hard it can be to fit the top nut, on a RRC we even had to use a different kind of mounting plate for the cone, as there was no way we could get a nut in between.

I couldn't get the truck high enough with the jack I was using, it was already spaced with two wooden blocks! Due to the design of the cones, I had enough trouble with the bolt through the middle without adding the springs into the equation.

With regards the noise, I think I'll wait until after driving around Brick Kiln to let everything settle in properly. If it is still making a noise after that, I'll have to investigate further.

[unclebill1]

I couldn't get the truck high enough with the jack I was using, it was already spaced with two wooden blocks! Due to the design of the cones, I had enough trouble with the bolt through the middle without adding the springs into the equation.

With regards the noise, I think I'll wait until after driving around Brick Kiln to let everything settle in properly. If it is still making a noise after that, I'll have to investigate further.

Small thing, but sometimes when your springs dislocate and return they will catch on the lip of the top plate, then you get a loud boooang as they drop off the lip, just splay the lip of the top plate to help guide the springs back in, ask me how I know.

[Ryan]

Small thing, but sometimes when your springs dislocate and return they will catch on the lip of the top plate, then you get a loud boooang as they drop off the lip, just splay the lip of the top plate to help guide the springs back in, ask me how I know.

I haven't had the chance to get them to dislocate since I fitted the cones so I have no boings at the moment, only clunks, or is it a twang....? Nope, definitely a clunk.....or a thunk.

I'm thinking it is probably something in the drivetrain rather than the springs. I can only describe the noise as being a "thick" heavy noise rather than a "thin" tinny noise (which I would expect if it was coil spring versus dislocation cone).

Oh, and how do you know???