YBJ

iTrader: (3)

I have removed some parts from my cossie 4x4 to clean and give some new paint. Also I am polybushing the front end of the car. Now the last bit I want to refit is the ARB, but I cannot get it into the tc arms.

I have tried a heavy duty tightening strap, but this didnt work and I couldnt get enough clearence to get it in.




It's not a solution to loosen the inner bush of the tca's because it was a lot of work to get this back in with the new pu bush. So now all finally sits back, I only have to do the ARB.

Can someone give advise how to put the ends the ARB together so it can fit back in again?

iansoutham

Put the anti-roll bar up into place on the centre mounts. Put the TCA on each end and fully connect one end to the car / crossmember.

Now, using the ratchet strap on the antiroll bar in the narrower section, tighten it up so that you can pull the inner TCA mounting towards the crossmember. When it is near enough in line, insert a medium screwdriver into the hole to locate it, then gently tap the screwdriver out using the mounting bolt. This should prevent any burring on the bolt thread as well as the screwdriver will be holding the excess tension, not the bolt.

IF you try and fit the TCA arms first before the anti-roll bar you will struggle as the ends of the bar angle outwards, meaning that you would need to over-stretch the bar to get the ends in place, doing it the above way means that you are only putting the bar into its natural position.

Paul_RS

iTrader: (4)

We did it with the arms in place - NEVER again lol

Took 3 heavy duty tightening straps to get the fecker in!

robocos

Me too. Jeez the strap was tight but I managed it on my own.

tabetha

You can also use chain and tackle!!
tabetha

YBJ

iTrader: (3)

Seems like the only real solution is the one Iansoutham describes.

I have put Deflex bushes in the TCA but you can hardly get the TCA back in the subframe because the bushes are about 2 millimeter wider than the orginal bush. So with a lot of swearing and grease I managed to get them in...

I think I will have to get them out again and try to flatten the PU bush so that the can fit on an easy way. Does this sound familiar and can it be done to a PU bush?

iansoutham

When refitting the TCA arm / bush into the subframe, use a little amount of silicone spray on the edges and if you have one, a deadblow hammer to gently persuade it to start. TBH though, now they have gone in once, the second time should be a lot easier.

Point to note: when you do get it all back together, do not do the TCA - Anti-roll bar nuts up until the front wheels are back on the ground. If you do them up with the wheels in the air (untensioned) when you will be stressing the bushes too much. By all means, nip them gently, but do not tighten fully.

cameron2

Have You Sorted It? I Encountered The Same Problem Tonight!

robocos

TBH I managed to get mine home with the TCA's already in place. Maybe not as described above and there was a LOT of tension on the strap but it worked without damaging the threads on the ARB too.
Fair point about the tightening of the ARB nut too but I'm trying to work out how to access it when the car is on the ground. Possibly lower the car onto blocks so the underside can still be accessed?

YBJ

iTrader: (3)

I have removed both TCA's again from the car. This morning I had the bushes flattened at work so that they now are the same length as the metal pins inside. I measured the original rubber bush and also the inside of the subframe. Both saw a distance of 51mm. The metal pin that came with the PU bush also measured 51mm. But with the bushes in place the total measured about 54mm. And 3mm of PU squeezing together is a lot!

So now both bush and pin are 51mm when put together in the TCA and I am going to put it under the car tonight.

@ robocos: Maybe you can try to move the car on a kerb with only the front tires so you can get under it.

Thanks for all the good advises guys. I will let you know as soon as its all fitted.

cameron2

Good luck. Are you using the ratchet strap?

YBJ

iTrader: (3)

No, I dont think I need that one when I am doing it with TCA's first around the ARB. But tonight Í'll find out and will let you know...

R5FORD

iTrader: (1)

firstly you will need anohter set of hands..

place the anti roll bar one side into the tca, then place the two brackets and bushes and tighten just enough to hold the weight, then release the pin from the other tca, place the other end of the anti roll bar into the tca, then using a trolley jack, jack the suspension ( the side where the tca is not connected), but just enoug to monover the tca back into place, and then add place all bolts in place and then tighten worked for me mate

YBJ

iTrader: (3)

JOB DONE!!

The refurbished parts to be fitted with PU bushes again:




As said before I flattened the PU bushes of the TCA's. Here you can see that the PU bushes were bigger than the pin inside (about 1.5mm each side).



I tried them after flattening and they just slide very easily in the subframe. Like advised first I mounted the ARB to the car (not tightened) and then put at one side the TCA to the ARB. This side then connected to the subframe and wasnt too bad at all.


Then to the other side but this was very hard to get in. I used a strap, hammer and a lot of force but finally it went all in place!




Then I put her on her feet and drove carefully a little forward and braked. This I repeated a few times to get her suspention in rest position.

At last I drove her on ramps so I could tighten all the nuts while she was standing on wheels.



Thanks for all the help guys!

foreigneRS

looking good wim - hope to see it and you at the 'ring sometime this year (possibly august)

YBJ

iTrader: (3)

Hi Nick, thanks for your comment. Yes its been a year ago now! I'm going in May when others from here are also going to the Ring. Won't you be there in May (with the famous 'Loonybus')?

Cheers, Wim

foreigneRS

Hi Wim.

No, sadly I can't make it in May, I've got too many other things happening

The 'Goonybus' has been sold. I don't know what the new owner will do with it, but I can't see it ever going back to the 'ring as I don't think that they will ever let it on again if the stories of crackdowns are true (although it was completely road legal in the UK).

cameron2

Well done!
Where did you get your new tca rubber boot retaining circlips from?
Cheers

foreigneRS

do you mean the retaining clips on the steering rods, or on the driveshafts? there is no boot on the tca

YBJ

iTrader: (3)

Sorry I also dont know what you mean by that Cameron2.

cameron2

The small springy type thing that holds the dust cover on the end of the tca and track rod end.

YBJ

iTrader: (3)

Cameron2, do you mean this spring:

MARCOSWORTH

iTrader: (24)

Love your plate Wim

Never had problems with the X ??

YBJ

iTrader: (3)

Hi Marco, no but I hardly drive her ever...
At the APK (MoT) I always say it to the people at the station and only when they got an extra check then I have to remove it. But that hasnt happened yet.

You only can see the X when you are very close to the car and it can hardly be noticed when you drive it. Hope I never get police behind me when standing still at the traffic light....
And as you know I cant say its a 'crushed fly' because I usually mask up the front of the car when driving it..Hahaha.

cameron2

Thats the one!

YBJ

iTrader: (3)

Well, I just went to a local carparts dealer with the old dustcover en the retainer spring. They had a box with all kinds of covers and springs so that's how I got mine. No need to buy Ford items, these ones fit also perfectly.

Hope this can be of help.

cossieDavedree

Im going in may 27-31.

U gonna be there then ??

cameron2

How the f88k does the tca and hub go back together? Ive got the arb attached to the tca and the tca fixed to the cross member. I cat get the pinch bolt to line up with the hub???? Help!

foreigneRS

attach it to the hub before attaching the 2nd side inner TCA joint to the crossmember. make the 2nd inner TCA to crossmember connection the last.

YBJ

iTrader: (3)

As that is what this post was all about.. There's only one way it can be done like I found out, that's the way Nick describes. Read the full post again for info, Cameron2.

Remko GT

Tbh, I don't think it would've been necessary to "flatten" the TCA-Xmember bushes. Recently I fitted new PowerFlex bushes in the front as well. The TCA needed some persuasion to go in between the Xmember but didn't even need a tool for that. It went in fine with the PU sticking out like you described.
I was hoping the same thing, fit the TCA and then squeeze the ARB in between but found out soon enough you can forget about that.
I fitted driver's side TCA, bolted the ARB to the body, fitted one side to the TCA already fitted into the xmember then I put the other TCA on the other side of the ARB, fitted the nut handtight and used a ratchet strap to pull the TCA into the Xmember. Tightened all the bolts up and dropped the car on it's wheels.
I personally am in 2 minds about waiting with tightening up the bolts untill the car is on its wheels. I think if you DON'T tighten it up BEFORE it's dropped you will leave play in the connection which will be cause twisting of bushes. It just doesn't make sense to me tightening up when things are under strain.

YBJ

iTrader: (3)

Its what's been advised by people who have got the experience with them a lot more than in our 'little Holland' and it make sense. Maybe take a little more time but I like to do it the proper way. You used some other brand bushes so not a good comparison. Mine couldnt get in a normal way, I have read this here before from Deflex bushes and now all is fine.

dojj

iTrader: (3)

ok, here's the way to do it like it should be done to make it easy

first of all you need to make sure that the bushes you have fit what bits of metal they need to fit to

so once you have your tca out and the old bushes out, fit the new ones and see if they go into the crossmember before you do anything else

on the 2wd cars with steel crossmembers they tend to distors slightly and need straightening out again with some sort of spreading tool (i use a port-a-power with the opening bit on the end) but with the 4wd cars and their ali crossmembers sometimes it's neccesary to file a bit off the ends of the spacer inserts to ensure they fit into the gap that is there

also make sure that the pinch bolt that holds the tca to the hub is free, on the 4wd cars this is an important bit of kit as they tend to rust into the hole and are very difficult to remove, run some emery cloth through the hole on a dowel or find a round file to clear up the insides when you disassemble it

once you have done this you know everything will slide into place

grease up the bushes before you put them into place

make sure you put the washer onto the arb first, before putting the tca (with both sides of the bush and the steel slider in place) ontothe end of the arb, then put the other washer on and then put the nut onto the end so that you have nipped it up enough so that there is not any major movement in the bush but there is still enough that you can rotate the tca on the arb

now hook the tca into the bottom of the hub

put the bolt through but again, remember that you need to put some copper slip on this bolt before you put it through

you can tighten this one up full as it is, just make sure you don't tighten it to much or use the torx head to do the tightening, that it only there to stop the bolt from rotating and you always use the nut
remember also to insert it fron the front towards the back

you can now put one side of the tca into the crossmember fairly easily and using the bolt, just make sure it's in place, once again ,ensuring that the bolt goes through fron the front

also make sure that, if you are using an extension, you don't involantarily tear the steering bellows

once everything is hooked up you can now use your ratchet strap to hook onto the tca/arb knuckle and pull the other side in towards the locating bolt hole in the crossmember

as mentioned before, sometimes you will need to use a jack to lift the tca into place and you may also need to use a screwdriver to align the holes

what you shoudl do however is use a deep socket and a lock extension on the bolt head and use the leverage from that to find the hole, it is very easy and once the holes has been found you can either tap the end of the extension to drive it home or just use it to turn the bolt until it catches

once both bolts are in the tca/crossmember and both nuts are on the arb ends, you can now take the car off the stands and let it settle
if you can move it forward and backward a little this will also help to settle the bushes into a natural position so that when you tighten them up they are not already under stress which may wear them out quicker or even tear the material

you will have enough space to get under the car and use a spanner and ratchet to tighten the nut/bolt and a socket to tighten the arb nut (turn the wheel to full lock and you can get to these)

i've done a tca swap (original bushes out, polys in) in under 25 minutes with powerflex bushes although i also took nearly 12 horus to do both sides with shitty deflex items that were way way too soft and rubbery which lead to lots of fitting issues

Cossie92

Stupid question: how easy/hard is it to change the rear anti-roll bar bushes for Sierra Cosworth 4wd?

dojj

iTrader: (3)

Rears are one bolt, remove the clamp, swap the bush, refit clap, tighten up bolt


5 minutes

Cossie92

Nice, thanks.

Cossie92

Struggling to get the front anti roll bar fitted. Either my english is so shit I don't understand these instructions or there is something I've missed.

I connected the anti roll bar to the chassis (2 brackets, 4 bolts w/ bushes ofc)

Connected one TCA to crossmember

Then connected the same TCA to anti roll bar

Next step I understood is then to connect this same TCA to hub, which I can't manage to do. I can't get the little ball joint plug into the hub.

Should I put the ball joint plug of the TCA to the hub first, then attach anti roll bar to chassis? All bushes are powerflex yellow/purple.

dojj

iTrader: (3)

Put the TCA into the arb
Put the ball joint into the hub
Use leverage to then put the inner TCA into the chassis

dojj

iTrader: (3)

And remember to leave the bolts a little loose until the car is back on the ground with the wheels on before fully tightening them so that the bushes aren't bound up and under tension

mechanic28

iTrader: (5)

bolt anti roll bar to chassis ( not to tight),undo your inner TCA bolts place one side of the ARB into your TCA and refit the inner bolt on that side, then for the other side put the anti roll bar into your TCA,put your wheel on full lock (handy to have someone hold it on full lock) then place the inner bolt for the TCA. went in easy enough , no strapping required