Sorry for the empty message! What I meant to say, was;
Nick,
> I am getting organized to rebuild Tilley's (TR6) front and
> rear suspension this winter.
I rebuilt the rear suspension on my TR6 4 years ago and the front
suspension 2 years ago.
> 1. Do the TRF suspension kits contain good quality components?
That's where I bought everything, and I've been pleased.
> 2. What else may I need, in addition to the suspension kits,
> ball-joints, and tie-rod ends?
Yes, both. Also, go ahead and replace all 6 u-joints. If you can
afford it, go ahead and have TRF rebuild both rear hubs now while you
have them out. Replace the swaybar mounts. Flush the brakes while all
the wheels are off (you'll be removing all 4 brakes anyway to get the
suspension off).
If you don't have a small torque wrench, get one, and check the correct
setting of each bolt in the suspension. I recommend a deflecting-needle
wrench, because all the torque settings are fairly low on the
components, and a clicker just doesn't seem accurate enough. The 6
bolts holding the hub assembly to the trailing arms are critical, since
the trailing arm is aluminum. There's no room for error in setting the
torque, and I stripped one bolt.
> 3. Is it easier/cheaper to rebuild the steering rack or buy the whole
> TRF rebuilt rack?
I don't know, and I hope I'll never find out. Maintenance is the best
policy.
> 4. ... should I simply get the regular rubber bushings, or
> should I get the nylock/plastic bushings?
I used the regular rubber bushings, and I think that for road use these
are precise enough, and they're comfortable. However, I think that they
wear faster than performance bushings, and I've driven hard enough over
the past few years that I can already feel the suspension getting mushy
again. So I think that the next time I'll switch to a harder bushing.
> 5. ... should I replace the springs with high-perf springs, or stick
> to stock? (I am planning on replacing front shocks
> with the Koni's, and the springs... )
I went with the competition springs, and I've been very satisfied with
them. I don't think they give a hard ride at all.
I also have the Koni shocks up front. You don't need to set them very
firm to get a nice ride. Too firm, and you'll rattle the battery loose
and scratch the paint where the hood meets the fenders.
> Do I need to replace
> the rear lever arm shocks, or can I rebuild them?
I replaced mine, because I'd heard that you can't get a good rebuild.
After Scott Fisher's most recent discussion about rebuilding lever
shocks, though, I'm wondering if I made a mistake. These are expensive
items. But they're easy to remove, and if they're also easy to rebuild,
I wouldn't mind doing it every other year or even every year.
> 6. Even more esoteric; do I need to replace the rubber differential
> mounts? Or if they look "OK" simply use the old ones?
This is not esoteric! This is critical information for any TR6 owner.
Replace the rubber mounts *often*. The TR6 frame is famous for cracking
at the differential mount, and these little pieces of rubber are
critical for protecting the mount. The frame repair is difficult and
expensive.
If your differential is getting very worn, I've heard this contributes
to failure of the mounting point. When you have everything apart,
you'll notice that you can rotate one half-axle, and it will turn several
degrees before the other half-axle starts to rotate the opposite
direction. I'm not sure what form of wear increases this tendency, but
on the road, this slop in the differential allows jolts of torque to
twist the differential with a sudden shock; the rubber mounts absorb
some of this, but in the end it's all absorbed by the frame, and the
idea is to not have sudden spikes in the torque applied to the frame.
What I'm getting at is that although differential rebuilds are
expensive, you'll eventually have to pay one way or another, and if the
frame breaks you'll pay more.
> (Tilley is really looking nice, and running well, after her detailing...
> albeit, the steering is loose and the front/rear ends are NOT pointing
> the same direction...)
My TR6 is running fine after last summer's engine rebuild, but I'm
having steering problems now. The suspension is wonderful on the
highway and after the car takes a set in a turn. But something besides
the steering wheel is steering the car under acceleration/deceleration
and during transition into a corner. It's really disconcerting, but
there's about 5 degrees of vagueness in the steering under these
conditions. I'm afraid I have a cracked frame somewhere or something,
because every component of the suspension is recently rebuilt and solid,
including the steering rack mounts.
Anybody else have experience with this on a TR6?
Nick,
> I am getting organized to rebuild Tilley's (TR6) front and
> rear suspension this winter.
I rebuilt the rear suspension on my TR6 4 years ago and the front
suspension 2 years ago.
> 1. Do the TRF suspension kits contain good quality components?
That's where I bought everything, and I've been pleased.
> 2. What else may I need, in addition to the suspension kits,
> ball-joints, and tie-rod ends?
Yes, both. Also, go ahead and replace the differential mounts and all 6
u-joints. If you can afford it, go ahead and have TRF rebuild both rear
hubs now while you have them out (I did this myself, and I ruined the
hub-carrying flange, had to rebuild one hub twice, and I doubt the
rebuild will last 20K miles. TRF can do a better job). Replace the
swaybar mounts. Flush the brakes while all the wheels are off (you'll
be removing all 4 brakes anyway to get the suspension off).
If you don't have a small torque wrench, get one, and check the correct
setting of each bolt in the suspension. I recommend a deflecting-needle
wrench, because all the torque settings are fairly low on the
components, and a clicker just doesn't seem accurate enough. The 6
bolts holding the hub assembly to the trailing arms are critical, since
the trailing arms are aluminum. There's no room for error in setting
the torque on these, and I stripped one bolt.
> 3. Is it easier/cheaper to rebuild the steering rack or buy the whole
> TRF rebuilt rack?
I don't know, and I hope I'll never find out. Maintenance is the best
policy.
> 4. ... should I simply get the regular rubber bushings, or
> should I get the nylock/plastic bushings?
I used the regular rubber bushings, and I think that for road use these
are precise enough, and they're comfortable. However, I think that they
wear faster than performance bushings, and I've driven hard enough over
the past few years that I can already feel the suspension getting mushy
again. So I think that the next time I'll switch to a harder bushing.
> 5. ... should I replace the springs with high-perf springs, or stick
> to stock? (I am planning on replacing front shocks
> with the Koni's, and the springs... )
I went with the competition springs, and I've been very satisfied with
them. I don't think they give a hard ride at all, and the control
seems better.
I also have the Koni shocks up front. You don't need to set them very
firm to get a nice ride. Too firm, and you'll rattle the battery loose
and scratch the paint where the hood meets the fenders.
> Do I need to replace
> the rear lever arm shocks, or can I rebuild them?
I replaced mine, because I'd heard that you can't get a good rebuild.
After Scott Fisher's most recent discussion about rebuilding lever
shocks, though, I'm wondering if I made a mistake. These are expensive
items. But they're easy to remove, and if they're also easy to rebuild,
I wouldn't mind doing it every other year or even every year.
> 6. Even more esoteric; do I need to replace the rubber differential
> mounts? Or if they look "OK" simply use the old ones?
This is not esoteric! This is critical information for any TR6 owner.
Replace the rubber mounts *often*. The TR6 frame is famous for cracking
at the differential mount, and these little pieces of rubber are
critical for protecting the mount. The frame repair is difficult and
expensive.
If your differential is getting very worn, I've heard this contributes
to failure of the mounting point. When you have everything apart,
you'll notice that you can rotate one half-axle, and it will turn several
degrees before the other half-axle starts to rotate the opposite
direction. I'm not sure what form of wear increases this tendency, but
on the road, this slop in the differential allows jolts of torque to
twist the differential with a sudden shock; the rubber mounts absorb
some of this, but in the end it's all absorbed by the frame, and the
idea is to not have sudden spikes in the torque applied to the frame.
What I'm getting at is that although differential rebuilds are
expensive, you'll eventually have to pay one way or another, and if the
frame breaks you'll pay more.
> (Tilley is really looking nice, and running well, after her detailing...
> albeit, the steering is loose and the front/rear ends are NOT pointing
> the same direction...)
My TR6 is running fine after last summer's engine rebuild, but I'm
having steering problems now. The suspension is wonderful on the
highway and after the car takes a set in a turn. But something besides
the steering wheel is steering the car under acceleration/deceleration
and during transition into a corner. It's really disconcerting, but
there's about 5 degrees of vagueness in the steering under these
conditions. I'm afraid I have a cracked frame somewhere or something,
because every component of the suspension is recently rebuilt and solid,
including the steering rack mounts.
Anybody else have experience with this on a TR6?
Kevin Riggs
________________________________________________________________________
Intergraph Corporation TEL: (205) 730-3074
Mailstop: GD3000 FAX: (205) 730-3453
Huntsville, AL 35894-0001 rkriggs@riggs.b30.ingr.com
________________________________________________________________________
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