Front suspension parts.

[gary.price]

Hi guys iv damaged the front suspension on my marlin.

Its a marina 1.8 T C based.

1986 year.

Going by the haynes manual iv damaged atleast the swivel pin and stub axle right handside.

Is ther any where i can i buy new parts or do i need them repaired?

Then steering arm went through the tyre but got a new one in the shed. Also the wing is smashed but i might be able to get one of them from a friend.

Thanks steven.

[cameronfurnival]

Re: Front suspension parts.

Hi Steven, Im sure someone out there will help you out ont this pretty soon though Im guessing marina parts will have to be replaced with secondhand bits.

[gary.price]

Re: Front suspension parts.

Yeah its just finding somewhere or someone thats wants to sell me 1.

If anybody has got a strut lying around i would be intrested as im abit stuck with it.

[gary.price]

Re: Front suspension parts.

I think iv got one.

[gary.price]

Re: Front suspension parts.

I think im all sorted just got to change the hub cause its different.

[stevejgreen]

Re: Front suspension parts.

The hub itself is interchangeable on the stub axle. Don't throw it out (whichever it is) it might help someone else out.

[gary.price]

Re: Front suspension parts.

Dont worry its safe and sound on the twisted one. i wouldnt chuck something like that out.
The car drives horrible now tho Everything is nice and tight i checked tyre pressures all fine
Im just hoping its not gonna be the rack. I did notice on the other side of the car the shock
bush has started to get play in. it was fine last time i checked it. I dont neglect the car cause
i use it hard in motorsport. Could ther be anything else? it feels like a tyre a nearly flat. You
dont notice it at low speeds.

Thanks

[stevejgreen]

Re: Front suspension parts.

All that force to bend a Swivel Pin must have gone somewhere and the steering rack would have taken a bit of that, as would the chassis itself.
It's going to be a process of eleimination, checking the front alignment must be a first step if everything else looks OK.
Changing the rack is not a quick job on a Roadster, it's one of the first things to be fitted to the chassis and everything else added around it.

[b_caswell]

Re: Front suspension parts.

If you managed to brake the o/s steering arm then the force must have gone back through the rack and your hands would only absorb so much. Its possible you have bent the N/S steering arm or as in the case of my Vitesse years ago you may have bent the inner rack, its week point being the teeth of the rack outside the pinion that are unsupported. The other point to check would be the torsion bar and its mounting.

[gary.price]

Re: Front suspension parts.

I think im gonna get the tracking done first. but i suspect it will be a new rack cause it turns in tighter going left and dosent turn as much going right. I cant believe bits are damged tho at such a low speed just clipping a fence. Atleast it happened off road as i might of been losing my license.

[gary.price]

Re: Front suspension parts.

Iv done the tracking and fixed a bush and im back with the marlin again again. need to mot it on the 1st. Thanks for all you help.

[donsayers]

Re: Front suspension parts.

I have twisted more than my fair share of Marina uprights, never bent a steering arm though, given the scarcity of uprights now, can they safely be untwisted, perhaps with a little heat?

[gary.price]

Re: Front suspension parts.

As ther shaped abit anyway i never tried as i think it would be near impossible for me to do it DIY style. Steve Green found me one on ebay which is doing the job.

The marlin passed its mot. But its gonna need a new steering rack, nothing to do with the bump just worn out balljoints.