Isn't it amazing the difference a day can make? Yesterday I started to reassemble the strut assembly and to begin with everything went well, mainly because I started with the brakes.
Having stripped and painted everything last weekend, it was time for reassembly. It took me a while to work out that the caliper piston seals and dust seals didn't clip into the existing rim in the casting, rather, and that the rim itself was removable. I wondered what the extra bits in the repair kit were.
Once the seals were done, I greased the bearings before driving the smaller one in with a 30mm socket. However, I didn't have a socket large enough for the bigger bearing, so here's a top tip:
Use a scrap Triumph TR7 caliper piston to drive home the larger bearing. It is EXACTLY the right size.
*** END OF TOP TIP ***
So there you are. Now I just need to get some new pistons, fit them to the calipers and put them back together before fitting to the rebuilt strut.
Ah, the strut. Sounds like a 70s dance, doesn't it? Well, yesterday I was honestly ready to dance the funky thing into a skip, such was my frustration. I had reassembled everything but nothing would go right.
First of all the big nut/collar thing on the damper insert just wouldn't tighten fully. In, out, shake it all about and it still wouldn't go. Lots of thread cleaning and re-screwing eventually saw it rotate home, and I even managed the quite ignominious feat of quite literally punching myself in the face when my fist fell off the wrench I was pulling hard towards me. To add insult to my injury, the whole lot kept falling off the bench and thudding to the ground, damaging the lovely paintwork I had applied. That put me in quite a bad mood, I can tell you.
Finally I got everything reassembled using spring compressors and looked lovely, but no matter how hard I tried, I could not get the gaiter to attach to the spring pan. There just wasn't enough "give" in the rubber and the compressed spring made access difficult. "It's impossible" I declared, and turned with a swish of my imaginary cape leaving the garage in a huff.
This morning I was back in the garage at nine and everything felt better. The strut was still there (I was glad it hadn't got up to any more mischief in the night) and I had another go.
Yes it was fiddly, and I could have done with a couple of extra arms, but the gaiter finally hit home after about ten minutes. Not wanting it to escape, I quickly cable-tied both ends.
That done, I was on a roll and quickly offered up the new hub and disc, which went on a treat. What a difference a day can make.
Next stop will be putting the calipers back together, and then starting on the remainder of the old suspension.
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