13 replies to this topic

[Philcooper]

Right, the time to tackle changing my Front Rubber cones on Rover Cooper 1991. I have bought a Sykes and Pickett tool for the job. My question is is there are decent step by step guide to this?

Thanks in advance

[Gadgets]

The most important thing is to make sure you keep your fingers well clear once you have the rubber under compression,and dont cross thread it!

Nice little job to do and you will be very pleased with your new ride, put some hi lo's in at the same time. Are you fitting genuine Moulton rubbers?

[Philcooper]

Yes I will be putting on Genuine Moulton cones. I have been told to keep fingers well clear! I live by the rule to never put your fingers where you wouldn't put your willy. Is it worth putting hi lo's? I would like to keep the Car standard if I can.

[surfblue]

Its really quite simple (In theory)

 

Jack and support on axle stands and remove relevant road wheel.

 

Undo top ball joint nut on top of suspension swivel and break the taper either using balljoint splitter or for gorilla mechanics, two hammers and a lot of whacking and swearing!

 

Remove large subframe top mounting tower bolt.

 

Place compressor tool over top mounting hole and thread long bolt down into threaded hole inside rubber spring - lubricate it well, and make sure you use the correct threaded end - there are metric and imperial threads supplied if I remember correctly. I would imagine a 1991 car would be metric?

 

Wind up compressor which will compress rubber spring.

 

Extract alloy trumpet from subframe under the rubber spring. (This is where the "in theory" bit comes into play, the alloy cone will undoubtedly seem to be welded to the rubber spring and can take some "persuasion" to seperate, likewise removing the knuckle joint from the top arm can be fiddly too but it will all come out.)

 

Then release the tension of the spring compressor until the rubber cone is free and wriggle it out of the subframe tower.

 

And as they say, putting it back together is just a reversal of the above.

[Philcooper]

Cheers Surfblue! Is it worth taking bonnet off fir easier access?

[surfblue]

Not really necessary but as it only takes a few minutes to whip it off go for it. Mark the position of the hinges for realignment purposes.

[jime17]

Don't lean over the top of the cone compressor when in use.

If it lets go it could shoot up and do you quite some damage.

[RedRuby]

The only thing to add is that you may need to remove the top arm to get the rubber cone out and the new one in, I have heard people say they have managed to remove and replace without removing the top arm but I have always had to remove the top arm.

[Steve8274]

 
Place compressor tool over top mounting hole and thread long bolt down into threaded hole inside rubber spring - lubricate it well, and make sure you use the correct threaded end -
Wind up compressor which will compress rubber spring.

What lubricant would you suggest?
Thanks

[petey81]

 
Place compressor tool over top mounting hole and thread long bolt down into threaded hole inside rubber spring - lubricate it well, and make sure you use the correct threaded end -
Wind up compressor which will compress rubber spring.

What lubricant would you suggest?
Thanks

Copper grease, oh and when you wind the tool in should be around 9 ish full turns. Removing top arm makes it so much easier not a hard jobs. Fitting hi los makes it easier.

[Gadgets]

How did you get on?

[Carlos W]

Anyone else doing this, I'd recommend replacing the nylon cups in the top arms, they're cheap as chips and stop the knuckle wearing through! Also a good idea to spray some wd40 down and get an airline onto it before using the tool to see if any crud can be removed!

[wile e coyote]

if you havent already done the job..... pop an offcut of lino with a suitable hole cut / drilled between compressor and crossmember - saves the foot of the tool ripping up what paint remains.....or if there's enough thread left on the tool to accomodate an old coaster spreads the load a bit and minimises deformation...

I've never managed to do this job without - removing the bonnet (although it may just be my spring compressor being very tall and has a tee handle rather than a nut) or without removing the top arm....(removing top arm enable it to be given the once over and a good dose of fresh grease.... if seized repair kits are cheap & easy to install)

Irrespective of whther you want to keep ride height standard - hilo's (of the kosher minispares variety) on the front a very good idea....

Last thing pop some copperslip between knuckle shaft and whatever trumpet you end up using - will prevent dissembly issues in future....

[bikewiz]

if you havent already done the job..... pop an offcut of lino with a suitable hole cut / drilled between compressor and crossmember - saves the foot of the tool ripping up what paint remains.....or if there's enough thread left on the tool to accomodate an old coaster spreads the load a bit and minimises deformation...

I've never managed to do this job without - removing the bonnet (although it may just be my spring compressor being very tall and has a tee handle rather than a nut) or without removing the top arm....(removing top arm enable it to be given the once over and a good dose of fresh grease.... if seized repair kits are cheap & easy to install)

Irrespective of whther you want to keep ride height standard - hilo's (of the kosher minispares variety) on the front a very good idea....

Last thing pop some copperslip between knuckle shaft and whatever trumpet you end up using - will prevent dissembly issues in future....

 +1 for removing the upper arm. I just did this and no matter how I tried I couldn't get the cone out without removing the upper arm which ended up being a good thing because the upper arm pivot axle and bearings were junk.