Help with the front suspension needed

[DavidN]

Hi there,

can anyone explain to me, how the R4 front suspension is working?
Especially the adjustments on a 1985 R4.

I would prefer to remove the complete suspension to have a little more room to do all the welding on my chassis.

I'm pretty sure that removing would not be the problem, BUT will I be able to reinstall the "spring loaded" steel bars so that afterwards the height of the front axle will be correct. I'm a bit scared. Should I better let it alone and work around the bars?


Thanks for your help!


David

P.S.
Here's a pic of the mounting underneath the car.

 

[bantamallan]

Mark bot ends of the torsion bars and the housing then fit them back in the same place, we found it easier to release the wishbone end first to take the tension off the torsion bar then the chassis end. Reassemble in reverse order.
If you do get it wrong its not too difficult to reset when everything is clean
regards
Allan

 

[DavidN]

Hi Allan,

Thanks for the answer.
I thought about release the torsion bar at it's front end too.


I still don't understand this mechanism underneath the floor.
How should there be adjustments made?

I read in the M.R.176 something about it, but my system looks totally different.

There is not a "row of holes" to do little adjustments nor is there a lever that is adjustable to set the tension of the suspension.

I think I will take it apart and have a closer look.
This way I always learn the most about how things are working ...


Regards,

David

 

[John Doe]

Rotating the bar within the lever and wishbone will give you possibility for finer adjustment. One side of the torsion bar has 20 and another 21 teeth. Take your time and figure out in which direction you should rotate the torsion bar.

 

[DavidN]

I did it.
And it was easier than I thought.

Fist of all I loosened all the screws holding the front suspension (wishbone etc.) and the axle came apart.

After that I lifted the front chassis and sat it on wooden blocks.
Now I could "fold" both axles down and the torsion bars where fully unloaded.

Then I loosened the 3 bolts that held the torsion bars in the middle of the car.
The "clamp" just fell down with the bar.

After that the "clamp" came surprisingly easy off the bar.

Thanks for your help!


David

 

[angel]

Now, if you put each torsion bar on its correct side, and at the same marks on both the wishbone and the mounting, the height will be the same as before (and, judging from the photos, it should not have sagged).
One point you should be aware is that, if you have loosened the lower wishbone pin, it needs to be tightened when the suspension is about half way compressed. This is because the wishbone bushes is of the "Flexibloc" type, and do not actually turn into their bores, but are rather stressed in torsion.

If you search a little in this forum, you will find a lot of useful information about torsion bar settings.