MK1 Morris Mini Rear Strut to Radius Arm Dust Cover Replacement

[ERNGOR]

The dust cover on the strut to radius arm has come adrift and it either need to re-attached and made secure or replaced.

I have tried to re-attach but cant get may hand in.

What is the best way of doing this with the minimum of dis-assembly.

I am not familiar with this form of suspension and have never done any work on it before.

Is the dowel displacer to strut a solid connection to the strut or is a a sliding unit

Can I assume item dowel displacer screws into the Hydrostatic unit - do I need to unscrew this to carry out my repair and separate it from the strut. If so is how far has it is screwed back unto the unit and is it critical to the suspension set up.

I should add the whole suspension unit has been replaced by others during restoration some 1500 miles ago.

I tried to attached a parts breakdown but unable to do so - file too big.

Thanks Gordon

[Peter Laidler]

Here's the answer to some of your Q's:
Reattaching the dust cover is a bit of a pain but you CAN do it, carefully by greasing it with rubber grease or better still, KY gel from the chemist and using a ROUNDED - pencil sized bit of wood you can get the seal to slip over the strut at one point. Then try to work it around.

Nope, the 'dowel displacer (?)'..... is this what you are calling the strut dowels at each end? If so, the strut is in 5 parts. The strut, the dowels and a spring seated behing each dowel inside the strut. It is VERY probable that the 1/2" dia dowels are solidly rusted in place. Heat the struts up, take the dowels and springs out, clean out the holes with a 1/2" drill and make a couple of new ones from 1/2" stainless rod

Nope, the struts are free floating and it is the dowels at each end that retain the strut in place in the hydro unit and the swinging arm (aided by the dowels being spring loaded.

You don't need to evacuate the hydro system to carry out work on the suspension. What you need to do is depressurise it to atmosphere and let the car bottom-out. Jack it up as necessary and you can take the suspension apart. Alas, you do need a pump to re-ressurise it - with fresh clean fluid.

I have written all of this up several times in the past but ain't no good at resurrecting old threads.

Hope that this helps. But I would say this. DO NOT LET HYDROLASTIC FRIGHTEN YOU

[ERNGOR]

Thanks Peter.

Can the strut be removed in situ to fit the dust cap? if so how

[Peter Laidler]

Off the top of my head, I'd say no! It will have to be de-pressurised (but NOT evacuated) and the helper spring will have to be undone at the bottom to allow the swinging arm to drop far enough to jiggle the strut and dowels out

That's because........ anyway. But don't let the hydrolastic stuff frighten you

Just for interest sake, I binned my rusty old struts and dowels and turned some new ones from stainless. Took 10 minutes and I ain't looked back and they ain't rusted in place neither

[ERNGOR]

Thanks Peter

[360gts]

As Peter says....it can be put back in place.
I use a tool call a springhook.....Part of the cover will be in place due to the geometry of the strut/arm.
Start by inserting the hooked end of the tool into the cover and carefully pull the lip of the cover into place ..... keep working around and the cover follows.

You can improvise with a home made spring hook if one isn't available.
Take a piece of steel coat hanger wire....flatten the end and make a small hook. file the hook down till it is nice and smooth and pointy.
Turn the other end into a rounded handle ish.

[Peter Laidler]

Oooooooops, correction.... I said earlier that there was a dowel and spring at each end of the strut part. NO! Only in the hydro bag/rearmost end of course. The front end houses the knuckle joint assembly.

[ERNGOR]

Thanks Guys Points noted