suspension pan questions??
10-20-2009, 01:03 AM
#1
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suspension pan questions??
Hey folks, I am doing front floor pan and fuel tank support on my 69e. I have removed all of the old pan with the exception of a double thickness flange at bottom. I was wondering if I could leave flange remaining on bottom? To provide extra thickness to weld on bottom. Also bigger issue, if you notice in picture my laterals are still in place. So the new pan will have to be installed from front and underneath. This becomes a problem with front a-arm support which I would like to leave in for final pan alignment. The supports have about an inch and a half of up and down play, but I need a little more to slide the pan in (clearing the front wall at the bottom). Can these be loosened or removed one at a time? If so, I would appreciate any detailed advice on what bolts to loosen and what bolts to leave alone for suspension integrity. I have my jack stands under the crossmember tube. Thanks for any advice.
10-20-2009, 02:22 AM
#2
I haddah Google dat
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
You mean you're asking how to remove the A-arms? Just remove the adjusting nut, the cam, and they should pull right out....unless they are rusted in. Then you just hammer the torsion bars forward. The A-arm caps will pop right out, and you can slide the torsion bars out throught the a-arms. You can re-install the a-arms later for alignment. I'll look for the jacking point diagram that I have in the hard drive and post it tomorrow.
10-20-2009, 10:12 AM
#3
RL Community Team
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Like you, I wanted to triple check the location of the A-arm forward mounts when putting the suspension pan in.
I was able to get just enough wiggle room by removing the bolts that attach the steering rack to the transverse support (at the rear of the A-arms), then supporting the transverse support in the middle (see picture) and loosening (but not removing) the bolts that secure the transverse support to the tub. This allowed the transverse support (and hence the rear of the control arms) to be lowered maybe a half inch. It also allowed the control arm/transverse support assemble to wiggle a bit. With this done, I was able to fit the pan in. But as you said, it is a tight fit under the front bulkhead. I had to wiggle and move things "just so" to get it to clear. After a while of test-fitting and removing and re-fitting I got good at it, but it is not an easy fit.
One minor point, my car being a later car has an aluminum transverse support, yours would have the steel one, but I think they attach in the same fashion.
I think I linked to this in your Pelican thread, but in case you have not seen it yet, this thread depicts my experience with this job:
https://rennlist.com/forums/911-foru...-surprise.html
As for the double thickness flange: Yes, you probably can weld directly to it – obviously you may have to tweak the sides to get a fit (I found even a burr left from where I had removed a spot weld could impair the fit of the pan – it really did fit “snug”). A bigger question is how certain are you that there is no corrosion on interface between the two layers of sheet metal on that flange? I would at least remove a little portion of one layer in several spots to assess that first.
I was able to get just enough wiggle room by removing the bolts that attach the steering rack to the transverse support (at the rear of the A-arms), then supporting the transverse support in the middle (see picture) and loosening (but not removing) the bolts that secure the transverse support to the tub. This allowed the transverse support (and hence the rear of the control arms) to be lowered maybe a half inch. It also allowed the control arm/transverse support assemble to wiggle a bit. With this done, I was able to fit the pan in. But as you said, it is a tight fit under the front bulkhead. I had to wiggle and move things "just so" to get it to clear. After a while of test-fitting and removing and re-fitting I got good at it, but it is not an easy fit.
One minor point, my car being a later car has an aluminum transverse support, yours would have the steel one, but I think they attach in the same fashion.
I think I linked to this in your Pelican thread, but in case you have not seen it yet, this thread depicts my experience with this job:
https://rennlist.com/forums/911-foru...-surprise.html
As for the double thickness flange: Yes, you probably can weld directly to it – obviously you may have to tweak the sides to get a fit (I found even a burr left from where I had removed a spot weld could impair the fit of the pan – it really did fit “snug”). A bigger question is how certain are you that there is no corrosion on interface between the two layers of sheet metal on that flange? I would at least remove a little portion of one layer in several spots to assess that first.
