Rear LHM leak

[RichardW]

There is a hole Jim, but really it's bugger all use driving on it - you can't get on it square due to the web on the arm, and when it's on the car the subframe obscures it in the other plane. And to cap it all, then end of the pin is chamfered, so as soon as you hit it, it just dives off into the side of the hole. Even with the arm off you can't hit it square, nor of course deal with the chamfer!

If the puller won't work (which is a shame! - but off the car you might be able to weld the ring together?) then the only solution is to cut the ring end off, file it back to be burr free and drive it out the way it went in - you can get a substantial punch and hammer on it to get it going, then finish it off with a small dia punch or nail or something.

[CitroJim]

Ahh, thanks Richard, it all makes some sense now

Welding is an interesting thought as the heat might help release the pin. I wonder if just heating the pin itself with a bit of oxyacetylene might be just enough to do the trick... I'm thinking that will really concentrate the heat where it might work and not risk damaging the gaiter or anything else nearby...

I have two stuck pins in my scrap frame so as soon as I feel up to it I'll have another go at it...

[c.morewood]

Right through Jim.. unfortunately as Richard has already said the end of the pin is not cut square so any force exerted on the pin to push it out is partly going to the back of the tube which the pin sits in. New, you wouldn't believe just how easily the pin slips in and out.
I couldn't find any punches at my "local" B&Q as they had sold out.. I'll give it one more try on Wed with a punch and then the shaft of a screwdriver.. if that doesn't move it .. then its the arm off on Saturday.

Chris

OOps I was at the bottom of page 6.. didn't see page 7's posts!!

[NewcastleFalcon]

I am on holiday this week, and from the relaxed position of not actually having to finish a job on the car to get mobile, I have retrieved my old radius arm from the shed again, and had a session with a club hammer, a grinder, a punch, and some old screwdrivers.

Earlier on in the thread I reported that I had enjoyed a fruitless couple of hours trying to get the rusted pin out of the arm just for amusement.

Well here is a picture, of tonight's 2-hour effort.........success this time



With the arm off the vehicle it can still be a pain getting the pin out, but the chances of success are much better.

My own views.

File the pin flat even if there is a millimetre or more poking out.

Get or make a decent punching implement of the right dimensions. Its better if the "punch" is close to the diameter of the pin itself. I made mine quite crudely out of a centre punch ground down, and screwdrivers ground down. Not very clever or effective. Found myself constantly regrinding the implements to smaller diameters.

Punch from one side then the other in turn and for many repetitions and liberally plus gas the hole/pin.

Wiggle and turn with mole grips once the pin frees off to get it out.

On each occasion I have done the job the pin punches out from the outer to the inner side of the arm.

You may see from the photo that the bottom of the cup emerged damaged- a combination of rust in the recess, the heavy punching process with too wide punching implements and the proximity of the drilling in any case to the bottom of the "cup".

regards

Neil

[citronut]

Neil
looking at the remains of that pin the furthest end away in the picy looks bent over, maybe that could be the cause of the pin being stuck????

[c.morewood]

Slightly off topic.. has anyone tried this LHM?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... AQ:GB:1123" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It comes with free delivery and at £4/lit a good bit under what LHM is available locally. £6.99/ lit

[CitroJim]

No, but it's a good deal though...

Worth a go I'd have thought...

[citronut]

what pug use's LHM in its braking system?????

[c.morewood]

Latest news on the O/S cylinder.
Its proving to be even more stubborn than its brother!! It was certainly in worse condition than the other as almost a quarter of the rim of the cylinder has rotted away.
I initially tried Richards puller method.. that seemed to work ... but then I realized it was just the spring unwinding on the loop.
I tried hammering from the outside and got a bit of movement. and then it stopped.. so I tried a little heat.. then a lot of heat and then started the pulling however the strain was too much for the pin wire and it broke. So i thought I'd file off the end as suggested and try punching it through.. The end is now buried about 4 or 5 mm into the hole .. but it won't shift any more.. on the outside its been filed/drilled flush but won't budge.
I did briefly try to remove the arm .. however the nut was so rusted that it is no longer a 23mm .. nor is it a 22mm and that is not going anywhere at least in my garage!!
So the next idea is to try to drill out the pin.. to get the correct angle I'm going to have to drill a hole in the bracket holding the arm etc. and than try to find a long reach 4mm drill to tackle the pin. If i can just get it drilled a few mm, enough to release the cup I'll be happy as I got the spares from Bryan who seemed to have no problem removing his pins.
The only other option I can think of is to break off the rod and drill the cup out of its holder on the arm.

Any other ideas?

I would recommend anyone changing rear spheres to put a load of grease between the cylinder rim and the sphere and around the outside of the cylinder to protect it and maybe even put a thin strip of motorcycle inner tube over the top of the joint to protect it.

[CitroJim]

Gosh Chris, that one is proving exceedingly stubborn

I'm wondering if it might be worth considering swapping the whole subframe for one with better condition cylinders? Might be quicker and easier in the end...

That's very good advice on how to avoid it. I've been doing the same with hydractive electrovalves for a while now as they suffer the same issues.

I've made no progress on the corroded ones Neil sent me as I've not been well enough to attempt them yet. They're on my bench patiently awaiting attention

[RichardW]

Tough going Chris.... The pivot shaft bolt should be 24mm - a six sided socket might get on it. If it's 22 or less, then it's pretty seriously corroded!! You could cut the bolt head off and then push it out the other way - not sure if it will come out in one piece inwards, you might have to saw it into pieces to get it out Oh, and a new one is £25 Dropping the subframe is an option, but that is going to involve getting the pipes undone, and given the apparent state of corrosion doesn't sound like it's going to be easy. Hope you get a break soon!!

[NewcastleFalcon]

Chris

Access for drilling out the pin with the arm on the car is likely to be difficult. From the outer side of the arm no matter how long your drill is you will not be able to drill the pin square on, and the drill will angle into the arm and just chip away at the iron of the arm rather the the pin itself.

From my experience of dismantling my old Xantia, and dropping the subframe- there is a myriad of pipes which for my purposes I simply hacksawed off when dropping the frame. It would be even more of a nightmare and expense to attempt to methodically disconnect and likely to be impossible to keep intact the necessary pipework during the dismantling process.

If you come to the conclusion that getting the arm off is looking doubtful then perhaps you are approaching my last resort method.

This would involve getting someone to weld a large nut onto the cup itself. ( with the arm on the car to get to this position you may well have to, peel back or cut off the rubber boot, cut through the rod, remove the rod and remove the "collar" from the cup itself).

I think there is a very good chance that applying a socket/wrench to the nut, together with a large lever (breaker bar, tubing etc) the necessary degree of force will be applied to break the cup/pin at its weakest point.

I have to say that I haven't personally tried this method, but even with mole grips forced very tightly to the rim of the cup, and a length of tubing providing a greater leverage, the cup itself broke along the line of the drilling for the pin. The drilling is very close to the bottom of the cup.

The welding of the nut to the cup just gives a lesser chance of turning as the mole grips I used just acted on the circular rim of the cup and therefore more tendency to slip.

Of course, before acting on the destructive course of action make sure that you can get the cup/rod/rubber boot.

good luck

Neil

[citronut]

The pivot shaft bolt should be 24mm, Oh, and a new one is £25

plus about £1.80 for a new nut,

that means i have a gold mine kicking around my workshop then, as i must have quite a few of these,
how'z £24.99 each sound i might even throw a nut in at that price, and free carriage

it woould be cheaper to purchase an arm kit from GSF

[CitroJim]

it woould be cheaper to purchase an arm kit from GSF

At your prices I reckon it would be cheaper to get gold plated ones direct from Citroen Malcolm!

[Xantidote]

Hope you'll have good news to report soon, Chris

I would recommend anyone changing rear spheres to put a load of grease between the cylinder rim and the sphere and around the outside of the cylinder to protect it and maybe even put a thin strip of motorcycle inner tube over the top of the joint to protect it.

As Jim says, a good idea, and i've brushed old oil around the area, subsequent to the problems you've reported with the corrosion. However, not so sure I'd go so far as to envelop in rubber tube, as water/moisture is bound to seep under the tube, and you won't then be able to see what's going on. I'll just inspect the area from time to time (easy enough to do), and brush more oil on. Just have to be sparing with the oil, as it does drip if applied liberally, making my drive messy