Rear torsion bar bushes

Does look like that may be the problem. Inner ones not seated properly?

 

For reference, I've never used talc or any lubricant or need more than 2 slightly longer bolts or bent the cover and I've done quite a few. Something is wrong.

 

Not even Hi Karate?

 

Maybe.

 

Maybe. Or completely worn out. Or missing…

 

Actually, the talc suggestion was for your...other problem, Malc. Has the chafing cleared up?

 

Folk always do the outer ones, but don't bother with the hassle of the inners.

 

I think its the aftermarket covers are too flexible.
The turned up flange on my originals looks wider relative to the size of the bolt heads.
Also the metal is quite thick.

Also see how it widens as you get away from the bolt heads at the rear (top picture) .

Also as already pointed out, the spring plate needs to be over the bottom endstop, or the torsion bar will be being pushed forwards..



Looking from the front

 

So, finally sorted it (famous last words), I replaced inners and outer bushes (hope I have the right angle etc on spring plates as its not a fun job and I dont fancy doing it all again, I used a digital protractor). I managed to shear a bolt taking the cover back off, that's how tight they were in, it must have been on the verge of shearing when I put it in. That took me an hour and a half to drill out and retap, which then had me thinking, what it the holes are corroded or bunged up towards the back? So I tried the bolts with not springplate cover, tight as hell. I have a very cheap m10 tap which I used to clean out the threads, reassembled all with talc. It went back together much more easily!

If I have tip for anyone doing this job, save yourself some grief, sweat, time and expletives and check those holes are threaded all the way through and not blocked up.

Thanks for all your help to those who took the time to reply, it really is much appreciated

 

Good to hear, but what was the actual problem?

 

the bolts were binding in the holes, some more than others, so as i tightened them it skewed the plate and I couldn't fully tighten some.... I'd recommend running a tap through the holes before reassembling.

 

That wouldn't cause the plates to bend though would it? You were obviously able to tighten the bolts enough to do that.

 

some would go in and some wouldnt , that started the plate to twist and then bend as i tightened the ones i could get to... hard to explain, but glad its sorted

 

I'm also happy for you! Just trying to understand what was going wrong and although yes tapping the corroded threads obviously helped, surely if you'd done that originally it would only have helped to bend the covers more easily?
Sorry for going on about it.

 

Glad you're sorted, but as @Zed said the bolt thing is just odd. All the holes should go straight through the rear casting, hard to think how they'd become so corroded they'd freeze the bolts (which are M8?).

 

The fun here starts with the fact that the bolts stick out the back where the threads go rusty and then wont come back through the holes.
Then as you force the rusty bit through, it damages the tapped thread, unless it saves the thread by shearing off, making it difficult in any case to put another new bolt back through.
Then tapping it is removing metal that used to be holding the bolt in place.

Probably hitting it with a wire brush from behind might have saved some hassle.

Also interesting - the original bolts look like they are self-threading which might explain why the thread was a funny profile and stiff when a normal bolt was put in there ..

 

That sounds highly unlikely.

The bolts with the scoopy ends are for clearing paint out of threads.

 

Original bolts looked like some kind of self tappers with smaller heads, the certainly never made it all the way through, hence the prob with new longer bolts.