The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

Jon Tilson wrote:Could also be rear end steer if one of the axle radius arm bushes has gone....quite common is that.
Especially worth a look if nothing obvious is wrong up front.

Drag strut bushes into subframe are also good bang for buck as a polybush improvement.

Jonners

Hi Jonners

I did think of this but can find nothing amiss at the back end at all.
Wheel bearings are fine.
Rack mounts seem fine - no lateral movement with the wheels on ramps and someone wanging around with the steering wheel.

"Drag struts" are these the front tie rods?

Cheers

Glen.

Seriously, how old are the existing tyres?
If they are more than 6 - 8 years old, a new set will transform it...

matt of the vivas wrote:Seriously, how old are the existing tyres?
If they are more than 6 - 8 years old, a new set will transform it...

Dunno mate, but I imagine 2011 when a PO recommissioned it. They don't look old at all. Goodyears too.

I polished the rims last night but don't expect that will make much difference They came up nicely though.

There will be a DOT code on the tyre wall. 4 numbers...

Glen I hope you ordered Super Flex ones. The subframe on my 1850 has been removed and one of the bushes had split! Fortunately, I'd ordered a full set of Super Flex subframe bushes from Chris Witor. He gives a discount to TDC members on Super Flex bushes. They're pricey but worth every penny.

Yes they join the lower wishbone (track control arm) to the front sub frame
The rubber bushes can deteriorate and in the worst cases the tie rod wears against the sub frame, sacrificing itself and making the hole oval.
Well worth a look...

Jonners

Well, today I attempted to replace the subframe mounts and I think I may have found the reason for the "squirming" feeling.

Here is a picture of the nearside rear mount before I loosened the nut off, you can see it's badly perished, but I don't think this is the reason.

Here is a photo of the offside rear mount, again before attempting to loosen it off. As you can see it looks very different and there is a reason for that..........

And here is the reason. The offside cup is on the right, you can see that the centre has rotted out completely rendering it inoperative. Effectively there was nothing clamping the rubbers and therefore nothing holding the subframe to the car in this corner at all.

So I need some new cups, but also some help in getting the nut off the bolt on the offside. The nearside played ball and the nut came off without the bolt turning. Unfortunately the same can't be said for the nearside, the bolt turns and the head seems to be behind the steering column UJs - Grrrrrr. Time stopped play today so any help with gaining access to the top of the bolt without removing the rack etc would be most appreciated.

You can get new cup washers from Fitchetts or fit an alternative poly bush that just uses a flat washer.
I have the latter on one of mine and its fine.

I managed to get a flat ring combination spanner on the bolt head under the column intermediate shaft and eventually
it finds something to lock against as you turn the nut underneath.

Usually the cup washers fall off in the road when they get to that stage....

Jonners

Jon Tilson wrote:You can get new cup washers from Fitchetts or fit an alternative poly bush that just uses a flat washer.
I have the latter on one of mine and its fine.

I managed to get a flat ring combination spanner on the bolt head under the column intermediate shaft and eventually
it finds something to lock against as you turn the nut underneath.

Usually the cup washers fall off in the road when they get to that stage....

Jonners

Cheers Jonners

I had already ordered one from Rimmers, though they are usually my last resort as normally expensive.

I'll try the combo spanner trick at the weekend, cheers.

All done, thanks for everyone's help. The handling is transformed.

I managed to wedge an open ended spanner on the bolt head under the steering joints. After that, the job was easy.

So having fitted new rear shocks, rebuilding the calipers and new subframe bushes plus loads of minor jobs I took the car in for an MOT today just to see what else I needed to do to get the ticket. Lo and behold, it passed - with no advisories.

Happy days..........

Glad to hear you sorted it and congrats on the MoT pass.

Toledo Man wrote:Glad to hear you sorted it and congrats on the MoT pass.

Thanks Tolly M

It's still a bit fidgety, I think Clive had a point when he mentioned tie rod bushes - no perceptable play, but the forces of cornering must be a 1000 times what I can apply with my stout screwdriver!