Hi.

I removed my rear suspension to have access to the rear brake calipers. The radial arm's bushes need to be replaced, but to remove the radial arm it seems one has to drift out the fulcrum shaft.
I note one gets a rear inner and outer fulcrum repair kit. Should it be done? Is at a DIY job or best to take the suspension in to a suspension specialist?

Thanks

 

The IRS suspension is very solidly built and so unless there is play in it I wouldn't replace any of the fulcrum pins or bushes, if you have them out then check for any pitting but if they are generally ok and no play then I would leave well alone.

When I did mine I only changed anything that was rubber as that will degrade over time.

 

I changed every rubber in my restoration.

 

I concur with Homer. I was really surprised when I originally stripped my rear suspension during my rebuild how easy it was to remove the fulcrum bolt. It was so well greased and made of such high quality material that when I tapped one end with a Birmingham screw driver (Hammer) it just slid out. No play just a treat to work on. The bushes on the trailing arm go for a pass time. Mainly due to the new material they use these days instead of rubber. I have been through two sets of trailing arm bushes in 9 years and my third set are now showing cracks so when I replace them again this summer I am seriously contemplating Poly bushes.
The bushes are hard to get out and you will need a press for the small one. The large bush on the trailing arm sits against a shoulder on one side and you cannot get a press onto the metal sleeve so the only way I found to get it out was to cut a groove across the sleeve of the bush with a hacksaw blade (do not cut into the sleeve of the trailing arm itself) and then use a chisel to bend it out. Using the press to push on the rubber section of the bush when it is old and worn just parts the rubber from the sleeve leaving the sleeve inside the end of the trailing arm. I have a spare set of trailing arms so I will fit the bushes to them and the replacement ie car off the road, will only be a couple of hours where as removing the bushes is a full days job. Originally I found trying to remove the large bush of the trailing arm from the underside of the car very hard as it tends to rust into place. The bush has a metal domed inner which sits on a domed prominence on the bottom of the car. If this has not been greased in the past you might have to use heat to break it away.

This is after 3 years on the car. Bushes weak and cracked. No longer made of rubber but has to be made of a biodegradable equivalent which does not last very long.

 

It's interesting. After your previous warnings on the Register I have watched my new suspension rubbers like a hawk. There is zero deterioration. I shall continue to watch them. The rubbers on my car that are starting to show signs of perishing are the door rubbers ex Barratts. One day when I have to replace them I will use South African rubbers compounded for our climate. They last forever. Only difference is they are a little firmer requiring a little more pressure to close doors until they settle to the typical Jaguar soft click of the door locks.

 

We make every rubber for a Mk2.

 

I've never worked on the IRS, but it appears that the control arms have to be removed from the car to press out the old bushings _ that's a given in case I missed that.

I would make a piece on my lathe to comfortable catch the outer edge of the bushing so I could press it out.
I would even go so far as to totally remove all the perished rubber from the centre, I would then make the "collar" catch on the inside of the sleeve to keep the collar from moving sideways while on the press _ I've done this in the past, and even have had to use oxy/acetylene while it was in the press.

About the rubber perishing.
The bolt that goes through the bushing can't by snugged up while the suspension is hanging when on the lift _ if this is even a problem because it's not understood what's going on here ?
The car has to be statically sitting with its weight before the bolts are tightened.
If ones lift is the type where all for tires on the "tracks" were on the lift, then that would work.

If the bolts are tightened while the rear suspension is hanging on a lift, then lowering the car to its static position would load the rubber bushings to the extreme in that direction.
This would of course cause the premature failure in the photos here.

 

Absolutely Jeff ~ and a mistake frequently made by mechanics that either don't understand this or don't care. I wish I could have given you 100 Likes

 

Mine were all tightened correctly on the ground, had to set the rear wheels on wooden blocks to get underneath and yet the rubbers still went like this. Poly bushes in the summer.