Good afternoon. My UK RHD s-type appears to have odd stabiliser bars unless someone can tell me otherwise.
The OSF bar has a rubber bush on either side of its mount.
The NSF bar only has one rubber bust on the upper side of the mount. I’ve just ordered new rubber bushes but there isn’t an obvious thread on the NSF bar to secure the rubber. Hopefully the pictures will paint a thousand words.
is this correct or have a got an incorrect NSF stabiliser bar?
Regards,
Mark

 

Wrong bar. My car has the front stabaliser bars. Some later S Types did not have them (British Leyland going cheap). This picture/diagram paints everything you need to know. D is a sleeve that prevents you from over compressing the rubbers. See my signature for underbody.

 

Thanks for that answer, that’s brilliant.
I wonder if the sleeve has somehow slid down and the threaded section is underneath ready for the rubber portion?
I am going to assume that replacing the
stabiliser bar or even removing it to set it up right requires the engine to be lifted?

Thanks for the response.
Mark

 

It does. Remember to loosen the rear stabaliser before any engine lifting. Remove the nylock nut & use a screwdriver in the groves of the lower threaded "washer" to screw it down the threaded shaft to create clearance for lifting. Mine fortunately screws down by hand but many don't.

It is possible that the sleeve has slid down & covered the threads. It should not be able to go through the washer hole but who knows?

 

I don't want to correct Glyn as I do not have the stabilisers on my 1968 S type but looking at the photos you have shown I would have thought that you could remove the stabilisers without lifting the engine to far if at all. Once the upper rose joint bolt has been removed there should be room to unscrew the lower bolt and lift the stabiliser out. It might be a bit fiddly but looks doable. If you were going to replace the engine mounts at the same time again you do not need to lift the engine very high. I have done my engine mounts with the engine lifted no more than a couple of inches, achieved by lifting the car on a jack then placing a piece of wood under the sump with an axle stand for support. Lower the car gently onto the axle stand which with the engine mounts already loosened will lift the engine sufficiently to slide the mounts out and slide the new ones in. Do protect the underside of the sump with a piece of wood though as the alloy is not strong enough to support the weight of the engine alone.
Once the new ones are in place make sure the top of the engine is flat before doing up the mounts. We have had a discussion on the S type forum before about the engine not being flat and the end of the air filter then touching the underside of the bonnet pad.. The engine mounting holes are elongated to allow for up and down movement to make sure the engine lies flat.

 

No problem Rob. But slight engine lifting helps and the rear stabaliser needs to be taken into account. It's a right royal fiddle if you don't raise the engine slightly. There is no space. Replacing an engine mounting is a damn side easier than fighting that Metalastic top bush. The procedure for setting the 3 stabalisers is clearly explained in the WS Manual.

When we did my car the vehicle was on jack stands just inward of the jacking points. We just used a trolley jack with a block of wood on it to protect the sump & raised the engine slightly. A very fine racket helps because you are at a very narrow point of the engine compartment.