Clocking bushes when lowering VF's.

[losh1971]

naah Holden put out a castor arm bolt kit that has
the bolt (and its nut)
the alignment shim
the shim retainer

all are in this pic from the thread poster ...
except the shim retainer (which some cars need, like mine .. others not)




View attachment 252623

And is this available for VE's too? Any chance of a part #?

 

[RevNev]

Last bolts I priced up at Holden were the rear coupling bolts and nuts. Over $35 each..... I just reused my suspension bolts. Also that being the case every time you get an alignment you would need to replace a stack of bolts. That seems ridiculous to me....

That castor alignment kit, is that a Whiteline or similar?

Most of that has to do with the resistance on shake proof nuts or a dob of Loctite on the end of a new bolt thread. It's not about the integrity of the bolt's inability to tighten from stretching when re-used. VF suspension bolts absolutely tighten when re-used and that's all that realistically matters! If the mechanical integrity of a bolt was a genuine issue, they would've TTY'd the wheel studs instead of permitting them to be re-torqued to a 140nm a million times for life!

 

[lmoengnr]

Most of that has to do with the resistance on shake proof nuts or a dob of Loctite on the end of a new bolt thread. It's not about the integrity of the bolt's inability to tighten from stretching when re-used. VF suspension bolts absolutely tighten when re-used and that's all that realistically matters! If the mechanical integrity of a bolt was a genuine issue, they would've TTY'd the wheel studs instead of permitting them to be re-torqued to a 170nm a million times for life!

Fixed it for you.

 

[RevNev]

When I did the suspension on the VE we used a trans jack under the hub, while ute was on the hoist. I can't remember if we had the wheel on or not. Seemed to work reasonably well. Those blocks or a four post are probably better though. I don't know many places with a four post. I have observed garages using screw props to load up the suspension before tightening, which I have done at home myself on rear suspension.

Yes, you can do it like that and have done so myself many times. Generally when working on the floor, I'd jack the hubs up to the revised ride heights and re-clock the bushes with the struts or springs out. It's pretty hard to get enough leverage on the hub to reach ride heights with the springs in.

 

[RevNev]

While I think of it when changing rear springs on VE/VF that catches a lot of people out, is aligning the top plate with the shock body when removed from the car. Otherwise, they'll find the top plate bolt holes won't align with the chassis rail and there's too much spring tension to turn the top easily when the shock/spring assembly is in the car. These are bit painful to jiggle in and out, as the lower control arm doesn't drop down low enough to make it easy.

 

[losh1971]

While I think of it when changing rear springs on VE/VF that catches a lot of people out, is aligning the top plate with the shock body when removed from the car. Otherwise, they'll find the top plate bolt holes won't align with the chassis rail and there's too much spring tension to turn the top easily when the shock/spring assembly is in the car. These are bit painful to jiggle in and out, as the lower control arm doesn't drop down low enough to make it easy.

View attachment 252628

Yeah, I had to lean on the lower arm to get my shocks in. I was able to rotate mine with just the shock plate in at the top and bolts in loose then had to lever in the lower mount. Not too bad with a hoist. Working on stands would have been pretty difficult. Think I may have called on the wife to help getting the lower mount in IIRC.

 

[chrisp]

When I did the suspension on the VE we used a trans jack under the hub, while ute was on the hoist. I can't remember if we had the wheel on or not. Seemed to work reasonably well. Those blocks or a four post are probably better though. I don't know many places with a four post. I have observed garages using screw props to load up the suspension before tightening, which I have done at home myself on rear suspension.

I do hope that you lifted the ute by the designated ‘hoist lifting points’ and not the sills! Lifting by the sills would allow very little room for movement if the transmission jack lifted the ute off the hoist on that corner (which it sort of has to do to get the right lift on that corner).

I definitely wouldn’t like to hear about BT failing off the hoist, and definitely wouldn’t want you to be at risk of having BT fall on you either!

 

[Ginger Beer]

I wouldn't like to hear about the repercussions from Mrs Losh if the worst happened

I know what Mrs Ginger Beer would say

Me getting injured, or the car getting damaged, would definitely NOT be the worst of my problems

I can picture it now, me laying up in hospital, on deaths door, with her looking down from above with that "how old are you, what were you thinking" look on her face......

 

[vc commodore]

If the worse happened and BT fell off the hoist, with @losh1971 around it, I don't think we'll hear from Mrs Losh, unless she is over joyed at his passing and has an extremely loud voice for all of us to hear the cheering....

 

[Smitty]

While I think of it when changing rear springs on VE/VF that catches a lot of people out, is aligning the top plate with the shock body when removed from the car. Otherwise, they'll find the top plate bolt holes won't align with the chassis rail and there's too much spring tension to turn the top easily when the shock/spring assembly is in the car. These are bit painful to jiggle in and out, as the lower control arm doesn't drop down low enough to make it easy.

View attachment 252628

.. a yes to that!
having done it a number of times (as the std HSV spring/shocker package is sh3i*t if you tow or have heavy loads, both lots died)
Currently running XHD FE2 springs plus Koni HD adjustables.. been there nearly 2 years now and are holding up nicely
note ... new bolts on floor

ps...
further hint re above, those top plates are different and only fit one side. Mark them when you pull them LH and RH