Capri - Front Suspension 3

Finally, it’s back together & on the road. The delay related to getting a pair of lower control arms. I thought I had a set on EBay but lost the auction at the last minute so I ordered a set through Ringwood Auto Spares for $143 delivered. These were a lot cheaper than I could source at any of my local auto shops, even with discount. I thought they were Roadsafe but turned out to be a Wasp brand but they are all made in Taiwan, possibly in the same factory.



I had bolted on the strut towers so it was time to bolt in the control arms. Then I noticed a small difference. The sleeve on the inside of the new arms was slightly larger than the original part. (Pic on left & new arm is the one on RHS) If I replaced it with the same bolts, I figured that there would be some very slight movement. The new sleeves suited a 10mm bolt so I had to buy two new ones & then drill the holes on the chassis mounts to suit. That took about 1 minute per side so it was no big deal but again it illustrates that non genuine parts may not always be exactly the same as the old ones. (Pic on the right with the new 10mm bolt). The moral of the story is keep your old bits until everything is working well.


I used the spring clamp to help me get the lower arm into the correct spot after connecting it loosely to the strut & the stabiliser bar. A few light taps with the hammer were necessary to get the new bolts completely through. Then all the bolts connecting the struts, chassis mount & stabiliser bar were tightened to the correct tensions. (That’s a good thing about having a manual.) Then the discs went back on & the brake lines attached. Then the tie rod ends, although I had problems with the thread on one. It may have been damaged slightly when I disconnected them. A few thread cleanouts with a tap & die fixed it up & it went back together well. (Bottom pic)

Next job was to ensure everything had been tightened & all the split pins replaced. Next was to bleed the brakes. It took a few pumps to get the fluid through but the pedal pressure is really good. I had decided to check all the tyres & put the best two on the front. That meant I had to make a quick trip to the tyre man for a balance, which he did for free – very good! So after all the tyres were in the correct places, I checked the front wheels to find there was a bit of movement on both sides. This meant having to remove the split pins & tightening the bearing nut a little. This soon eliminated the movement on both sides. Then it was time to let it down off the stands & jack. Lastly, it was time to tighten up the bolts on top of the strut towers. They were quite loose when the car was sitting on its own weight. It is important to tension these to the correct specifications, keeping the metals tabs turned towards the engine. All done & now for road test.
Well, on a little run close to home there was no wheel wobbles, no steering clatter & no brake rattle – so that was all good. There is still too much noise coming from the bonnet area on decent bumps, so some more work is needed is adjusting the rubbers around the bonnet. That can wait for another time but, at least for now, it is going well & is all back together.