The Suspension Rebuild, Part 3 - Removing and Cleaning

Once the springs were out, it was time to start taking the suspension apart. Since I was learning as I went, it took me a couple weekends to get it all apart, cleaned, bushings replaced, and parts painted.

Having never used a pickle fork, and not having a true understanding of how tight the ball joints hold on, removing the knuckle was a learning experience. I tried some of the tricks I had read, like hitting the ball joint bolt with a hammer to try and vibrate it lose. When the tie rod end attached to the knuckly finally went, it popped so hard it actually hurt my elbow. I learned a trick by accident with the inner tie rod. I was hammering the pickle fork onto the ball joint to try and get more leverage, and that actually popped it off. And, for those who are not aware, the steering knuckle is very heavy, with not only the knuckle but the rotor and caliper as well. Kinda catches you off guard when you aren't ready for it.

Cotter pins... seriously, they shouldn't be this hard to remove! Watching the how to videos on the internet made it look so easy. And if you see it on the internet, it must be true! I had to fight some out with a punch, others I could pry out with pliers. And talk about some hard to reach places...

The other tricky part was removing the lower wishbone, specifically the lever support shaft, from the body. A lot of the bolts have needed a braker bar, and these were particularly brutal. Then, to top it off, you have to acces the nuts from the engine bay, and while it was probably easy for the dwarves that must have built these cars, my normal sized hands found this task hard. There were wedged socket wrenches and extensions utilized.

Once off the car, I thought I was home free, but the Alfa gods had other ideas. I learned about tab washers, as well as how to hold vice grips under my foot as I cranked on the nut holding the arms to the lever support shaft.

It wasn't all hard though, and a lot of it was just a matter of learning curve. What took me 3 weekends to get done on the driver's side, I got done in 3 hours on the passenger side. Of course the spring and shock were already out, but I was able to crank through the rest of it pretty quickly.

I was expecting the wishbone arm bushings to be really hard to replace, since everything I had read on the forum said it had to be done in a press, and I am sans press. So I went the "hard" route, and pounded them out with a hammer and a socket. They came out really easy, and I was able to install the new ones with the same method.


The old bushings definitely needed to be replaced.


The old bushings used a metal washer, the new ones use a felt pad.


And the new bushing installed.


The wishbone cleaned and painted.


Actually, posting the picture of the painted wishbone reminds me of something else. As I was working on cleaning parts up, my friend talked to me about getting an angle grinder. So we went over to Tool King, found they had reconditioned Makita angle grinders for $35. That, and a cup brush, made my life a lot easier! Much better than trying to brush the parts by hand with a wire brush....

The Suspension Rebuild, Part 2 - Dropping the Springs

Obviously, to rebuild the suspension one has to take it apart. The first step is dropping the springs. Actually, as I found out the hard way, the first step is to remove the sway bar from the spring pan. I guess this is why you are supposed to follow the instructions in the manual....

There are two ways to drop the springs on the Spider. The first is to use the Alfa specific spring removal tool. However, it tends to be expensive and hard to find, and it is long enough to eliminate it's use on jack stands. The second way is to use threaded rods to slowly drop the spring pans. The first pan took some time, as it was my first attempt, and I was being very cautious.

I placed the jack under the spring pan as a precaution. Then I removed one of the bolts holding the spring pan to the wishbone. Two nuts with a locking washer at the top of the rod lock it at the top. I then used a bunch of washers underneath the pan to keep the bottom nut accessable. Repeat this with two of the other bolts, so there are three rods holding the pan in place. Then let the nuts down on each rod, a little at a time, and the pan comes down and lets the tension off the spring.

Picture of the spring pan with the jack


Picture of the spring pan with the jack removed, ready to start turning the nuts to lower it.


For the passenger side spring pan, I got a little bolder. First, let me say, if anyone is reading this who is going to be working on an Alfa, I am in no way saying this is a good way of dropping the pan, and take no responsibility for how well it works... You know, absolving myself... :-) Anyway, instead of tightening up the bottom nuts, I left them lower, and used the jack to slowly let the pan down. For the most part, worked like a charm. If I use that method again, I would use long bolts with threads only at the bottom, because the pan would catch on the threads as it was lowered.

Alright, I'm sure everyone is sick of reading about spring pans, so I'll just post some pics of the removed parts.

The springs had some rust, but were strong and didn't have any noticeable pitting or cracking.


Here are the spring pans. They were pretty rusty, though only the driver's side had rusted through, and only a very small spot. However, I did purchase new ones from Centerline. Thinking about cleaning these up and seeing if I can get a little for them. Luckily the rubber pads were still in good shape, because they didn't have them in stock at Centerline. From the factory there was also a metal piece between the spring pad and the spring. Those succumbed to the rust beast... Luckily, they aren't needed.


Spiders are set up to have a shallower spring pan on the driver's side, which will make the car seem to sit too high on that side, but it is designed so that it levels out when the driver is in the car. This car had spacers in the passenger pan, so obviously someone along the way didn't understand the reason.


Next, removing and cleaning the rest of the suspension...

The Suspension Rebuild - The Beginning

Driving the car back to Chicago was an adventure, and a good part of that was because the front end was, to be forgiving, scary! Things were moving all over the place, and seldom the way I wanted them to. Luckily most of the drive was a straight line!

So, beyond the first get to know you projects I did, the first major task was rebuilding the front suspension. I originally wanted to get it torn apart and figure out what joints and bushings needed replacing, but while I was at Centerline (again) I went ahead and got the entire rebuild kit. Not to jump too far ahead in the story, but it turned out to be a good idea. Turns out every joint and bushing was completely worn.

Let's start with some before pictures.

The wheel well, before I scrubbed it out.


The spring, spring pan, and lower wishbone.


Split tie rod end.


Upper wishbone A arm before cleaning.


A arm after cleaning, showing the badly worn bushing.


A friend of mine who has experience with working on older cars, specifically the BMW 2002, talked me out of tearing the entire suspension out, and to just start with the upper wishbone. So the first weekend was spent scrubbing out the wheel well (no small task), primering and spraying the wheel well with undercoating, cleaning and painting the control arm, and installing the caster ball joints and the new adjustable A arm. I used a hydrolic jack to hold the steering nuckle and spring in place.

Next, the complete rebuild....

Centerline and the Workshop Manual

I spent awhile doing research, and there are 3 or so major Alfa parts dealers in the US, and I used their online catalogs to research parts pricing. One of them is Centerline Alfa. I don't remember when I looked, or even what made me do it, but at some point just before I left for Denver, I checked to see where Centerline was located. Wouldn't you know it? Lafayette! Only about a half hour from where I am staying while in Denver. Conveniant? Yes! Dangerous? Absolutely!!

So, I head down to Centerline the first Saturday I am back in town to pick up the filters necessary for the work I mentioned in my last post, and I also planned on picking up the Brooklands Manual. I look through the Brooklands there at Centerline, and it is pretty much word for word the Autobooks Manual, which I already have, as it came with the car. So I ask Joe (one of the great Centerline guys!) if he has another manual. He goes into the back and comes back with Direzione Assistenza Tecnica... The Workshop Manual. Over 300 pages of complete step by step repair instruction, designed for actual Alfa repair shops. At first I hesitated at the price, it was about 4 times the cost of the Brooklands, but thumbing through it, I decided to go for it. I needed something.

Hindsight, my insticts were correct. This book is worth its weight in gold! It is for the years 85-88, and though mine is a 75, most of it still applies. It doesn't have anything about the Spica injection, but I will be getting Wes Ingram's book anyway, so not an issue. I have come across some minor differences here and there, but nothing that I haven't been able to figure out. As an example, I, someone who changed his own oil for the first time a couple of weeks ago, used this book, the internet, and some advice from a couple knowledgeable friend to rebuild the front suspension. So, with no further ado....

Back to Denver For The Summer

Took a contract job with my old company, helping with a large project, so I am back in Denver for the summer. Towed the Alfa behind the Commander. I guess I found a reason for having the 5.7 Hemi! Anyway...

While I had the car up on the trailer, I took advantage of the fact the underside was accessible, and took it to one of those self serve high pressure car washes. Dropped more than a few quarters into it as I hosed down the underside, as 35 years of oil and dirt started sloughing off.

Then more simple projects as I get to know the car, and get comfortable being under it, and getting greasy. Changed the oil. First time in my life I have ever changed the oil in a car myself. Flushed the radiator (I have done that once in my old Subaru, about 20 years ago...). Changed the fuel filter in the engine compartment, as well as the Spica oil filter.

Then I found out why the right rear brake wasn't working. The steel brake line had a pinch in it. A few different auto parts stores before I found someone who had an idea about European cars and metric threads. Used the original as a guide, and bent the brake line and installed it. Then bled the rear brakes. Twice. Don't ask.....

Door latch

Part of the description of the car was that the driver's door didn't sit correctly, so it didn't close flush with the car. After getting the car back to Chicago, I decided to dig into this. As I said in the seatbelt post, I was naively and blindly moving forward. I had yet to purchase a manual, so it was a matter of going at it with the limited knowledge I had of door panels and latches. This one was actually a very easy fix, which didn't require the removal of the door panel. Of course, I had already removed it...




Anyway, turns out there were simply three bolts missing from the door latch, which caused the latch to not sit properly.









A quick trip down to the hardware store, and four bolts later, problem solved!








The door still sags a bit, and that will be a project for a later date, but for now, it closes all the way, if not completely smooth. I have to admit, when I finished this, and closed the door, I was pretty proud of myself... Again, I look back on that and find it rather funny... Coming up, the front suspension rebuild!!

Seat Belt Story

I need to say at this point, I am catching up on the blog, and this, as well as a couple other projects, were early on. In fact, this was the first thing I did to the car, in the driveway of my sister's house on the trip to bring it home. Looking back at, I realize how naive I was. Remember, I have never worked on cars, and know very little about them. Alright, on with the story of the seat belts...

Since this is a 75, it came stock with lap belts, which had never been upgraded. Part of the agreement with my girlfriend of going with me to pick up the car was to replace the lap belts with shoulder belts. I poked around the internet, and with advice from the good folks at the AlfaBB chose a pair of shoulder belts from Wesco Performance. Wesco has shoulder belts specifically designed for classic roadsters (as do others). Basically, they have a retractor designed to be behind the seat, as opposed to over the shoulder as in new cars. I also ordered a couple different mounting kits, as I wasn't exactly sure what I would been, and wouldn't have time to wait for a shipment. I had all of this delivered to my sister's house, which was only a couple hours away from where we were picked up the car.

After an interesting drive from Connectcut to the cape (I will tell the story of buying the car, and driving it for the first time at a later date...) we got to my sister's, and I got busy on the conversion. Turns out it was very easy. The original belt was mounted with an extender. It really was just a matter of unscrewing the bolts, removing the old hardware, then mounting the new hardware. I will admit a couple of false starts, but all in all, pretty straightforward.

Below is a picture of the original seatbelt mount. The extender mounts to the chasis, and allows the retractor to be below the convertible top when it is down.






























Picture of the mount.












The replacement belt







Now, I'll point out some safety issues that I'm sure some of you are already noticing. Yes, I mounted the extender at and angle to make the retractor work better, and yes, I am aware that no matter how hard I cranked on the bolts, a severe impact would probably yank the extender straight, causing an inch or two of forward movement before the belt locked, which could cause injury. After some research, and time to ponder, I think I will look to replace the original seats with later model sport seats. They have the shoulder harness, and I have also heard they are more comfortable. With the way the angle is currently, I see a shoulder being dislocated or broken with the downward pressure. I still feel it is safer than just the lap belt. I don't really want to find out though...