grantwestgarth

Hi,

I'm removing the rear subframe and suspension for a full refurbish over the winter. Looking for any tips and tricks you guys have if you've done it before, before I crack on. Anything you'd do differently if you did it again, etc?

Ta,
Grant.

noodels

Although have not done this myself,
I would see if you can remove all bolts one at a time and tighten again,
thats too make sure they don't snap, it looks to be a right royal pain to fix it...

unclefester

With everything being old Japanese tin ..... i'd want 2 tins of PlusGas and i'd give every bolt that needs out a royal soaking a week or two before starting.

Toms1989

Rear ones tend not to be an issue. More so the front ones.

I did this about 2 years ago.

Get the car at least 2ft off the floor so you can maneuver it on a dolly/trolley. Careful when lowering it down, it seems more weighted to the passenger side and wants to kick off that way.

Not a hard job, just time consuming.

Carbon S2K

1) crack the hub nuts loose while it's on its wheels in gear with parking brake on, mine were so tight/seized I was stood on the breaker bar and even snapped one.

2) spray every nut/bolt with rust desolver over a couple of days

3) when you have the car up on stands, pop the jack under the diff and just SLIGHTLY take the weight off the rear stands. I did this as I thought it may take away any weight forcing down on the the bolt heads which should reduce the chance of snapping,then go round and loosen the subframe bolts, take your time,if it goes tight wind it back in and out as you really don't want to snap one, then lube it up with wd40 or whatever and pop it back in then repeat till all 6 are done.

4) try and loosen everything up now while it's on the car as it's a pain trying to remove seized bolts when the whole subframe is also wanting to move.

5) remove abs sensors from inside the car( orange plug either side) pull it through.

6)remove calipers, sit them on a upside down bucket or something if your not refurbing them. No need to loose the fluid if you don't have to.

7) disconnect the headlight leveller plug

8) disconnect rear prop from the diff, impact gun would be handy on this then just let it rest on the strap/ guard.

9) remove all subframe bolts that will now come out easy and lower with the jack under the diff, get some wood ready for thebsubframe to sit on which will save you hitting the discs on the ground and allow you to get the jack out.

I found it to be well balanced as a whole assembly but I know tom didn't so you will have to see I guess, another pair of hands
is always good.

hope this helps, good luck and yes it's worth all the hard work

surfer_crx

Have a good wire brush handy for when you are putting it back together to clean off all the threads, give them a coat of some form of anti-seize too.

Maybe grab some brake line as the rear brake lines have a tendency to corrode quite badly, even if they are not in need of replacement it's a good time to do it.

As already said it's not a difficult job just takes a bit of time, I dismantled mine when I did it as it is easier to wrench on bolts and nuts when the frame is still attached to the car but I'm pretty sure you can drop it off almost complete.

FastFez

I took mine out in one lump a few years ago - then broke it down in the garage. I found an impact driver was invaluable for getting most of the major bolts undone - the sub-frame bolts themselves were the worrying ones as said earlier they are a pain if they shear - mine all came out fine though.