Well, I'm very pleased with myself
- I've just fitted the AVOs - nothing has fallen off during a test drive and I still have all my fingers!
It goes against all my natural instinct to do something like this without a manual
to follow, and though I have a reasonable range of tools including AF it is many years since I wielded them in anger on a car (cycles, now that's another story). But I recently acquired a trolley jack and axle stands, so I have no excuse...
OK. Fronts first. Jack up, onto axle stands, no need to take wheels off. Turn wheel outward. Top and bottom nuts easily accessible, both take a 9/16" spanner. With damper off, which takes some wiggling, access to kingpin grease nipple is easy so in goes some grease. Due to the longer bottom bushes which have an internal sleeve, it is very difficult to get the bottom bush onto the stud as there is insufficient clearacne between the end of the stud and the track rod. Solution is somewhat counterintuitive (well to me it was) - turn wheel inwards, increasing gap, fitting is then easy. The top stud of the AVO damper is supplied with two thin (about 4mm) nuts instead of a nyloc nut, so used those and snugged them up to lock. Nothing overtightened to allow the bushes to move. Oh, and then I had to take it off and start again - as I realise that fitting it with the adjuster wheel facing inwards results in the grease nipple being obstructed - no gun would get in the small gap remaining. So I refitted it with the adjuster facing the disc - still reachable. Repeat on other side. Quick test drive - much plusher!
Rears next - oh dear this looked much more difficult. Jack up driver's side, wheel off, axle stand under chassis rail. Bottom fixing easily accessible and takes 9/16" spanner like the fronts - top fitting also easy providing you know the secret (emailed to me by a friend) - take out the parcel shelf and tool tray. I needed a 16mm spanner on the nut and 18mm on the bolt to stop it turning. Using a rubber hammer I knocked the bolt in to release the top fitting, and wiggled the damper out - not easy. Then the new one of course won't go in the same space - the bottom bush (sleeved unlike the original) is longer, the angle is insufficient to get it on straight and the brake line is in the way. Solution - jack up the axle - I could (just) get the jack under the u-bolt plate (which is mostly hidden by the chassis rail) and the space available can be increased to "just enough". I was worried at this point that it might slip, and so put a second axle stand under the diff housing. The lower bush still needed persuading onto the stud, using a rubber hammer. Then tighten up lower fitting and replace upper bolt in reverse. Remove stand from axle, replace wheel, lower car. The other side was more difficult, as there was not enough of the u-bolt plate showing to get the jack on, so I very carefully put the jack under the axle tube and lifted it just enough to wiggle the damper onto the stud and again persuaded it home with the rubber hammer. Interestingly the rear shock lower mountings had plain steel nylocs on them, whereas the front uppers had been stainless, so as these were now spare (after using the AVO locknuts) I used the s/s ones instead.
Then refit the tool tray, wondering at what a cheap piece of tat it is, and how the water doesn't get in around it.
Test drive - absolutely brilliant, the whole ride is plusher, there's much less bumping and knocking over rutted surfaces and even a garage speed bump can be driven over without losing teeth. Yet the car is still flat on the road accelerating round a roundabout. The steering feels more direct too. So far I've got them on the softest setting.
Are they worth £300 odd? Yes - both for the result and the feeling of achievement of having fitted them.
Nigel
