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[GrahamK]

Hi LC,

Thank you for confirming those details. I wish I had found those posts you linked to when I searched. 

Doc,

If you could have a look that would be very much appreciated.

My dealer has lost/given up the franchise since the Pug takeover and although they still have a parts department they seem even less interested than they were before.

Regards,

Graham.

[Nick W]

1 Take bolt to a fastener supplies,
 2 Ask the nice man do you have a bolt like this or similar, and a nylock too, thank you.
3 pay the man and leave.

We've discussed this before, Trevor. That's simple, easy, cheap(£13.50 to get the one nut needed!!!!) and effective.


You can't make suggestions like that here!

[Alnico Blue]

Done my wishbones just recently . . .  seem to recall the 2  wishbone bush bolts are 21mm socket  and nuts are 22mm socket.   

  :-[Having a few memory issues at present time  . .  just checked these they are BOTH 21mm heads

maybe its the pinch bolt that has differing bolt and nut head size .

If you have changed wishbones  . . .can you not use your vernier to see what the bush size is in one of the old ones. As in . . . or how does the bolt fit into the bush.  Should be a sliding fit I would say and if it wobbles then it must be the wrong bolt .  Only my 2p worth of opinion. 

[Doctor Gollum]

Pinch bolt is 16mm both ends...

May have been a quirk of available sockets for the main bolts

[Alnico Blue]

Pinch bolt is 16mm both ends...

May have been a quirk of available sockets for the main bolts

In my case . . .  more like Senile Dementia setting in   

Lets hope OP gets this  sorted to his satisfaction

[GrahamK]

Thanks Alnico,

That's a good idea, didn't think of offering up the 'wrong bolt' into the wishbone bush now I have them off the car.
The M14 item is a snug push fit in the hole. The other one is as loose as hell, so could easily be an M12.
I'm guilty of a few non-critical bodges in my time, but a 2mm undersized bolt in a suspension arm seems to say the least unwise.
I'm surprised the car wasn't driving much worse.
Certainly with new struts, springs and wishbones (I'm also putting in a poly front bush) I'm hoping for a bit of a transformation.

No nuts as yet!

Graham.

[Nick W]

Thanks Alnico,

That's a good idea, didn't think of offering up the 'wrong bolt' into the wishbone bush now I have them off the car.
The M14 item is a snug push fit in the hole. The other one is as loose as hell, so could easily be an M12.
I'm guilty of a few non-critical bodges in my time, but a 2mm undersized bolt in a suspension arm seems to say the least unwise.
I'm surprised the car wasn't driving much worse.
Certainly with new struts, springs and wishbones (I'm also putting in a poly front bush) I'm hoping for a bit of a transformation.

No nuts as yet!

Graham.

If it's not too late, replace the top mounts and bumpstops too. If you're not fitting new strut bearings, gently pry the plastic covers apart then clean and regrease the balls and races. Do this in a plastic tub so you don't lose any!


This will require a proper alignment session, but it all makes the car drive, ride and handle like new

[Enceladus]

If the incorrect bolt is M12x?? or even M13x??, then the nut that came off it won't fit on any of the correct bolts which will be M14x1.5mm. So that would further confirm that it's incorrect.

You can get a pack of five similar nuts here for £10.99 inc 1st class post. Class 10 like the GM originals, but maybe not the exact same plating. Other pack quantities are available. A single nut seems to be £6.50, so you might as well have all new nuts.

[Alnico Blue]

If the incorrect bolt is M12x?? or even M13x??, then the nut that came off it won't fit on any of the correct bolts which will be M14x1.5mm. So that would further confirm that it's incorrect.

You can get a pack of five similar nuts here for £10.99 inc 1st class post. Class 10 like the GM originals, but maybe not the exact same plating. Other pack quantities are available. A single nut seems to be £6.50, so you might as well have all new nuts.

Surely the OP is now gonna be looking for a new correct size wishbone  Nut AND bolt ? 

[GrahamK]

Thanks all Now Sorted

Enceladus-

Went for 5 new nuts for £10-80 Not a bad idea to use new nuts, if only to make the reassembly easier. Thanks for the link.

Nick W: -

I'd got new top mounts and bearings ready to go in. The top mounts are in good condition but I'll still change them as the struts are all apart. The bearings though were very gritty so I chucked those. I might fish them out of the bin and see if they can be cleaned and re-greased. Then I'll have a spare set of mounts and bearings.
The bump stops I'd not thought of. I'd not seen inside the strut before and didn't realise there were bump stops. I'd assumed it was just a corrugated cover to keep the muck off the damper shaft. When I did, one of them seemed to be full of sand. I thought the car had been doing do-nuts on a beach somewhere. When I looked closer, I realised that the rubber bump stops are degrading into sandy dust. managed to find a supplier of new bump stops. I'll re use the corrugated covers, as they are both in good condition.
The new Lemforder wishbones I'm picking up on Wednesday and other than the concern about getting the front bush out, should be good to go. My local tyre garage have got a 20 ton press and have agreed to press out the bush for me. Seems strange to remove a brand new bush, but I've bought the Poly bushes now, I might as well use them.

Alnico

Your right about the bolt, but I had a spare of the correct type, the bolt but not the nut

Thanks all.

[Enceladus]

Thanks all Now Sorted

Enceladus-

Went for 5 new nuts for £10-80 Not a bad idea to use new nuts, if only to make the reassembly easier. Thanks for the link.

Apologies. Looks like I made a mistake. I suggest you cancel that order as they may not be the locking type. Order these instead. Pack of four for £9.55. These are the locking type. From the same vendor.

Or here's a pack of five for £10.99.

[Nick W]

Graham,
if you've bought new top mounts and bearings then keeping the old ones is pointless.


I suggested the bumpstops because they've been knackered on every strut I've seen. The ones I've seen, and bought, came with the cover. While it's not intended to be part of the springing, it is there to protect the shock from being damaged by sudden bottoming out. That can only be a good thing.


Omega front suspension is fiddly and maintenance intensive, so it makes sense to spend the extra £40 per side and only have to work on it once.


The real reason for the poly bushes isn't a performance improvement - which I suspect is very small when compared to a good quality, new, stock bush - but for ease of fitting and them to last the life of the car. Those are the reasons why I've fitted them to other cars; I found that Capris needed new TCA(wishbone equivalent) bushes every MOT, swapping to polys meant I never needed to replace them again.

[GrahamK]

Thanks Enceladus,

I've done that and ordered the new ones.

Hats off to that supplier; -high_grade_steel_1 who immediately cancelled the order at my request and wished me a good afternoon. If only all Ebay sellers were as courteous and on the ball.
Graham.

[Doctor Gollum]

That bolt was the last of it... No nuts here for it.

But sounds like you're sorted so all good

[GrahamK]

Thanks for looking Doc, but yes all sorted now.

I think four new nuts posted for under a tenner is a good result

I'm glad I bought that box of odds and sods off you.

There were two spare bolts for the wishbones of which one has come in handy. There were also new bolts which were correct for the rear shocks when I did those.

Cheers