hr lower control arm pin removal

[fatfbwagon]

hi guys thought i might aswell replace the lower control arm pin on my hr crossmember seeing im doing the rest of it. cant seem to work out how they come out tho. thinking maybe they just unscrew but dont want to stuff it altogether just in case. anyone know how to remove it.are they all one peice or are they in 2 parts. thanks wayne

[Blacky]

They are one piece , and have been in there for 40 years - get some heat on it

[FB MAD]

...and a bloody big Hammer!!

[fatfbwagon]

hmm yeah think i might just use the ones in it. had a good look at them and theyre not too bad. considering how hard it will be to replace them anyway. thanks guys cheers wayne

[Trev]

That was easy , good call, Trev .

[mrs ratbox]

i was hoping for more from this the HR front in my FB/EK one pin is loose and floping around i've been told i can weld it in place any sujestions

[FB MAD]

I've seen them welded in some HR's years ago ( when HR's used to be everywhere ) so I guess that is/was an accepted repair option without having to find another crossmember.

From memory they are a very tight interference fit so if it's flogged out the only other repair option would be to build up the worn area with weld metal and re-machine back to the interference fit specs I guess ??

[sloth]

they used to make oversize ones dont know if you can still get them

[fb cruisin]

i was hoping for more from this the HR front in my FB/EK one pin is loose and floping around i've been told i can weld it in place any sujestions

After pulling off one lower wishbone on my fb today because of movement in the bushes, I noticed that the inner lower control arm shaft is very loose.
Any suggestions guys I haven't seen any oversize ones for sale?

Cheers Rob

[fb cruisin]

I cleaned up the front end today and found that the inner lower control arm shaft had been previously welded, so I cleaned up where the weld had broken and re welded it.
Time for a cross member change over soon me thinks
Cheers Rob

[Grazzaa]

Hi Guys,

I have just got my EK wagon back on the road after putting a HR Disc front end and trimatic in and noticed that the lower control arm pin is quite loose. The pin actually slides from side to side and I think is the reason I am getting a huge graunching noise when I go over a decent bump. After investigating the forum it seems others have had similar issues and have welded the pin in. My question is do I just weld the pin solid to the crossmember and if I do will it still pivot ok on the bushes. I have replaced the bushes which was easy as I just undid one bush and the whole pin slid out. Thanks for any info , Graham.

[nes138]

I been watching this thread. Anyone have a Guru write up on rebuilding a HR front end?

[Grazzaa]

Hi All,

After talking with several people (thanks Blacky) and not having much luck on the internet I decided to have a crack at reducing the size of the hole in the cross-member for the lower inside wishbone pivot pin of my HR front end. The hole in my cross-member and the pin were both worn quite badly and the pin was able to easily turn in the hole and slide from side to side allowing the lower wishbone to move backwards and forwards.

To fix this problem I got myself a new pin a gas axe and a jackhammer. I heated up the plate fixed to the cross-member where the pivot pin passes through to cherry red and belted in to it with a little jack hammer with a pointed bit on it. I punched a ring of divots around the hole about 5mm from the edge shrinking the hole enough to create a tight fit for the new pin. It took a few grunts and a whack to get the pin to start threading in but it went in nice and firm and hopefully will stay that way. If it does come loose again I think I would knock up a new plate with a smaller hole in it, drill and grind out the old plate and plug and seam weld it in. I hope it doesn't come to that as I cant really be stuffed.

Anyway I hope that helps somebody and maybe saves a few cross-members from the scrap heap.

Grazzaa

[thebrotherj]

this thread has put my mind at ease.

Upon discovering that both original front springs on my EK are snapped (the passenger side dropped out in three pieces...), I hooked in to a big front end overhaul on the weekend. The outer pivot pins are probably original, they were all shredded and flapping about. I'm glad I never drove this car before taking on the project!

But the bit that surprised me was that both lower inner pivots were loose. Surprised, because I've overhauled countless HR and HK-T-G front ends over the years and never once seen one loose. This EK is a high-mileage workhorse, so it figures.

The driver's side was simply loose on the thread and tightens up ok, but the passenger side had previously been tacked in with a gutless welder and broken free. It could be rotated, but also moved left-to-right (ie: through the crossmember) so I'd say the thread in the crossmember is stuffed. The outer threads that the bushes run on look fine though.

After mulling it over for a bit and having a think about the forces at play, I wounds up my MIG to warp-voltage and did a serious number on welding the pin in, both front and rear. I reckon once I clean up the other side, I will zap that one into place as well.

I felt like I was being a bit dodgy until I read this thread today!