Rear leaf spring suspension — removal and installation (Opel Frontera A)

Below is a description of all the work carried out with the type of suspension in question. For most work, the rear of the vehicle must be raised and supported on stands. Remove wheels if necessary.

Removal and installation leaf springs

Removal

1. Place the lift under the rear axle, lift the axle so that the shock absorbers are compressed and unscrew the nuts securing them from below.

2. Remove the shock absorbers from the supports.

3. Unscrew the nuts, remove the washers and the stepladder.

4. Remove the U-bolt pad and raise the bridge so that you can place a stand under the bridge outside the spring.

5. Unscrew the bolt connection between the spring cheek and the suspension at the rear of the spring and release the springs.

6. Have an assistant hold the spring, loosen the nut and remove the support pin at the front of the spring.

7. Now you can knock out the spring.

The rubber-metal bushing of the front spring eye can be replaced if necessary. To do this, the old bushing is pressed out and the new one is pressed in. Other rubber spring mounting elements can also be replaced.

Installation

The spring installation is performed as follows:

Source is on this resource (Opelbook.ru)

1. Place the spring in front of the bridge and insert the pin.



2. Install the rear spring mount with new rubber bushings. The details of the unit are shown in the illustration.



3. Lubricate the bushings and cheek with rubber grease.

4. Tighten the spring fasteners at the front and rear by hand for now. The final tightening is performed after the vehicle has been lowered onto its wheels.

5. Lower the bridge onto the spring and insert the center bolt.



6. Place the stepladder and install all the parts shown in the illustration.

7. Tighten the nuts after lowering the vehicle onto its wheels.

8. Install the shock absorber onto the stepladder pad.

9. Tighten the nut by hand.

10. Lower the vehicle onto its wheels and tighten all connections to the torques specified below.

11. Finally, tighten the wheel nuts to the specified torque.

Removal and installation the shock absorber

Removing and installing the shock absorber on leaf springs is not difficult. To do this, you need to lift the bridge with a lift so that the shock absorbers are slightly compressed. After this, disconnect the shock absorbers at the top and bottom and remove it.

To check the shock absorber, clamp it vertically by the lower eye in a vice. Push the top of the shock absorber out and in. You should feel resistance. If resistance is not felt in any places, the shock absorber must be replaced. If there is damage to the lower shock absorber eye bushing, the latter can be replaced.



The shock absorber is installed in the reverse order of its removal. Tighten the mounting nuts to a torque of 40 Nm.



The assembly of the lower shock absorber mounting unit is shown in the illustration.