Upper suspension arm (Rear suspension)

The damper rod is secured at the top mounting to the rear wing valance with a washer and nut. The damper rod passes through a bushing and low friction seal at the upper end of the pressure tube to keep it aligned and allow the piston to move freely. A 5mm hexagon socket is provided at the top end of the damper to restrain the rod from rotating when the nut is tightened.

NOTE: The rear suspension dampers are colour coded RED, whereas the front suspension dampers are colour coded BLUE.

A dust shield and bump stop rubber is fitted between the damper unit and the top mounting, to protect the damper rod from dirt and damage.

Upper suspension arm

The upper suspension arm uses a pivot shaft to facilitate up and down movement of the arm at its inner end. The pivot end of the upper arm contains a replaceable bush which must be fitted in the correct orientation if being replaced.

The lower mounting of the suspension damper connects to a fixing point in the centre of the upper arm. An upper ball joint is attached to the outer end of the upper arm and connects to the rear hub through a tapered stud held in position with a nut and tab washer.

A rebound rubber is mounted on a bracket which is fitted below the upper arm to protect the suspension components in the case of full rebound.

Track control arm and lower link

The track control arm and lower link make up the lower suspension wishbone to provide the necessary fore-and-aft stiffness to resist braking torque. A lower link is fitted between the front of each hub and the subframe, these help resist longitudinal dynamic loads and braking torque.

An adjustable track control arm is fitted between the rear of each hub and a bracket at the midpoint of the rear subframe. The track control arm is bushed at its inner end and has a ball joint at its hub connection. See STEERING, Repairs.

Trailing Arm

The rear suspension trailing arms are of cast iron construction and are designed to provide optimum camber compensation, counter brake lift and give fore-and-aft stiffness to restrain acceleration torque. The utilisation of trailing arm rear suspension also allows both wheels to move independently. Both trailing arms are interconnected by an anti-roll bar which provides the required stiffness to prevent body roll.

The forward end of each trailing arm is fitted with a compliance bush which controls sideforce steer performance, enhances ride and reduces noise levels. Snubber plates are included at the compliance bush fixings. If the snubber plates are removed during repair operations, they must be refitted in the same orientation as they were before removal. The rear end of each trailing arm is secured to their respective rear hub by two bolts.

Anti-roll bar

An 18 mm solid spring steel anti-roll bar is used which operates via anti-roll bar links on the rear trailing arms. The anti-roll bar is attached to the rear subframe with two PTFE bushes which are secured with clamp plates and bolts. The low friction PTFE bushes require no additional greasing and allow the anti-roll bar to rotate freely with quiet operation. This allows the bar to respond quickly to roll inputs.

Each anti-roll bar link has a ball joint fitting at each end which improves response and efficiency. The top ball-joint is attached by a bolt and self locking nut to the outer side of the anti-roll bar. The lower ball-joint is attached to a fixing point on the trailing arm. Each link must be attached to the anti-roll bar with the ball joint on the outboard side of the anti-roll bar and the locking nut on the inboard side.

CAUTION: The rear anti-roll bar is handed, the letter ’R’ denotes the link for the RH side of the suspension.

Rear subframe

The subframe is fabricated from hydro-formed tubing providing a light and strong structure. All machining of critical geometric locations is performed after fabrication to ensure accurate location of the rear suspension components.