Job Done!
Hi
Ali here !
I’ll endeavour to explain how I removed and fitted new torsion bars and shock absorbers to my 1998 2.5 Fiat Ducato Swift Kontiki 640.
Please note, if anyone needs clarification on any points, or any further info, drop me an e-mail at
anderson.clan@orange.fr giving me your home telephone number and I’ll be happy to give you a call. Also, please note, I’m a retired motor mechanic so, if feel you don’t have the required level of skill, I advise you to seek out someone who has. I don’t, of course, give any guarantees and don’t accept responsibility for anything going wrong while following the advise I’m giving.
Right, well, parts arrived Saturday morning (great service and advise from Graham of Camp Europe UK, Westminster Chamber, Chester CH1 2HR Tel. 01244371720 e-mail :
campeuropeuk@gmail.com website :
CARAVAN MOTORHOME PARTS REPAIRS !).
I set to straight away. With both sides jacked up, off the ground, I removed both wheels. Then removed both shock absorbers, with great difficulty because the bottom bolts were seized into the shock absorber bushes. I ended up having to cut the bottom parts off the shock absorbers by hacksawing through the bolt (having first of all tried removing the rubber bushes from the pins to allow me to heat them but as they were seized absolutely solid that didn’t work). Before cutting off the bolts, I did make sure I had replacements to hand !
Then I was able to remove the swinging arm complete with the 3 broken torsion bars attached. I then removed the 3 broken torsion bars from the swinging arm by removing the 3 bolts and 3 Allen screws, which was no problem doing. I then dropped the grey water tank to allow me to take out the roll pin, which retains the 3 broken torsion bars.
I found a length of fencing wire, which I shaped into a loop at one end, to slip over one end of the one of the broken torsion bars. I then gave it a sharp tug and, voila, out it came ! One broken end of one of the torsion bars was only about 6ins long and I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to remove it. However, it came out just as easily as the other two. All this was on the passengers side and although I was told that it was always the passengers side that breaks and I was assured that the drivers side would be ok, I was keen to check that was the case.
So when I had removed the remaining broken pieces of the torsion bars from the axle, I went round to the driver’s side in order to check the torsion bars on that side. I’ll try to explain how I did this ! I removed the 3 bolts and the 3 Allen screws on that side to remove the end plate. Then using a piece of screwed rod with a nut and large washer on it (which I bought from a B&Q type shop and you can see in one of the attached photos) and a large socket that the torsion bar will go through, I carefully screwed the nut onto the washer and socket rod on each torsion bar in turn, trying to see if they could be removed. I was relieved to find that they were indeed all intact (incidentally, importantly, I did not remove the roll pin on that side as that’s what holds the bars in place).
After that, I measured the shock absorber bolt centres, which measured 28cm. This enabled me to check the height, giving me a guide for the broken side.
Next stage was fitting the new torsion bars, which are colour coded on ordering. In my case, they were blue/red. I cleaned the swinging arm and fitted the new dust cover, greasing the arm well. Then I slipped the arm back in place on its own. It seemed to only go in one way, which was horizontally. I then fitted the swinging arm, adjusting it to fit at 28cm.
Then you have to push in one of the new torsion bars, with the screwed rod attached, locating the splines.
Make sure you do not force into position,
as they will fit in easily by slightly moving the swinging arm ! Once one bar is located, the other 2 will follow easily. Then all that was left to do was to reverse the procedure of building it back together.
There are grease nipples on either side and these should greased well every six months.
Bon courage !
PS Since I bought this motorhome, just under a year ago, I always felt there was something not quite right with its handling, coming from the rear, which felt like a wheel needing balanced. I did have the rear wheels balanced but now realise this feeling was due to 2 torsion bars having been broken, obviously from the look of them, for some considerable time. Therefore the remaining bar was taking all the strain and could have broken at any time. Just our luck for it to have happened so far from home but then we were very lucky to have made it back to our home in France.
On a lighter note, I bet not many of you have been stopped by a gendarme for going too slow lol ! Again, luckily for us, he was very understanding when I told him (simply) that it was a problem with a shock absorber !
