Removing a stubborn rear A frame, and some tool information!

[@k1ckyscotland988]

I don't own a LandRover,bikes are my thing,but you have no idea how much I have learned from your channel. Every problem you solve throws up tips/advice that transfer to anything I might come across. Cheers!👍

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Glad you like them!

[@Wylder955]

Totally unrelated to this video but you have helped me so many times with troubles with my defender so much so that anytime anything bothers me or gets screwy i know you have a video about it and i sigh in relief that i can probably fix it myself and not waste time going to mechanics.

[@BritannicaRestorations]

That is the whole point of this channel! Mike

[@206898195311]

A week to late. I spent a full day getting that ruddy A Frame off and changed. A terrible job I really don’t want to do again in a hurry. Another great video. Thanks.

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Sorry to hear that!

[@johnlegros1586]

in french it is called the same "pied de corneille" , use comes from plumbers !! great usefull tools

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Thanks for the info!

[@rogerwilkin9220]

Hi I use a crow foot for the hand brake cable under the seat box I think it’s a 21mm one

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Yes I have a cut down spanner to get onto the nut!

[@beegee84]

As someone else has previously mentioned, grinding the shoulder off a socket does work...

[@walkaboutmotors]

Glad to know what I can use those crow’s feet tools are for. Picked up a set from an estate sale and never really knew what I was going to use them for. Now I know!!!!

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Handy to have

[@VDPEFi]

I've still got a hacked up spanner I made years ago for replacing coolant sensors on old early efi BMW's without taking the intake off, very rusty now haha

[@terrywarner8657]

There is a company that sells tools in Canada that you should get to know called Princess Auto. If you need a 30mm offset wrench for one job a year, this is the place. (And greetings from a former Lennoxviller.)

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Yes I have bought from them before but the nearest is over 100Km away - they do send by mail over a certain amount, however they do have some really poor tools - you just have to look for brand names My sand blasting cabinet came form there when it was on special

[@micah_mudflaps]

That ball-joint was one of the first things I changed on my ‘97 Disco. What makes it a nightmare is that silly housing over the nut blocking access. The bent wrench idea is brilliant!

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Thanks!

[@tomjohns8498]

Thanks for the tips young Mike 😀 it's skills like yours can only be learnt from doing 😀

[@BritannicaRestorations]

You bet!

[@peterwarner8541]

Great job Mike. I had the garage replace mine as didn’t fancy the defender dropping on my head. Replaced all my bushings underneath with oem and glad I did it except for replacing the exhaust mounts with genuine parts which was a mistake as the car vibrates more than it ever did now! Now I know why it had a big, soft, bmw mount on it…

[@craigjones9244]

That's a great idea drilling that nut I've never tried that before I usually just use a die grinder with a couple of cheap Chinese diamond bits but I like that drill deal👍🏻🇭🇲

[@BritannicaRestorations]

An old fitters trick!

[@ASelman]

Another great video. These Crowsfoot Spanners can be a godsend. There are also some slimmer ones that allow more access between nested pipe fittings. I think that Proto make some good ones on your side of the pond. I have a mixture including costly individuals from Stahlwille that I get as needed, but they make the job nicer to do. The other addition is a lock on extension so that the drive assembly can't come apart when you lift it up to rotate it...

[@ASelman]

I have some nice King Dick ones too that are good and halfway between the narrow deep crow-foot and the wider parallel jaws.

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Thanks for the info!

[@greebo7857]

Those crow's foot spanners are the duck's guts. Mine are made by GearWrench. Bought a set to do the top transmission cooler pipe on an Auto Disco 2. Wish I had them years ago.

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Me too!

[@michaelhands4142]

Mike, I had to change the front wheel bearings on my wife’s Mini Cooper the other day, it was like working on a go cart, nothing to hit with a hammer, chisel or blow torch….

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Never mind - there will soon be something seized up after winter!

[@michaelhands4142]

@@BritannicaRestorations Sure as eggs are eggs.

[@mattfarrow5639]

Another great video thanks Mike 👍

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@Defender110SLO]

Again sometging new. Thanks King Mike. Can you buy croford spaners induvidualy. Cheers Mike 🥃

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Yes you can!

[@Defender110SLO]

@@BritannicaRestorations Thanks Il look for the 2 I need

[@Rob-cz7lg]

Yep I had to buy a 30mm spanner just for that nut, and use another spanner on the end of that as well it was so tight. They must use a veeery long spanner at the factory.

[@BritannicaRestorations]

110's are not too bad to get into as I can get a socket in and the air gun to knock them off, but these Rover axles are a bugger

[@r0tekz]

I had the same problem with my disco 1 and managed to get a small cutting disc at an angle across the nut and then used a chisel to crack it off. The other end of the A-frame was worse than yours here because the brackets were the directly welded on type, the cross member having a round profile. With no space for sockets or grinder, I had to use a finger sander (took ages) to remove the excess rusty bolt ends and clean up the nut edges, then used a blow torch and two extra long spanners linked together.

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Ah yes Disco's have welded on brackets for that extra dose of fun! I use a reciprocating saw with a quality blade - makes short work of them!

[@r0tekz]

@@BritannicaRestorations I have that saw now, after you recommended it in a video. The front suspension is still to be done, so it will no doubt come in handy.

[@r0tekz]

@@BritannicaRestorations The Disco 1 workshop manual frustratingly showed a rectangular cross member with bolt-on brackets. I think they are more common than the annoying round profile with weld-ons.

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Invest in good blades like Sawzall or Milwaukee - and slow and easy is the key - my saw is a bit too fast so I use a speed reducer on it - you can burn out blades easy

[@tomthumb3085]

I had an offset 30mm when I was first on the tools, about 50 years ago! I think the make was Gedore, perhaps they’re still available. Worth a look.

[@gazzafloss]

You're certainly correct Mike, "if you own one of these Defenders you need the special tools, because you ARE going to be working on it ALL the time", lol. I have a 30mm AF "King Dick" flogging spanner,(short and stout), to do those 'A frame' ball joint nuts on RRC and D1's, fit perfectly with a bit of radius grinding on the ring. With that you can just shear the split pin off.

[@nobletrout]

I really like how that bolt has a torque spec like you can get a torque wrench on it

[@mickpospiech1363]

Don't you love it when a plan comes together.

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Indeed!

[@davidyeates5525]

I had to chop down a brand new spanner to change the fuel stop solenoid on my 300tdi, felt good!

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Yeap!

[@sstoneman5020]

Yep, still got mine even though the 300tdi was sold some years ago.

[@ryanmccollum6754]

Lifetime warranty on the spanner until you torch it and bend it. Total lifetime: about 2 hours. A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.

[@BritannicaRestorations]

I can always straighten it out ! LoL!

[@harveysmith100]

@@BritannicaRestorations Spoken like a true Yorkshireman.

[@gilbertcharletty8008]

La douillé de 30 elle passe aisément, + clé à choc . No problème😊

[@stefanmazur3238]

I had fun and games. With mine. Last year. Could not get the bolts out of the bushes. I had to cut them out. I was there for hours.Did it in the end. Don’t Won’t to do that job again 😡

[@BritannicaRestorations]

That is why I remove the 6 x 1mm bolts holding the frame to the chassis off and then cut through the 3/4 inch bolts on the floor - you can get to them with a 4 .5 inch grinder when they are on the floor - pretty easy

[@stefanmazur3238]

@@BritannicaRestorations it’s hard work. I wish I didn’t that way

[@davejones9010]

I’ve tryed to fit a new fulcrum ball joint, I recon it’s impossible unless uve got a 100 ton press 🤣

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Worst I had was 18 ton

[@888johnmac]

like most people who have tinkered with cars for decades , i have a drawer full of spanners that have been ' reshaped ' for one specific purpose ... can i remember what each one is for ?? nope ... will i ever bin them ?? again nope

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Same here - I have bent spanners for getting SU carbs off - never seen one for years here!

[@sstoneman5020]

A ground down socket does indeed work on the ball joint nut. Right bugger getting it to the right torque though.

[@timgardner3130]

I knocked up a distributed wrench that way for and old car I was working on

[@kenh3344]

You are like me that falling part something tdo with gravity. Yes forget health an safety but you luckey not to be hurt... we live an learn or do we...

[@deanh3741]

Would a 30mm crowfoot fit that awkward a frame nut? Crescent make decent stuff, have some of their pass through sockets and unusual ratchet spanner’s

[@BritannicaRestorations]

I have not seen a 30mm crow foot, but they do exist - mainly parallel jaws - not much benefit really

[@deanh3741]

@@BritannicaRestorations ah ok, guess they might struggle with torsion at the larger size, unless JP could manufacture you one from 1/2” stock!😁

[@ASelman]

Could crank a spigot fitting for a torque wrench or weld the end of the spanner to a socket and drive that after calculating length for the torque

[@nobletrout]

Mike what do you think of the torque specs on those bolts that go through the monster ball joint? I feel like I almost snapped mine when i did the job

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Needs to be tight, but also line up with the split pin hole - you should always tighten up further to the next hole if possible - never back off the nut

[@patrickjobling8676]

Im gunna need therapy after that squadron leader.. and im norr sure sophies ready furr rummaging threw ya draws .. burrt then agins winters coming ...pip pips 😍😎😁

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Yes - they need a good rummaging about!

[@weaton25]

If you do not expect to need to use that spanner again Mike would it not be a idea to leave it in the truck for the guy who owns it should he have problems with that bush again just a thought.

[@marcus0018]

What I would do is put an axle stand under the pinion flange and let the ramp down that should give some twist and some room

[@BritannicaRestorations]

I used my Porta Power to move the axle back into place

[@denisscott3073]

Hi Mike 👋 just saying thanks again 👍 more great tip 👍oh have you heard 😃 nufc takeover yet 🤔 richest club in the Premiership 😃 been waiting 14 years for this day 😀 👍👍👍🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🚌🚌🚌

[@BritannicaRestorations]

I was thinking about buying Middlesbrough FC for a tenner.. (big money talking here..)

[@vincentpoole7588]

Mike. Do it once-do it right by AC Delco ! Ever tried to rebuild the old 'Boge' self leveling units for earlier A-frames ? V.

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Nope It was noted to remove them and fit heavier springs. You cannot get parts for them any more

[@johnchetwynd3618]

Is a crows foot spanner the answer to tightening the nut on the bonnet release cable I wonder?

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Could be - they are a bugger!

[@yorkchris10]

More arms on the new ones, but probably easier access??

[@harveysmith100]

Amazon deliveries are getting slow there Mike? Don't tell me you have a shortage of drivers in Canada too? Crows feet are great, they can be put onto a torque wrench and used in places that you can't get a socket. Enjoyed that video. I have bought some stainless steel split pins to try, any thoughts? I assume because they don't rust they will be good but am I falling for marketing? Will I have a problem later because they are too strong to snap or drill. Everyone's thoughts are welcome.

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Not sure about shortage of drivers but I have noticed a lot of the stuff comes from the US Split pins - not sure - stainless are a good idea but hard to cut as you say - ever thought about stainless R clips? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R-clip

[@harveysmith100]

@@BritannicaRestorations Now that does seem a good replacement for a rusty split pin. I will look into that. I can see that would be a lot easier to get out than a stainless split pin that has corrosion from the nut and bolt holding it.

[@harveysmith100]

@Ralph Kelly Especially if you are crow. Pairs are more useful.

[@dieselhatz4247]

I grease split pins, prevents dirt/dust getting in around the split pin, and prevents rusting. I find the dirt holds the water and causes rust, and then hardens making it awkward to remove. Not heavily greased, just wipe off the access. Obviously if your running an air hammer, that’ll solve most problems.

[@harveysmith100]

@@dieselhatz4247 Yes, wise words, I have the air, I need to get the hammer part.

[@danloosmore8099]

A 30mm crows foot with a breaker bar would have been useful on the A frame joint.