Moss Motors, Ltd

I was working on the car this weekend on the brakes on the TR3B. 

I decided while I was back there to remove and have the shocks rebuilt.  It seemed easy and convenient at the time.

The passenger side was no problem, the shock came off with the link in tow.

However the driver side is proving to be a bit more difficult,  The shock is unbolted, but I cannot manipulate the link in order to get it to detach from the bracket.  There is not enough space before it bumps into the frame and is stopped in its tracks.

Now that the passenger side is out, I wish I had paid more attention to how I managed to free that side

 
Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

 
Also, while I am on the topic - how do I go about removing the shock link from the lever arm of the shock.  Pry bar or some sort of puller??

---

Jimbo

Driven to have fun........

I can answer your question about removing the link from the shock. I removed both link and shock and put them in my vise and hit it with a small sledge. That link was pressed on tight and that was the only way to remove it. No damage occured to my set up. Start with light taps and increase them until the link is released.

I just did the same job....same basic problem.

My right-hand shock and link could not be manupilated at all, so I cut the link in half, removing the shock and enabling the link to be turned around to get it into the best position for removal.  I was still unable to get it out of the hole in the mounting plate because the frame was in the way, so with the frame sitting on jackstands, I unscrewed the four nuts that hold the mounting plate to the two U-bolts (the ones that go around the axle). I only ran the nuts down to the ends of the U-bolts...don't remove them completely.  Then I put a crowbar between the plate and spring and pried the plate down far enough to get the necessary clearance to remove the link.  The new link installed easliy with the plate pried down, and then I tightened up the four U-bolt nuts....job done!

I removed the link from the shock lever arm with a shop press.  I tried the old two-hammer trick but I couldn't get it out, so I went for brute force and it worked fine.

 My left-hand shock was pretty much a repeat of the right side, except I didn't have to cut the link in half.

One important tip:  Don't let that mounting plate come loose from the U-bolts--it's a bear to get the bolts back into the plate.  I found that running the nuts out to the ends of the U-bolts was far enough, and you don't need to take them off.

 Steve