A frame thingy

[barmiebrumie]

hi,
   can anybody tell me what the a frame thingy is for on my range & can i take it off ?,  oh & i have just put a lift kit on & it seems to be holding the rear down.

thanks in advance,

john.

[muddyweb]

It could be the self-leveller... this is attached between the chassis and the rear a-frame on the axle...

or...

it could be the anti-roll bar, which attaches to the chassis at both sides and to the axle at both sides...


ring any bells ?

[barmiebrumie]

hi, not to sure will bring the camera home tomorrow from work & try to attache a picy, just popped out to have another look, looking from the  rear two arms com from the top of the rear axle on what i would call a swing bracket & they thn go to both sides of the chassis underneath where the rear seat would be, but then there is a large damper that is bolted to a cross member below the rear seats at the top & connected to the same bracket as the two arms,

does this make any sense ?.

thanks john.

[muddyweb]

Yeah... sounds like the self-levelling unit...

I'd get rid of it ;-)

[barmiebrumie]

i,m glad you said that, another job to keep me busy & get to know more & hopefully this might allow the lift kit to do its job properly, should be off by the weekend, thanks john.

[Range Rover Blues]

Just to clarify, only remove the self-levelling unit, not the whole A frame, otherwise you'll be in trouble.

[muddyweb]

Yes....    good point :-)

[barmiebrumie]

hi, so get rid of the damper but keep the A frame (bars from chassis to axle) ?, hope i've got it now,  what exacly does the frame do ? is it like an anti tramp device?

thanks john.

[muddyweb]

The a-frame keeps the rear axle in the right place, preventing side-side movement and, working with the lower links, keeping the axle upright.

The self-levelling unit (the big cylinder) is designed to assist the suspension when you load the vehicle up, or are towing.   Sadly, they are prone to failure, and as you have discovered become pretty redundant when you start modifying the suspension.

[barmiebrumie]

hi, started to remove the damper tonight, four bolts onthe top holding it to the crossmember - no problem apart from being there for 30 years,
can't see how to get the ram from the bottom bracket which is part of the a frame,  any more advice ?, thanks in advance,


john.

ps:- dont try this at home - first nut got stuck in the socket, so clever me get's 2lb lump hammer & screw driver hit it to knock the nut out of the socket,  great idea!!,

unless you miss & hit your thumb sqashing it into the top of the socket spliting the nail & squirting blood allover the path (swmbo not amused), and yes  a few xxxx words where shuoted at high volume, ok now as i've had a couple of stellas to help calm me down.

[Mad Max 3]

Hi, I am no expert, :oops:  but I us an angle grinder and cut through the thing, just leaving the ball bit in place. I have done this several times and it has not caused me or the vehicle any problems

[Range Rover Blues]

That's the way to do it, LR special tool #2 through all the bolt heads and use it to dismantle the lower end ball joint.  Alternatively the lower ball joint screws out of the self leveling unit piston rod, then you should be able to strip it down and bin the parts you don't need.

Mental note, must do this myself sometime.

[rokcrawlin]

beware when cutting this unit it is under pressure and can spit oil at you or catch fire wear protective clothing and have an extinguisher handy

[barmiebrumie]

:lol: hi,
 think all the oil & pressure must have gone, had to grind off the top four bolts & got the cutting gear out for the bottom part, made sure everthing was soaked in water & had fire extinuisher at the ready, thanks everybody for all the good advise, will post a pic'y of it sitting high & proud when i can get it loaded on,


john.