Club 80-90 Forums

I am trying to remove my spacers (jx 16") they seem to be bonded on to the arms with some sort of gunk , the outside edges of which have weathered or been chipped off by me , the inner stuff is holding fast. Also the spacers are jacked up at the back ( thicker ) part of the spacer - perhaps the gunk was used to pack and hold the spacer in this position. I checked nicks 16" van and his sit nicely on the arm ( there are ridges on the underside of the casting that hold it off the arm by about 2 mm, the back of mine is gunked up nearly 10mm


Not sure what it's meant to fit like but looked like its been filled with more gear around here. Although the hole in the spacer doesn't look too 'clean' perhaps it was badly worn and this is an attempt to repair with gunk / filler?

Might try some heat ?

yep, thats the disc i'm talking about, didn't realise that is a 16" only part? Yours have definitely lifted jes, mine are pretty tight to the trailing arm allround. i didnt realise they could come off, thought they were part of the arm. it does have the pigtail groove cut in, i dont have any ggod pics to hand, but heres what i have

The gunk under the aluminum plate is probably from galvanic corrosion by the dissimilar metals.

I think these are TD only not 16" only parts. Mine are on an ex Yorks Water 14".

And vwfool has taken my thoughts. Anyone who's had a Land Rover will know all about the galvanic corrosion between steel & aluminium. Usually appears as white powdery 'growth' at the interfaces. Exactly where Jes's pictures show the 'gunk'.

vwfool wrote:The gunk under the aluminum plate is probably from galvanic corrosion by the dissimilar metals.

Looks that way to me too.

Ok, taking the corrosion line ..... The spacers have then been forced up by the corrosion by about 10mm, that would be against the spring pressure? I believe the van stood for years do there would have been no movement in the suspension for a while, perhaps that allowed the expansion on the interface? Anyway ..... Best way to deal with it? Keep chipping away? Heat? Chemicals? Need to get them off .

Get a propane lamp on them, good and hot so they will expand a little, tap them around a bit with a copper mallet. You might have to do this a few times to disturb the corrosion, which will most likely have got a good firm grip on the bump-stop post.
It's amazing just how much this kind of corrosion will grow, I'm not suprised it's that much.

Thanks for the pics fellas, looks like it's wedge shaped rather than a constant thickness???

Also looks like there is a groove too.