rear axle dismounting

[Azazello]

I am taking away my rear axle and I undone the three nuts that fix the left inner mounting... the 2 part seem to divide!


It is tho older kind with external height regulation.
Ii fear I will not be able to mount it again! Any suggest or useful info before I continue my work?

 

[angel]

The torsion bar anchor lever and opposite suspension arm inner mounting are separate parts on earlier R4s anyway. So it's better not to disassemble the rear suspension as an "axle" but rather as a "left" and "right" assembly.

Even with the adjusting cam turned to lowest setting, there is still tension in the bar. You have to use the shock absorber substitute tool to extend the suspension arm down to the point that its anchor lever lifts off its cam. Then the torsion bar can be removed easily by tapping it. Otherwise you will find it difficult to disassemble and impossible to reassemble.

 

[Azazello]

Found this...
http://www.la4ldesylvie.fr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=131&Itemid=69
But do I need to disassemble the torsion bars? Couldn't I just take out the whole rear axle assembly and put it again in its place once I finish working on chassis?

 

[mr-reno-139]

Any body know what the original genuine renault manual says I've never taken an early axle apart so I can't advise

 

[angel]

Andrea, you can't do this on early (pre-78) cars, because the torsion bars rest against the adjusting cams which in turn are fixed on the chassis. So before removing these cams (and thus taking off all tension from the bars) you can't remove (or at least practically refit) one or both suspension arms. On later cars, tension of one wheel's torsion bar is being taken entirely by opposite wheel's inner mounting, so when removing the complete rear suspension you have to deal with a closed system.

But this is not as hard to do as on later cars, or as on front torsion bars, and the special tool needed is very easy to make. Setting the ride height afterwards is equally easy.

Paul, Renault's manual says exactly this: release tension from each bar, remove it, and remove each suspension arm individually.