[crepello]

Stupid little thing like the captive nut shearing from the frame when I tried to undo the lower arm bolt means I've got to change the subframe on my 214 I reckon. Picked one up on eBay for 99 pence (but gave the chap a tenner when i got there - he'd tried to do the right thing for an R8 after all - he found it didn't fit his). Pity my problem arose the day after I changed the steering rack, rather than the day before, but that's life.

So how much has to come down to get the subframe out and another back in? Assuming I can persuade that captive nut to unscrew, can i leave my lower arms connected to the hubs? Can the drive shafts stay in? Any tricks to uncouple the R65 selector rods without the Rover tool??

Finally, the replacement subframe has the odd patch of light rust, meaning a bit of work, finishing with a paint job, and I'm aiming for long-term survival. Anyone here had any experience with POR-15 Rust Prevention Paint? In particular, is it happy to overcoat existing paint, or do I have to strip back to bare metal? (And there are plenty of nooks and crannies in the subframe to make that a pain!)

MOT less than a month away!

Cheers,
Crepello

[carpy]

I've used por-15 all over my 216 cabby and pretty much all other cars I've owned. First the metal ready then the paint. Fairly awkward stuff to work with as it has a lot do's and don'ts which you have to obey. Even though you're not supposed to paint over already painted surfaces, I have and haven't had any problems (yet).
Go onto por15.com and have a good read, info on use etc is on there.
HTH
Carpy

[bkevbush]

my subframe faled mot a few years ago due to corrosion i aquired mine from a scrappy even though i cheated a bit by having the scrap man torch the rack endsfairly staight forward but the rack has to come out i seem to remember if power steering the pipes need un clipping the gear links just pop apart seem to remember a gearbox mount to free off to,tink i left the lower ball joints in place i waxoiled and smoothrited the whole thing before re fitting ,the bolts all came loose easily due to engine oil getting spayed about

[crepello]

Heh, back again...
Last year I found a welder able to tack the captive nut back, a bit blobby because he couldn't get a good earth, but it got me through the MOT.

Not this year though! The lower closing plate on the n/s bridging strut (under the track rod end) caught the inspector's eye. "Dangerous" was the verdict.

I've got the replacement one sorted, apart from waiting for the POR-15 to cure fully, and the weather to give me a proper day's worth of dry daylight to swap it in.

People close to me are trying to put me off the job, but I won't have a better opportunity, because the exhaust bolts are still new and shiny so should give no trouble. Please could someone who has done this job on a 1.4/R65 gearchange/non-PAS confirm that I'll only need to remove the front exhaust section, and that the gear linkage, when disconnected and unbolted at the front end, will dangle past the middle exhaust section enough to give clearance to drop the frame?

Apart from that, I was confident that with the suspension radius rod disconnected from the lower arm, the arm will swing forward on its ball joint far enough to give clearance to drop the subframe and steering rack as one unit. Anyone see any gotchas in that statement?

Cheers.

[gbs100]

When i changed the subframe on my216 i had to remove
both track rod ends
gear linkage
exhaust front pipe to centre joint
lower steering colum u/j
pas pipes
anti roll bar
rear engine mounting.

i had the replacement subframe powder coated.

[bkevbush]

for non pas like mine was/is steering rack has to come out,exhaust front pipe,gear linkages need splitting,seem to remember some cables needed unclipping,but the one i replaced it with was from pas model so the pies all had to come off ,i was lucky to have use of a ramp,and in scrappy had the car flipped on side

[crepello]

for non pas like mine was/is ...... ,but the one i replaced it with was from pas model so the pies all had to come off

May I ask how well your manual rack fitted the PAS subframe, given that the subframes for PAS/non-PAS have different part numbers?

I'm going to write a few notes on how my job went once I've fettled a couple of photos to show the 'issues' I had with my nice shiny (courtesy of 3 weeks' de-rusting/priming/POR-15 Hardnosing) new subframe, which the nice man had promised me was for a manual rack, because his garage couldn't make it fit his PAS car. Now it doesn't quite fit my manual rack either! Thinks..."Will the MOT inspector notice, when I turn up for re-test?"

Cheers,

[roverman1]

When i fitted power steering to my 216 i had to change the subframe because thay are a slightly different design, some thing to do when the steering is on full lock it will knock against the subframe, in other words i couldn't fit power steering onto a manual subframe, not sure though when fitting a manual rack to a power steering subframe.

[gofra]

Guys, sorry to dig out this old thread but Im in a bit of a hurry :(

I decided to leave my partially rotten subframe in place on my 216 TC but when taking the stabiliser off, one of the bolts broke the welded nut. So now it has to come off...

Given the fact, Im working alone, are there any tricks that I need to watch for?
Also, is there anything I should take care of first, before unbolting the steering rack - things such as, PS liquid removal or putting the steering rack in the correct place so it will fit when putting it back on...?

I have a friend that can help me with it but would like to know more about the procedure if anyone is willing to help me out - many thanx!

F

[crepello]

Whether this is any use depends on how much of a hurry you were in, I suppose...

I can't offer advice about the PAS aspects, as I haven't had to deal with one of those.
The Good Book says to extend the rack as much as possible to the passenger side. Then unbolt the passenger side rack saddle clamp, two bolts, and the rack gear case, two bolts. Drop and rotate the rack to get the pinion shaft clear, then slide the rack towards the passenger side so the drivers side track rod clears the subframe bridge. Then slide the rack free towards the drivers side.

Mind you, if the whole subframe is to come out, the rack may as well stay attached until it's all out - you'll be able to get to some captive nuts with penetrating oil then. But I don't envy doing it single-handed. I needed to borrow someone to help with support for about 15 minutes at this stage.

Where is your subframe rot? In one or both of the bridge pieces which pass beneath the track rods is my hunch. I'm paranoid about what's going on inside mine. Seems quite a design weakness to have these enclosing a void with no drainage designed-in. What's more, they slope down towards the rear plate of the main frame right behind the captive nut for the track control arms. Any water getting in there is going to enjoy its undisturbed opportunity to seize the track control arm bolts into the captive nuts, and to snack on the structure around the nuts. Which is why my original broke in the first place.

They're hard to find new, and we don't have a cottage industry like the one that supports classic Minis to supply alternatives. Be a shame if, when retro cop shows get to the early '90s, there aren't any XWs in shot!

Cheers,