DIY suspension repair Chevrolet Niva

In detail: do-it-yourself repair of the Chevrolet Niva suspension from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

The chassis of the Niva Chevrolet includes front and rear suspension. Since most of the troubles lie in wait for the owners of this model in the front independent suspension, consisting of several transverse levers, coil coil springs, as well as shock absorbers and a stabilizer for greater lateral stability, it is precisely its design and repair features that should be considered in more detail.

In order to check the technical condition of the front suspension elements, it is necessary to drive the car onto a lift or a viewing ditch. In the latter case, the wheels are suspended using a jack or other lifting device. Diagnostics begins with a visual inspection of the suspension structural elements.

So, for example, rubber parts should not show signs of material wear and there should be no mechanical damage to such parts. Hinges made from a mixture of metal and rubber should be free from cracking and signs of aging. If defects are found, the parts must be changed.

Next, a check is made of the condition of the protective covers of the hinges and the ball joint on each side. If damage is found on these elements, they will have to be replaced. On the upper hinges, we inspect the rubber pads, and on the lower ones - the rubber bushings of the shock absorbers. The algorithm for detecting defects is identical to the previous cases.

We examine the bushings on both levers. It is also necessary to check the condition of the bushings located in the anti-roll bar. Do not forget about the safe attachment of the stabilizer brackets and body side members to the lower arm.

Video (click to play).

In the case of an increased value of the clearance in the bearings in a certain speed range, you can feel the appearance of vibration. In this case, there is also unevenness (spotting) of tire wear, and a sharp decrease in the service life of the bearings. A zero clearance value can also lead to a decrease in the resource. In this case, stiffness can also be added to vibration when trying to rotate the hub. The bearing clearance should be 0.15 millimeters. In order to adjust this value, you will need to use a wheel bolt wrench, a hammer and a 27 wrench.

To determine the problem with the bearings, you need to shake the posted wheel a little. If even a small amount of play is felt, you will need to adjust the gap parameter. For the final check, you need to ask for a little help, as you will have to simultaneously hold down the brake pedal and swing the wheel. If such a manipulation does not reveal a backlash, then one hundred percent the bearing clearance needs to be adjusted.

General information about the repair and maintenance of the chassis of cars, see here. How to repair a bumper with your own hands and what materials are required for this, read here.

The first step is to dismantle the decorative cover, then unlock the hub nut and, at the same time, keep the hub from turning with a knob, unscrew the nut. In the process of adjusting the hub, it is imperative to have a new hub nut on hand, because once the adjustment is complete, it is unlikely to be securely locked in its old place. Most likely, the collar will be damaged due to the previous locking. And if you do not prepare in advance, the process can be delayed.

Next, we screw on and tighten the new hub nut using a torque of 19.6 Nm. In this case, you need to simultaneously turn the hub itself almost 90 degrees in each direction several times. Thus, self-alignment of the bearings can be achieved.

Loosen the adjusting nut and tighten it again with a force equal to 6.8 Nm. The adjustment nut can now be loosened 25 degrees.

We stop the hub nut by jamming the collar into several grooves on the trunnions located on the housing and install the previously removed parts in the reverse order.

At the end of the process of adjusting the clearance in the wheel bearings, you need to check how easily the wheels rotate. The very last step in checking the quality of the work performed is to assess the degree of heating of the hub after the car has traveled one kilometer without using the braking system.

Among the main external signs that make it possible to judge the emergence of the need to dismantle the bearings for troubleshooting, it is worth highlighting the presence of increased noise while driving, as well as the absence of a positive effect from adjusting the nominal value of the clearance between the bearings. To dismantle and then replace the wheel bearings, you will need a wheel mount wrench, a few more wrenches, sizes 17 and 13, a flat screwdriver, a small hammer, a torque wrench, and a mandrel for pressing the oil seal. Of the fluids, a lubricant called Litol-24 and a little kerosene are needed for work. In addition, you need to find a suitable container in which the removed parts will be washed.

The process of work itself begins with the removal of the steering knuckle, removal from its design of the hub, distance ring, oil seal, as well as inner bearing rings. Do not forget to rinse every detail with kerosene prepared in advance. We carry out a visual inspection of the raceways of both bearing rings, as well as the working roller surface. The presence of visible wear and chips is unacceptable both on the rollers and on the rings. The defective part must be replaced together with the rings located on the outside. In this case, both parts of the car must be replaced at the same time.

With the help of small hammer blows on the beard attached to the outside of the ring, you need to try to squeeze it out of the fist. Further, with the same simple tapping with a hammer, it is necessary to press a new outer bearing, until it stops, into the shoulder of the socket located on the rotary cam. With the help of Litol, we fill in the empty cavities inside the rotary cam. Grease is applied to the outside of the bearing ring.

It remains only to put back the parts previously removed in the steering knuckle and carry out the process of adjusting the clearance parameter between the wheel bearings.

For normal operation of the car, you need to timely diagnose and repair the Chevrolet Niva chassis with your own hands or in a service. To save money, it is better to do it yourself according to the instructions that we have prepared for you in this material.

The front suspension of the domestic SUV has an independent design. On each side are two wishbones, coil coil springs, telescopic shock absorbers and anti-roll bars.

To check the technical condition of the suspension elements of the car, it is necessary to raise it on a lift or put it over the pit and go down. In this case, it is important to suspend the front wheels. The rubber elements should show no signs of aging or mechanical damage. The rubber-metal hinges should also be free of cracks, signs of aging, unilateral rubber bulging or separation from the reinforcement. All damaged parts must be replaced.

Be sure to check the condition of the protective covers for the ball joints and bearings. If they are damaged, the entire joint assembly will have to be replaced.

Take a good look at the rubber pads of the upper joints and check the condition of the rubber bushings of the lower joints. Do not forget to inspect the rubber arm bushings - lower and upper. Diagnose the anti-roll bar rubber bushings and the quality of the attachment of the stabilizer brackets to the arms and side members.

If the clearance in the front wheel hub bearings is increased, at certain speeds you will feel vibration on the steering wheel. As a result, tires will wear out unevenly (stains are formed), and the bearing life will be reduced. The complete absence of a gap, which causes a tight rotation of the hub, can also reduce their resource. The clearance in the wheel bearings of the front wheels of the Chevrolet Niva should not exceed 0.15 mm. To adjust the front bearings, use a wheel wrench, a wrench 27 and a hammer.

Try to swing the suspended wheel vertically. If you feel a backlash, you will have to adjust the gap. Also ask the assistant to apply the brake and hold the pedal while you swing the wheel vertically again. If the play is gone, there is definitely a play in the bearings.

Remove the trim cover and unscrew the hub lock nut. Keeping it from turning with the knob, unscrew the nut. In the process of adjusting the hub when repairing the Niva chassis, it is recommended to install new hub nuts, since the old nuts may even after adjustment take the old position, and you will not lock it with sufficient reliability. In extreme cases, you can take a used nut from another car.

Screw on and tighten the hub nut to a torque of 19.6 Nm, turning the hub 90 degrees in both directions 2-3 times. This will allow the bearings to self-align. Loosen the adjustment nut and retighten it to 6.8 Nm, and then back it off 25 degrees.

Place the nut collar in the two grooves on the drive outer pivot pivot, thus locking the hub nut. Install the removed parts in reverse order.

After adjusting the clearance in the Chevrolet Niva bearings, check that the wheel turns easily. The final check of the adjustment should be assessed by the degree of heating of the hubs after overcoming one kilometer without braking.

When repairing the Chevrolet Niva suspension, you should change the lubricant in the bearings at the intervals indicated in the service manual. If there is little or dirty grease, the bearings will wear out quickly. To work, you will need a pair of 13 keys, a key for wheel bolts, a torque wrench, a hammer, a screwdriver, Litol-24 and a container for flushing the elements.

First you need to remove the wheel with brake pads. The caliper is dismantled without disconnecting the hydraulic hoses. Just take it to the stronu and hang it on the wire so as not to strain the hose. Pull the rubber holder out of the bracket with the hose.

Change the grease in the bearings at the intervals specified in the service book. If the lubricant is insufficient or contaminated, the bearings will quickly fail. To replace, you will need keys "13" (two), a torque wrench, a wrench for wheel nuts, pliers, a screwdriver, a hammer, clean grease Litol-24, a container for washing parts. Remove the wheel and brake pads.

Next, you need to split the pin nut of the outer hinge of the side link and unscrew it. Install a puller and press out the steering pivot pin that is held in the pivot arm boss. Remove three nuts each of the bolts that hold the ball joint and support to the arms and remove the hub nut. Pull out the bolts and dismantle the steering knuckle with hinges assembly. Press the hub out of the bearing rings using a suitable bushing.

Use a screwdriver to remove the oil seal from the hub, but note that it will have to be replaced after that. Pull out the spacer and inner bearing rings, and then flush all elements with kerosene and fill the inner cavity with grease. Also apply Litol to the inner and outer bearing races.

Insert the inner and spacer rings into the steering knuckle, and then press the oil seal into the steering knuckle socket. Reinstall everything in the reverse order and adjust the wheel bearing clearance according to the above instructions.

Replacing the Niva Chevrolet wheel bearing on the front wheel is a rather difficult job, but we will tell you how to carry it out further. The need for this may arise when noise occurs when the wheel rotates, as well as the impossibility of achieving the desired clearance by means of adjustments.

To dismantle and install the front hub bearings, you will need a wheel wrench, a screwdriver, a hammer, a 13 and 17 wrench, a barb, a torque wrench, a mandrel for pressing in an oil seal, Litol-24, kerosene and a container for flushing the elements.

Dismantle the steering knuckle and pull out the hub, spacer ring, oil seal and inner rings with a bearing, and then rinse everything thoroughly with kerosene. Inspect the treadmills on the inner and outer rings of the bearings and check the condition of the running surfaces of the rollers.

Noticeable wear of separators, rings, rollers, all kinds of chips and cavities - all this is unacceptable. If all these flaws are found during the repair of the Chevrolet Niva suspension, the bearings must be replaced.

Using a barb and hammer, start tapping lightly around the perimeter of the outer ring and press the ring out of your fist. Then, with weak blows with a hammer along the perimeter of the ring through a drift made of soft metal, you need to press the outer ring of the new outer bearing until it stops against the shoulder of the socket in the steering knuckle. Fill the inner cavity with grease and apply it to the outer rings of the bearings.

Install all dismantled elements in the steering knuckle. It is necessary to install the steering knuckle when repairing the Niva suspension in the reverse order to disassembly. Then adjust the wheel bearing clearance.

Repairing the front suspension of a Chevrolet Niva sometimes involves replacing the hinge. To dismantle and install it, you need keys for 13 and 22, a wheel wrench for removing wheels, a support in the form of a jack, a mounting blade, a metal brush and a hammer.

First, you need to remove the wheel and support the lower arm, and then lower the car. This will load the suspension and the position of the levers will match their position under load. Clean the dirt from the ball joint, remove the brake hose retainer from the bracket

Loosen the pivot pin nut and unscrew it completely. When turning the finger due to wear or loose fit of the cone, the lever should be pressed down with a pry bar, resting against the last coil of the spring.

Remove the brake hose bracket and install the ball joint puller, then press the pin out of the steering knuckle boss.

Remove the three nuts that secure the pivot to the arm and detach the pivot from it. Installation of the upper ball is carried out in the reverse order of disassembly.

If, when diagnosing the chassis of the Chevrolet Niva with your own hands, you determined the need to replace the ball joint, you will need a small set of tools:

keys for 13, 22 and 27;
wheel nut wrench;
metal brush;
mount;
jack;
hammer.

Dismantle the wheel and support the lower arm, thereby loading the suspension and aligning the position of the arms. Remove the hub cap and unscrew the nut. It is always tightened very tightly, so use a head with a secure knob.

Unscrew the nut that is wrapped around the ball joint pin, and then press the pin out of the steering knuckle boss.Unscrew the nuts of the bolts that hold the lever on the support, and remove the bolts by moving the steering knuckle. Remove the wheel hub from the outer drive pivot shank splines. Dismantle the ball joint, and then install in the reverse order of assembly.

It is not so difficult to change shock absorbers on a Chevrolet Niva with your own hands. This has to be done in the event of a leak; deterioration in vibration damping when driving over bumps. Worn out shock absorbers are always replaced in pairs or all four at once. To remove and install the shock absorber, you need keys 17 and 6.

Using a 17 key, secure the shock absorber rod from turning, and with the same one unscrew the nut and remove the thrust washer with a rubber pad. Unscrew the bolt nut on the lower hinge and pull out the bolt, after which the shock absorber can be removed. Remove the lower cushion from the shock absorber rod and inspect the condition of the rubber cushions and shock absorber.

Dismantle the lower hinge, and, if necessary, replace the pad and bush of the lower hinge. Install Chevrolet Niva shock absorbers when repairing the suspension in the reverse order. Before installation, the stem must be pulled out full stroke. When working on a lift, you need to lower the car before assembling the upper mount so that the suspension is loaded under the weight of the car.

Replacing the Chevrolet Niva springs may be required in case of mechanical damage or strong sitting. Signs of precipitation include:

violation of the smoothness of the course;
suspension breakdowns on irregularities;
noticeable skew of the front of the car;
the difference in the height of the front and rear parts of the car;
traces of collision of the coils of the spring.

To dismantle and install the front springs, you need two keys for 13, two for 17 and one for 24, as well as a jack and a wrench for unscrewing the wheel nuts. First remove the wheel and loosen the lower arm axle nut with a wrench.

Unscrew the nut of the bolt that secures the shock absorber from below and pull out the bolt. Next, unscrew two more nuts of the stabilizer cushion bracket and dismantle the bracket. Jack up the front suspension to release the compression stop. Next, unscrew the three nuts of the bolts securing the ball joint and pull out the bolts.

Slowly lowering the lever, it is necessary to release the spring and remove it. Next, remove the lower and upper spring gaskets. If necessary, remove the compression travel stop. Install the springs when repairing the Chevrolet Niva suspension in the reverse order.

It is necessary to remove the lower arm when repairing the Niva chassis if there is mechanical damage on it or in order to replace the silent blocks. To work you will need:

two keys for 13;
two keys for 17;
key for 22;
two keys for 24;
jack;
hammer with a barb.

First you need to dismantle the spring and unscrew the lower arm axle nut. Knock out the axle with a beard, paying attention to the location of the shims. Pull out the axle, but hold the lever. If necessary, you will have to unscrew the nuts that hold the spring support cup.

Before installation, the axle and bushings must be lubricated in the front suspension cross member using grease. Next, the removed lower arm is installed in place in the reverse order.

If, when diagnosing the front suspension of the Chevrolet Niva, you find mechanical damage or decide to replace the worn out silent blocks, you will have to remove the upper arm. To work you need two keys for 13, one for 22, a jack and a wheel wrench. Jack up the car and remove the wheel, and then support the lower arm and load the suspension by lowering the car.

Unscrew the three nuts that hold the ball joint to the upper arm. Then unscrew a pair of upper arm axle bolts. When turning the bolts, they must be held in place with a wrench.

Remove the upper arm, paying attention to the number and location of the adjusting washers that are located on the axle bolts.Installation of the upper arm in the silent blocks is carried out in the reverse order.

Replacing the Chevrolet Niva silent blocks in the lower arm is required if they are worn out or damaged. To do this, use a 22 key and a special puller. First you need to remove the lower arm along with all the silent blocks.

Using a special puller, press out the silent blocks from the lugs of the lever and press in new ones. After that, install the lever in place and go to the workshop to adjust the camber-toe.

Upper arm bushing

In the upper lever, the silent blocks are changed for the same reasons as in the lower one. To work, you need a 22 key and a puller. First dismantle the upper arm with all bushings and the machine axle. Unscrew the upper arm nuts and remove the washers and nuts from the axle.

With the help of a puller, you need to press out the silent blocks from the eyes, and press new ones here. Then put everything back together and adjust the camber. You cannot do this on your own, since you probably do not have special equipment.

When repairing the front suspension of a Chevrolet Niva, sometimes it is necessary to change the stabilizer. It must be removed from the bar using keys 13 and 17. With their help, unscrew the four nuts of the brackets securing the stabilizer to the front axle gearbox and dismantle the brackets.

Remove the Chevrolet Niva stabilizer and inspect the condition of the part. There should be no signs of rubber aging, damage, wear on the inner surfaces that come into contact with the stabilizer on the pillows. Replace damaged pillows. The stabilizer is installed in the reverse order.

Niva Chevrolet received almost a complete set of front suspension from its older relative, and if so, the structure is almost 40 years old. Nobody has any special requirements for the suspension elements of a potential SUV, the main thing is reliability. During these four decades, the suspension, indeed, has shown itself quite well, except for the quality of consumables, ball joints and silent blocks. Do-it-yourself Niva Chevrolet silentblocks replacement is on our agenda today.

Upper arm and silent blocks.Rubber-metal pivot bushings (silent blocks) on all Niva until 2008 had a different design from the modern design, and the design and dimensions changed only for the lower front ones.The upper ones remained interchangeable with the lower silent blocks of classic VAZs.Broken silent blocks of the old designThe resource of the silent blocks of the old design ranged from two to three years, depending on the intensity of operation and climatic conditions.After 2008, the lower silent blocks received a different design, which made it possible to almost double their resource, but the problems with the quality of parts from different manufacturers remained the same.

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On new parts, the diameter of the inner sleeve grew by 2 mm, and the outer diameter is 7 mm, which could not but affect the resource. Old bushings were good at the Balakovo plant "Tadem" and Dimitrovgrad silent blocks, they were packed in branded VAZ packages. For other manufacturers, the quality floats.New bushings are supplied to the conveyor by the plant " Anvis Group ". And about the new articles: the upper silent blocks, interchangeable with the old ones, received a number 2101-2904040 , new lower, reinforced - 2121 2904040 .Not so long ago, polyurethane bushings, dampers and silent blocks have become popular. The thing is good and useful, but you should not take polyurethane unconditionally with enthusiasm and the point is this.Polyurethane works well as a compression damping material.Classic conventional silentblockFor example, shock absorber bushings from it are quite durable. But the silent block mainly works for twisting, and the articulation of the SUV's suspension implies large angles of rotation of the levers.And rubber parts cope with this better; on off-road they work out softer and longer.In addition, polyurethane is afraid of high temperatures, and on the upper levers on the right side, the conditions are just such that they can render polyurethane silent blocks unusable for a thousand kilometers.Upper arm polyurethane bushingsWe draw a conclusion: for a city, asphalt roads, it is possible that the installation of polyurethane makes sense. If the Chevrolet Niva is used mainly off-road, rubber parts should be definitely preferred.We figured out the choice of silent blocks, now according to the replacement procedure. The work is troublesome and time-consuming, but by doing it with our own hands, we will save at least 4-5 thousand rubles. This is the price of replacing silent blocks from specialists.Most likely you will need a grinder.If you do everything correctly and follow the recommendations, you can do it yourself.For pressing out and pressing in silent blocks, it is desirable to have a special puller.It is inexpensive, and in the arsenal of every grower there should be such a thing. At the service station, the bushings are changed using a press, and some manage to get by with a sledgehammer and a pipe of a suitable diameter. Nevertheless, to replace the lower silent blocks, two more spring ties and an additional jack will come in handy.The work process is as follows:

We install the car on a viewing hole or on an overpass, so it will be more convenient to get to the suspension parts. We turn on the first gear, set the stops under the rear wheels.

We tear off the wheel nuts, hang the front end on a jack.

Using the jack as a leverWe use ties for the springs.A grinder can come in handy here.Old silent block. Get ready for battle!If the silent block is not pressed out, then you can burn it out. Standard solution.We press in new silent blocks.The upper arm is even easier to remove - you need to unscrew the two axle bolts and three bolts securing the arm to the ball joint.In this case, if the lower arm is not yet assembled, you need to tie the front hub with the caliper to the body so as not to damage the brake hose.The upper silent blocks are pressed in similarly to the lowerThe upper silent blocks are pressed out and pressed in using the same technology as the lower ones, it is highly desirable to use a puller so as not to look for adventures on your silent blocks.

By and large, the car's suspension can be called reliable and unpretentious. Basically, the components work out their resource and only a few "sores" can bring the owner of the car to the car service ahead of schedule.

The first thing to do is usually wear out the rubber elements. These are anthers, which protect the joints from dirt, and elastic elements at the points of attachment of parts. Upper bushings especially suffer from cross-country driving.

The suspension height in the Niva is quite large, but in the case of a collision with tall stones or in an accident, deformation of the front beam often occurs. Often the beam has to be changed together with the levers.

Also, the most problematic places in the front include the hubs, more precisely, their design, which allows water to enter the bearing. This causes the lubricant to wash out and the unit wears out in an extremely short time. At the same time, there is practically no characteristic hum, and while the driver thinks that everything is fine, the hub itself is already consumed.

If you notice that the vehicle is skewed, this is a sign of spring slump. It can also be signaled by large suspension dips or bumps on bumps.Also, the springs should be changed without waiting for them to burst, if there are visible cracks or traces of contact between adjacent coils.

The braking system is highly reliable. As a preventive measure, it is recommended to clean the brakes from dirt after driving off-road.

At constant high loads, the rods and ball joints of the rear suspension may fail faster than the prescribed period. The longitudinal rods most often come off at the attachment points to the body. Also, at peak load, the part can simply burst. To prevent such damage, you can install reinforced elements or scald problematic attachment points.

Quite often, in Chevrolet Niva cars, native shock absorbers quickly lose their performance. In this case, one of the options for solving the problem may be to replace the hydraulic models with gas-filled ones.

Borrowing the chassis from "light" Lada also entailed some typical troubles. In particular, deformation of the bridge stocking is an extremely common case. This is due to the much higher mass of the Niva in comparison with the passenger VAZ, and, consequently, the increased load. To exclude cases of bending of the stocking, it is reinforced by welding.

The presence of a stabilizer increases comfort when driving on flat roads, but those who like to overcome bumps on rough terrain often remove this unit, increasing the suspension travel.

Quite often, Niva owners resort to tuning the suspension, which consists in increasing the rigidity and lifting by replacing the springs and installing spacers.

If you need to repair the suspension or want to strengthen some elements, in my workshop it will cost you less than at any station. You will receive advice on solving the most problematic issues and will be able to forget about problems with the suspension for a long time.

Front suspension:
1 - cap;
2 - screw;
3 - centering sleeve;
4 - wheel hub;
5 - brake disk;
6 - stuffing box;
7 - outer bearing;
8 - ring;
9 - inner bearing;
10 - spherical bearing;
11 - stabilizer bushing;
12 - bottom spring cup;
13 front suspension spring;
14 - the lower suspension arm;
15 - upper spring cup;
16 - spring gasket;
17 - compression buffer;
18 - front suspension cross member;
19 - stretching;
20 - the upper arm mounting bolt;
21 - adjusting washers;
22 - rebound stroke buffer;
23 - stabilizer;
24 - upper arm;
25 - ball joint;
26 - bracket;
27 - rounded fist;
28 - shock absorber;
29 - protective cover of the front brake.

The front suspension is independent, on the upper and lower forked wishbones, with helical coil springs, double-acting telescopic hydraulic shock absorbers and an anti-roll bar. The upper and lower levers have a similar design: at the ends of the "fork" there are lugs with cylindrical holes for rubber-metal hinges (silent blocks), and on the opposite side there is a platform with three holes for attaching the ball joint housing.

On the front branch of the upper arm there is a tide against which the rebound buffer rests at the maximum suspension travel, and on the lower arm there are four holes for attaching the lower support spring cup.

The ball joints of the upper and lower arms are interchangeable. The support is attached to the arm with three bolts. The threaded ends of the pins of the upper and lower bearings point downward and fit into the taper holes of the steering knuckle. The pins are secured with self-locking nuts. Thus, the steering knuckle can rotate about an axis passing through the centers of the spheres of the pins of the ball joints.

The suspension arms, in turn, can be rotated on the axles within the range of the rubber-metal hinges. The upper arm pivot has two holes and threads at both ends. Bolts pass through the holes that secure the axle to the suspension cross member.Washers are installed on the bolts between the axle and the cross member for adjusting the camber angles and longitudinal inclination of the wheel steering axis. The threaded ends of the axle fit into the rubber-metal hinges of the lever. Washers are located on both sides of each hinge: the smaller (flat) one on the inside, the larger one (convex outward) on the outside. The self-locking nuts of the upper arm axle are finally tightened only on a loaded car, otherwise the hinge will be constantly tightened and quickly fail. The axle of the lower arm is a bolt that passes through the bushing in the suspension cross member and the rubber-metal arm pivots.

Just like the upper arm pivots, each lower arm pivot is pulled between two washers, but another thrust washer (thick) is added between the inner washer and the bushing, adjacent to the bushing, and several shims (thin). The thickness of the washers is selected at the factory; when dismantling the lever, it is necessary to remember their number and location.

It is permissible to change the position of the washers only if it is necessary to restore the suspension geometry (for example, after an accident, replacing the cross member). In this case, the distance between the outer washer and the flange of the rubber-metal hinge sleeve after tightening the nut should be in the range of 3.0–7.5 mm. In the event that it is impossible to adjust the caster angle of the pivot axis with intact suspension parts, you can transfer part of the washers from one end of the lever to the other.

The cross member of the suspension is a curved steel tube of a tubular section, to which steel forged brackets are welded on both sides.

In the lower part of the bracket there is a bushing for the axle of the lower arm, and the upper part is made as a vertical platform with three pairs of holes for fastening bolts. An upper pair of bolts secures the upper arm axle to the cross member. The middle pair of bolts tightens the powertrain support bracket, cross member and its bracket. The bracket is attached to the side member of the body and serves as a support for the upper coil of the spring and the shock absorber rod. The bottom pair of bolts tightens the cross member and its bracket.

Two brackets for attaching the front axle gearbox are welded to the tubular front part of the cross member. Two guy brackets are welded to the tubular rear of the cross member. Stretch braces are bolted to them, increasing the longitudinal rigidity of the structure. The rear (threaded) end of the brace is attached to the bracket on the car body with two nuts and washers. When installing the brace, the inner nut is tightened until the washer touches the bracket, and the outer nut is tightened with the recommended torque.

At the bottom, the suspension spring rests on the lower support spring cup through a plastic gasket. A rubber insulating gasket is installed between the upper support spring cup and the cross member bracket.

Welded to the cross member bracket is the compression travel buffer support (facing down) and the rebound travel buffer cup (facing up). The compression travel buffer at maximum suspension travel rests against the lower spring seat, and the rebound travel buffer against the bump on the upper arm. The lower spring seat is attached to the lower arm with four bolts, nuts and lock washers. Brackets for attaching the lower end of the shock absorber and the anti-roll bar (behind the spring) are also welded to the lower cup.

A rubber-metal hinge is pressed into the shock absorber eyelet, therefore, the bolt of its lower fastening can only be tightened on a car under load. The shock absorber rod is fastened to the cross member bracket through two rubber pads with a nut and washers. The nut can be tightened in any suspension position.

The anti-roll bar (bar) is a curved spring steel bar. It reduces the roll of the vehicle when cornering. Through rubber pads, pressed by steel clips, the rod is attached at two points to the body and at two points to the brackets on the lower support spring cups.The lower cover of the front axle gearbox is attached to its middle part through rubber cushions.

Suspension repair mainly consists of replacing worn and damaged parts. Pay particular attention to the condition of the protective covers of the ball joints (anthers). If the boot is torn, replace it and grease immediately, otherwise the support will quickly fail. Replace silent blocks when rubber bulges, tears, cracks or severe wear.

Video (click to play).