Painted the top of the chassis today, then cleaned the back axle and near side arm, and rustproofed it ready for painting next time. Had a look inside the axle - the rear brake pipes are pristine. Then I tried to get the spring cans off, but the b*st*rds wouldn't co-operate, so I ended up getting in a proper bait with them. Gave up just before I gave the car a damn good thrashing.

Those bloody spring cans were a nightmare! Couldn't get them off for love nor money... So I got Mr Anglegrinder to show them who was boss!

Now, for any of you who've never seen the inside of a spring can (which included me until a couple of hours ago) this pic's for you:



My decision to grind them off was vindicated. About 1/2 a kilo of rust dropped out of each can, there were rust holes in the cans themselves, the ends had rusted to nothing, the rubbers were perished, and the springs had rubbed badly against the cans inside. Good riddance to old rubbish! Onwards!!

Errr,
if those tie rod ends (shackles) aren't grooved, it's worth trying to save them, as those old forged ones are far better than the later type.
They're also better than the fake forged ones on offer nowadays.

At risk of asking a daft question here, but how do I tell whether they're worth saving or not? The ones I've got screw onto the rods.

UPDATE: Ah, I think I've sussed it. A quick look at Uncle Roy's Emporium shows that the ones I have are the old one-piece cast ones. I have saved these... I even tried to unscrew one from its rod, which proved to be a job that defeated me - for today!

Check the surface where the knife edges bear on the inside of the eye.
If there's a groove but it's less than a couple of millimetres deep, they're worth saving.
Those small grindstones which are mounted on a drill are handy to clean up the eye.

Since you've already done the dirty deed with the angle grinder on the tie rods, chuck the eyes into your molasses tub to deal with rusty threads inside the eye.

After a month or so, use a hammer on the 'necked' section of the eye, where the internal threads are located, to break the grip of any rust which has reached that far in.
Note, use 'tapping' not 'walloping'...

Tapping to cause a vibration?

Ken gave me the very same info for my van,and it worked.Cleaned the eyes up and they look like new

Got the same problem with mine!
Plus, one of the springs was broken , so my van was slanting ( if that is the right expression ??)
I got used springcans from the internet, which I only cleaned from the outside and filled them with a bit of caster oil. After that I moved the tie rods in and out to give the oil the oppertunity to flow through the whole springcan. They work perfectly now.
I was advised by an old 2CV mechanic not to buy new springcans, because they would not be so good as the old ones.

That depends on how many dents are in them.

Managed to spend my first time on the van for months today. I'd forgotten just how enjoyable it is to spend a few hours messing about with angle grinders and things.

Set up the new bonnet hinge, ready for welding next time.