Ben's Series 3 88" Land-Rover Project: Front axle & steering relay removed

There has been a bit going on in the few days since my last post. I picked up a tidy set of front guards (wings) off trademe, as the ones that came on the vehicle are beyond repair. I didn't want to buy parts for that far into the project yet, but they were cheap so I snapped them up.

Back in the garage I had been chipping away at the small bits & pieces still attached to the chassis, such as the handbrake lever assembly, wiring for the rear lights and brake lines. The brake lines were time consuming as the little self tapping screws used to hold the brake pipe clips to the chassis where all seized to some extent.

Small bits still attached to the chassis

With all these removed I turned attention to the front axle, my plan was to just unbolt the springs and shocks, and remove the whole lot in one big lump. I started with good intentions but once I discovered the shackle bolts where seized into the spring bushes, the angle grinder came into play. The 'rear' bolts of the front springs are threaded into the shackle plates but I couldn't even get the to turn, so I cut the shackle plates in half. I plan on replacing them anyway so no drama. Front bolts where the same; locked solid in the spring. So with a thin cut of wheel I cut between both sides of the spring and the chassis dumb-iron. Job done, axle on the floor. Luckily I still have Ellesmere Auto Electrical's engine hoist from the weekend, I don't know how I would have heaved the axle around without it.

Front axle liberated from the chassis

Next job was removing the steering relay from the chassis. I'd been dreading this, as from what I'd read on forums and restoration blogs it should have been a nightmare. I'd read about people using all sorts of pullers, hydraulic jacks and even chopping up the chassis to get it out. But in my case, it went exactly how the manual said it should. Removed the bolts and it drifted out with a few blows of a lump hammer. Relieved!