Hi.

I was greasing the front axle assembly on my Ruby yesterday when I noticed that one of the u-bolts that hold the front spring in place seemed loose. When I tried to tighten it I found that one side of the bolt had broken where the thread ends.

I imagine that the remaining u-bolt and the radius arms had managed to hold the axle in place as I had not noticed any deterioration in the 'handling' or braking.

The actual break was hidden since the u-bolt remained in place, though it was no longer doing its job. Is this a common failure?

Regards

Colin

Hi Colin,

I found both front spring 'U' bolts loose on my Box when I had the engine out last winter. Tightening them up has revolutionised the handling!

I guess they get neglected because you can't normally get at them to check unless you take the rad off.

A set of new bolts ought to sort your problem for a while.

A MOT a couple of years ago said I had loose U Bolts, took the front end out to get at them and managed at best to move one flat on the nuts. Messed up the linked washer though.

The most dramatic improvement I've had to the front end is trapping rubber under the spring links to the front axle. A great ride and hardly any rolling in my RP.

Sandy

Hi

A new 'offside' U-bolt was fitted in the sunshine at lunchtime today. The access was a bit limited, to put it mildly. But a long thin box spanner just reached onto the back nut so I did not have to do any dismantling.

Back on the road, there was much less rattling over bumps - and the Ruby now turns into sharp corners much better at 45mph.

Regards

Colin

Sorry, I meant 25mph!