I've been fitting the RHS front suspension today, yesterday and most of previous day taken by helping a friend move home. Having dragged myself from the bed and made my aching body move I decided I had to achieve something today. Having struggled to get a bolt for the suspension at short notice (if I'd known I needed them I'd have ordered from SJ) I found the LandRover Discovery 1 uses a 1/2 UNF 61/2 bolt on the A bars, so yesterday I obtained a pair form the local 4x4 specialist.

Putting the main front pivot bush in is fine (poly Non-Genuine), until you push the steel inner tube in, there's just a fraction too much material and so the push then pushes out of the lower link by 1-2mm meaning it's a pig to get into the subframe. I ended up filing the steel washers to form a taper and so drive them in between the bush and the subframe tubes. That was still very difficult and involved tapered punches, a slotted punch (slot means you can drive a washer in on its edge) and finally a 6inch bolt with the end filed to form a taper.

The poly bushes for the top wishbones (first time I've used these as they were not available in this form before), seem OK. Again, a small amount of excess poly material as they bulge out of the upper arms once the inner tube is in place but as they are not limited by the installation in the same way that the lower one is it's OK.

Then comes the damper (OK, I'd put the spring on, tried and realised the damper will not go in the way the OEM ones come out, so the spring was removed again), I had to do the usual trick of threaded bar and a pair of nuts to expand the lower link at the point the damper secures to it. Even having opened it up 1mm-2mm I still had to taper an edge of the spacer and then drive it into place with a punch and big hammer (the bolt with a taper came into play again).
annoying thing with the dampers, the adjuster may contact with the spring. If it does it will come off.


The ARB is not back in place, and it's not for want of effort but I gave up and decided it's much easier once the other side mount is removed and I can fit the ARB to both sides at the same time then secure in place with the new poly ARB mounting bushes.