Front Suspension

Again, the dampers are short lived. Keep an eye open for leaks from each lever arm bush. Heavy clonks and a car that wanders can be caused by loose bolts holding on the damper. There are four of them.

All the rubber bushed on the front suspension need constant inspecting. They break up quickly once they start. It is VERY IMPORTANT that they are fitted and clamped up with THE CAR ON THE GROUND, STANDING NORMALLY. The car spends 99 percent of its life standing, so the rubber bushes (silentbloc bushes) are unstressed. If you fit new bushes, leave the nuts loose till its off the jack and axle stand, then tighten them up.
Engine oil will destroy the inner lower wishbone bushes. Grease will ruin the outer ones on the kingpin. Grease the kingpin every 1000 miles or be prepared for rapid wear and MOT failures.

Watch the lower spring pan for rust. It can fail with rather dramatic results. The front end of the car nose dives into the tarmac when these rust out. Its design means that it holds water, so dry it out with Waxoyl, or Ziebart. Look very carefully at pre A55 Mk2 cars here.

Rattling from the front end when going over rough roads will be the anti-roll bar rubber buttons having fallen to bits with age (A60 & Variants).

Beware of A60 Spares for all models. The suspension arms and damper arms are LONGER on the A60. Steering items are also longer, and outer track rods have a bend in them to miss the anti-roll bar.

Do not overfill the front wheel bearing with grease. It will expand into the brake drum, past the seal. Look for a thick black trickle (treacle?) running down the inside of the brake back plate inside the drum. This indicates that the seal is about to give up. New seals are cheap.