[neilgoulsbra]

Good day all, I am new here and new to Rolls Royce in general,
A Friend has the above car and wants me to replace the rear suspension sphere's.
I have removed the bulkhead in the boot and although I can see the spheres there is a large metal frame blocking my access (I am assuming it is part of the roof assy) Do I need to remove this frame? or is there a better way of getting to the spheres?
Thank you all in advance for your help.

 

[Wraithman]

TSD4406 Your info will be found in the factory service manual here.

https://heritage.bentleymotors.com/en/technical-library/1980-1998

 

[FLYER34]

Not sure about your early Corniche.
On my much later car, rear spheres are accessed by removing the rear seat :

Operations 7 to 9 inclusive are applicable only to Corniche/Continental cars.
7. Carefully remove the rear seat cushion.
8. Remove the rear seat squab.
9. Release and remove the hood well trim to gain access to the rear suspension strut spheres.

TSD 4700

https://bmlec1heritageimages01s3.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/technical-library/TSD4700.pdf

 

[Quido]

Is the roof up?
It has to be up

 

[guyslp]

Just as an aside, photos really do help. They often say more than a thousand words.

 

[Quido]

Corniche spheres are changed inside the car , carefully , and with a specific procedure

 

[guyslp]

As an aside:
Part number GMF1054, seal between the gas spring (rear accumulator) and strut, is not an O-ring, but a square ring. These are square in profile, like a slice off the end of a piece of hose. The material is Buna and the size is ISO 3601 A-type metric spec A-127.

 

[dumbill]

Hi, just something to be aware of when the spheres are fitted and the rear seats are being replaced ensure the headlining does not get trapped by the seat because if you don't notice and send the roof back it will damage the headlining. I have seen this happen whilst working in Oman and the car had to be sent to Al Habtoor in Dubai for expensive repairs.

 

[hopeful2021]

I can't find the exact video right now but I'm sure I watched one with this guy changing the spheres on a Corniche: https://youtube.com/@classicobsession-garymaver9167

 

[Wraithman]

Mavers has an early Corniche vs the one here which is a 1985 with "gas Springs".

 

[Quido]

Is the op still around ?
If so I will give my procedure

 

[Jim Walters]

Quido, go ahead and post the procedure. If the OP doesn't see it at least it will be in the thread for future searchers of the information.

 

[Quido]

My procedure 1980 and 1981 Corniche .. will be similar
Close the roof
Depressurize hydraulic system as per workshop instructions.
Without starting the car move the front seats all the way forward and roll down all windows
Fold the front seats forward
Remove the rear seat cushion from car.
Your going to be on your knees in a very cramped position so put some deep foam down.
Remove the rear seat back by undoing two screws at the base .
Lift seat back up and out.
Remove parcel shelf
Gently lift the base of the headliner from the deck shelf ... use painters tape to support it well out of the way. Protect the headliner and be aware of it.
Remove the two aluminum sphere covers to expose the spheres.
Use a chain wrench to remove the spheres , use a new seal on the sphere.
Sometimes there is no room for a chain wrench and you have to remove the 3 Allen screws holding the adapter to the ram. If you do this make sure you get new o rings for the top of the ram.
Watch that green fluid, you don’t want it running down into the truck or getting near the headliner. Yes it happens !
George

 

[Jim Walters]

Thanks for posting that procedure Quido.

 

[Quido]

You are welcome
I hope it helps someone.
George

 

[neilgoulsbra]

Thank you all, you have confirmed my suspisions. I will attack it once I have his E Type Jag back on the road.

 

[nwcorniche82]

I might add that it helps to partially block the roof open about 6"'s to unload the headliner - particularly for reattaching the headliner. I replaced my wood screws with phillips heads which couldn't be smaller.

 

[neilgoulsbra]

Gents, Thank you all for your help. I did them this afternoon. Once the seat was out (which was easy) it was straight forward. The car is now sat at the correct height, and glides down the road.

Now just need to find and fix the oil leak and the owner will be happy

 

[neilgoulsbra]

Hi, just something to be aware of when the spheres are fitted and the rear seats are being replaced ensure the headlining does not get trapped by the seat because if you don't notice and send the roof back it will damage the headlining. I have seen this happen whilst working in Oman and the car had to be sent to Al Habtoor in Dubai for expensive repairs.

Thank you for the tip. I am based in Dubai, and your right it costs a fortune just to call Al Habtoor :-D