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“In this assembly session you will assemble part of the right rear suspension, preparing the leaf spring that will subsequently be attached to the chassis.”

The description above is what is actually printed in the instructions, but it is incorrect for what we will be doing in this stage. This stage is about attaching the leaf springs we just built to the Rear Axle assembly.

Contents

Parts

Materials: We are on a roll, all of these parts are metal too!

Tools

• Hex Key

Build

Attaching the Leaf Springs to the Axle

Stage 40.1

Secure the ‘eye’ end of a Rear Shock Absorber Rod to the corner hole of the Left Leaf Spring Plate (marked with ‘L’) with one (1) AM screw, as shown.

This is your friendly reminder to try using 3-in-One Oil on all screws going into metal:

Stage 40.2

Retrieve your Rear Axle assembly from Stage 37 and your Left Rear Leaf Spring assembly from Stage 38. Fit the center hole of the Left Rear Leaf Spring over this post of the Rear Axle assembly:

There is a locating pin on the Rear Axle that will only allow this leaf spring assembly to fit one way, as shown:

Fit the Left Leaf Spring Plate assembly we just built over the top hole of the Left Rear Leaf Spring, making sure the Rear Shock Absorber Rod is facing inwards and down, as shown:

Secure the Left Leaf Spring Plate and Left Rear Leaf Spring to the Rear Axle with one (1) FM screw, as shown.

In the picture below, you may notice the wear marks from the nuts we are adding in the next step. I got through that step before I realized we needed this FM screw first. I wanted to share what it should look like at this stage, so I removed them to take the photograph:

Stage 40.3

Slide two U Hooks up from underneath the Rear Axle assembly and through these holes of the Left Leaf Spring Plate:.

For better visibility of these U Hooks (U bolts) in place, I turned the Rear Axle assembly over to take this picture. Make sure your U Hooks do not go over the silver Brake Hoses – they should be right up against the axle:

Stage 40.4

Using the supplied Hex Key tool, tighten a Hex Nut onto the end of each U Hook.

These Hex Nuts should be tightened evenly, but do not over-tighten them. The FM screw holds this assembly together and we don’t want to break the thin U Hooks:

Finally, let’s make sure this leaf spring assembly is straight and perpendicular to the Rear Axle, as shown:

Stage 40.5

In a similar way as before, secure the ‘eye’ end of a Rear Shock Absorber Rod to the corner hole of the Right Leaf Spring Plate (marked with ‘R’) with one (1) AM screw, as shown:

Stage 40.6

Retrieve your Right Rear Leaf Spring assembly from the previous stage. In the same way as the previous step, fit the center hole of the Right Rear Leaf Spring over the post of the Rear Axle assembly. Then, fit the Right Leaf Spring Plate assembly over the top hole of the Right Rear Leaf Spring, making sure the Rear Shock Absorber Rod is facing inwards and down as shown:

Secure the Right Leaf Spring Plate and Right Rear Leaf Spring to the Rear Axle with one (1) FM screw, as shown:

Stages 40.7-40.8

As before, slide two U Hooks up from underneath the Rear Axle assembly and through the holes of the Right Leaf Spring Plate, then tighten a Hex Nut onto the end of each U Hook:

Thoughts

This was a fun stage! In all of my previous partwork vehicle builds, I have never had to install axle U bolts before. It is a really nice detail. The two unused Rear Shock Absorber Cylinders/Springs and the remaining screws will be needed in the next stage, so keep them all safe for now.

Next Up

 Stage 41 – Rear Left Wheel