3.3. DISMANTLING THE CHASSIS

Remove the following parts from the chassis. You will no longer need them

· Front and rear bumper and associated brackets.

 · Bonnet lock.

 · Undo both bolts (16/17 mm) at the rear of the gearbox. Do not take them out, undoing them for 1 to 2 mm will be sufficient.

 · Next, undo the two bolts (16/17 mm) that attach the engine to the chassis at the front.

 · Undo the negative battery cable connection from the gearbox.

 · Undo the complete handbrake control lever assembly from the chassis (four M7 bolts, socket 11mm).

 · Engine and gearbox can now be lifted off the chassis in an upwards direction.

 · Undo the wheel nuts.

 · Lift the rolling chassis and place it on axle stands, so that the wheels can rotate freely.

 · Remove the wheels.

 · Undo the front two shock absorber mounting nuts.

 · Identify the front axle cover plates with L and R, so to prevent mistakes when they are refitted.

 · Undo the front axle cover plates. The shock absorber connects to this plate. Each plate is fixed with three M9 bolts (use socket 14mm to undo them) Make sure to keep the bolts; they are extremely rare and cannot be found in the local hardware store!

 · Remove all four shock absorbers by undoing the relevant nuts (socket 18 or 19). Make sure to keep the thicker as well as the thinner washers and remember their position! If the shock absorbers are greasy or even leaking, you can be sure they are past their prime and need to be replaced.

 · Undo the shock absorber studs from the chassis (socket 26). These are known to be very tight so generously apply the relevant WD-40 lubricant before hand.

 · Remove the spring clips from the knife-edges. These are located in the end pieces on the adjusting rods coming out of the spring canisters. This way the connection between the front and rear axles is undone.

 · Clearly indicate the front of each spring canister even though this is already done by the Av (=Avant = Front) character sequence, however the identification is often invisible due to dirt and under body coating. Pull the spring canister forwards in order to remove it from the chassis. Do this so the trailing tie-rod neatly shifts along its chassis bracket.

 · Remove the petrol tank bracket by undoing its four M9 (socket 14mm) bolts. Again, save the M9 bolts carefully.

 · Drain the petrol tank carefully.

 · Remove the petrol tank. More recent 2CV's have a plastic tank with a 25 litres capacity. A sheet metal tank will not fit a Burton and only has a 20 litres capacity. Save the rubber connecting tube between tank and filler tube. First undo the petrol line and then undo the four M7 (socket 11mm) bolts. Save all metal and plastic filler plates and washers used in fixing the petrol tank and remember where they were situated!

 · Undo the brake line at the “T” coupling at the rear axle.

 · Apply penetrating oil to the tubular sections with threaded ends.

 · Try to undo the tubular sections using a large BAHCO. If the tubular section turns together with the BAHCO, you will have to drill a 6 millimetres hole in between the two threaded sections and put a M6 bolt in it to prevent the tubular section from turning freely.

 · In almost all cases, it should be possible to cut the front tubular section from the chassis.

 · Undo the rear end piece on the adjusting rod.

 · Undo the rear nut from the rear tubular section.

 · Remove the spring canister in forward direction.

 · Both axles can now be removed, but first the washer tabs need to be knocked back. If needed you can turn the chassis upside down so access will be much easier. First, “scare” the bolts by hitting them hard with a hammer. To undo the bolts, use a hexagonal ring spanner, other spanners will slip! Fix the spanner to the bolt using an appropriate clamp to make sure the spanner cannot slip off the bolt. Remove both axles from the chassis and do not forget the aluminium filler plates used for the rear axle. They will be needed when the axles are reassembled. Make sure to remember which part fits where. If required, make a diagram and take plenty of pictures!

 · Undo the front axles rubber bump stops as mounted on the side of the chassis.

 · Remove brake- and fuel lines. Decide if they need to be replaced. The fuel line often can be re-used. Original brake lines are made of steel and therefore prone to rust and rot. It is highly recommended to replace the brake lines by new ones made out of a copper-nickel alloy. The metal brackets used to fixate the brake lines inside the inner rear axle tube will then have to be re-used. Remove the brake lines carefully if you intend to re-use them.

 · If you have decided to use a new chassis, save the original chassis number by grinding the relevant part from the chassis. As mentioned earlier: make sure what the requirements are in the country you want the car to be registered. Rules still vary widely inside the EEC!!

 · Save the chassis number part, along with the 2CV’s papers and the aluminium identification plate.

· Check the complete chassis to make sure you did not miss any bits and/or pieces.