Hey All,
This may get long winded, as the issue is a bit difficult to explain. I am hoping for comments/thoughts to either confirm or dispute my concerns/fears and my intended solutions on my 68 Coupe. Pics first:
Right side not too bad:
Driver side not so good:
The problem, as I see it, starts with the LCA bushings being "pressed" into place. As the pics show, the control arms have moved/slid forward on the outer bushing sleeves, sometime after installation, with the driver side unit actually having the front, rolled edge of the arm make contact with the channel on the frame. This bushing is actually a loose enough fit to allow me to "slide/move" with a pry bar, the arm rearward and forward on the bushing sleeve. It is snug, but not tight. Another compounding factor, as I see it, is that I installed a camber cam eliminator/lock out kit. These kits do not have any type of shoulder or stop on the bolts to limit the amount that the frame channel gets squeezed together, unlike the OEM cam bolt/washer combination that will only tighten so far and then stop. It seems to me that if these bolts are tightened too far, they will squeeze this channel enough to lock the inner sleeve of the bushing, thus only allowing rotational movement by the flexing of the rubber bushing or the outer sleeve spinning in the LCA. I guess one question is, where is the movement intended,
A>The non-locked inner bushing spinning on the bolt
or,
B>The rubber bushing spinning/flexing on the locked inner sleeve?
In my situation, I have the option of going either way, as you can see in the right side pic that I have a crossmember that locks the 2 LCA bolts together and that each bolt has 2 nuts, 1 tightening onto the frame channel (also acting as a spacer between the crossmember and the frame channel) and the second nut holding/locking the crossmember to the other nut and thus the frame channel and also becomes a jamb nut. I realize there are many options, such as rollerized LCAs, etc, that would make this whole discussion moot, but I don't want to go that way.
My intended solutions:
1>Remove LCAs
2>Center the bushings in the LCAs
3>Use 2-3 tack welds to lock bushings into position (quick-small tacks to avoid burning up the rubber)
4> Re-assemble and adjust the tension on the channels/inner bushings as per suggestions, hopefully received here, as to whether the inner bushing should be locked tight or rotating on the bolt.
As always, I am eager for and appreciative of any and all comments, thoughts and/or observations.
Thanx,
Gene
This may get long winded, as the issue is a bit difficult to explain. I am hoping for comments/thoughts to either confirm or dispute my concerns/fears and my intended solutions on my 68 Coupe. Pics first:
Right side not too bad:
Driver side not so good:
The problem, as I see it, starts with the LCA bushings being "pressed" into place. As the pics show, the control arms have moved/slid forward on the outer bushing sleeves, sometime after installation, with the driver side unit actually having the front, rolled edge of the arm make contact with the channel on the frame. This bushing is actually a loose enough fit to allow me to "slide/move" with a pry bar, the arm rearward and forward on the bushing sleeve. It is snug, but not tight. Another compounding factor, as I see it, is that I installed a camber cam eliminator/lock out kit. These kits do not have any type of shoulder or stop on the bolts to limit the amount that the frame channel gets squeezed together, unlike the OEM cam bolt/washer combination that will only tighten so far and then stop. It seems to me that if these bolts are tightened too far, they will squeeze this channel enough to lock the inner sleeve of the bushing, thus only allowing rotational movement by the flexing of the rubber bushing or the outer sleeve spinning in the LCA. I guess one question is, where is the movement intended,
A>The non-locked inner bushing spinning on the bolt
or,
B>The rubber bushing spinning/flexing on the locked inner sleeve?
In my situation, I have the option of going either way, as you can see in the right side pic that I have a crossmember that locks the 2 LCA bolts together and that each bolt has 2 nuts, 1 tightening onto the frame channel (also acting as a spacer between the crossmember and the frame channel) and the second nut holding/locking the crossmember to the other nut and thus the frame channel and also becomes a jamb nut. I realize there are many options, such as rollerized LCAs, etc, that would make this whole discussion moot, but I don't want to go that way.
My intended solutions:
1>Remove LCAs
2>Center the bushings in the LCAs
3>Use 2-3 tack welds to lock bushings into position (quick-small tacks to avoid burning up the rubber)
4> Re-assemble and adjust the tension on the channels/inner bushings as per suggestions, hopefully received here, as to whether the inner bushing should be locked tight or rotating on the bolt.
As always, I am eager for and appreciative of any and all comments, thoughts and/or observations.
Thanx,
Gene
and not afraid to talk about others' products. What you guys said is identical to and total confirmation of what he thought and I had assumed. When I make assumptions, and see more than one possible option of what the truth is, I like to have the actual facts before starting /going off half cocked on a project. Off I go, with tools in hand!
