Chuck,
When you took out the old fulcrum pin, did you notice wear in one
spot along its length? This wear will correspond to an equal amount of
wear in the lower a-arm bushings. All the weight of the suspension is at
the bottom of the bushings. The movement of the wheel going up and down
coupled with the fact that this contact will push most of the
lubrication right out of that spot makes for accelerated wear. You need
to grease this more often than recommended, in my opinion.
Apple Hydraulics sells the bushes alone if your handy with a brazing
torch. Use a new fulcrum pin for alignment, then throw it away. You've
changed the temper. Or, they will replace them for you. Send them you
lower a-arms for cores and they will send you replacements. Peter C. at
NOSImports also does this. (I trust him more).
Do them both. Might as well start with no wear on both sides. You
don't want to screw the fulcrum pin in "all the way" because it has to
rotate in both directions for the lower a-arm to go up and down anyway.
I personally found out the little wedge pins included in these kits are
tough to line up, won't always go in all the way, go in too far just a
pain in the neck. You may have to source a few pairs to experiment with
and be ready to grind a little off the flat face to make it fit.
Remember, you are only lining the two flat surfaces up by eye when you
install the fulcrum pin and when you tap that wedge pin in, the fulcrum
pin will turn a little anyway.
Hope this helps. I just finished a total rebuild of my Bugeye front
suspension and did exactly as you are doing. Your first drive will make
you glad you did. Good luck.
Mike Maclean-60 Sprite
Chuck Ciaffone wrote:
> Think I gotta problem here.
>
> I just received a Major Front-Suspension kit, had
> the bushes reamed into the swing axles, and started to
> reassemble.
>
> BTW: When I disassembled the wishbones, the funcrum pins seemed
> to screw out fine and the threads LOOKED OK to me.
>
> The right side went back together like a dream. No play/no slop.
>
> Then I installed the left-side kingpin in its wishbone. Pin
> threaded in ok. Seemed nice and snug. But .. when I tapped the
> tapered pin in place the fulcrum pin unthreaded just a hair --
> but enuff to cause all kinds of slop. My guess -- the threads
> in the wishbone are shot (it's a new fulcrum pin).
>
> Questions:
>
> 1. Maybe I didn't get the fulcrum pin in all the way the
> first time -- I guess I can try to clean out the wishbone
> threads and try again.
>
> 2. Can I have the threaded bushesin the wishbone replaced
> (welded and re-threaded)?
>
> 3. Should I just order a replacement wishbone?
>
> 4. I one is shot, should I not replace the other too just
> to be safe?
>
> Dumb questions, I know; but it's my first front end job
> and I'm learning as I go.
>
> thanx
>
> chuck
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