Joey
Dave's right about the fulcrum pins. As he related my son
was stopped at a light waiting to turn left, The light
changed green and he started his turn when the right lower
failed. After hitting an Explorer and rolling it over, he
took out a light pole. He was not hurt but the car is
still waiting for me to start repairs. It needs a complete
front clip, radiator, engine main bearings checked, cross
member fixed, new A-arm, etc.
I have written many times on this net that the pins are a time
bomb waiting to happen. As my friend with a Phd in failure
analysis says: 'Every pin no matter what its composition will
fail in this application. Its not a question of if just when.
When it fails the crack will progress at about 600 ft/sec.
Considering the pin is only 3/4 in across, it does take long
for the pin to break thru. Unfortunately the cracks are usually hidden in the
A-arm sleeve. The pins have to be
removed and maganfluxed and microscopically checked. Even
doing this will not guarantee that just after you reinstall the pins, that a
pin will break backing out of the garage.
His advice and mine are:
Replace the pins with the best pin you can afford. Doug
Jennings makes some nice 4140 steel pins. Then install John
Logan fix. As he will confirm, his fix will not prevent the
pin from failing, it MAY give you enough control to stop
the car.
My friend says: Drive the car and enjoy it for
what its is. But be careful and wear a seat belt.
Consult TigersUnited about how to reinforce the from cross
member and welding the ball joint rings.
Brakes are very important and must be addressed also, but it
sure helps to be able to steer the car. I have seen many races
where a car has lost its brakes but continues racing. But
none continue when the steering fails.
Dave
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