Robert,
Not all control arms will have the same amount of shims.Ask Bill Wood
from the TCOC.I had to put at least 4 shims in the rear control arm on one
side to bring the rear toe in.
I sounds like the car has had a bump up sometime or another.If you
know of a alignment shop that can give you the readings of all four wheels,
then let them do it. The readings will give you all the angles and can tell
you if the car has been hit, and corrected if it had. Also ask to find out the
turning radius on the car .They can do it for you, don't let them tell you
they can't. Because my machine can.
What you need to look for is the rear thrust angle. This will tell
you how the rear of the car is tracking. Also look at the front set-back.
This will tell you if the car is square.It measures the wheelbase for you.
If the car has been hit and the alignment is out of spec,see if it
can be aligned.This will help you on your tire wear.Also saves you money.
If not then a frame shop will have to do some work.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, check the alignment first, it can
tell you a lot about the car and what to do to it.
Kevin Andrews
Siler City,NC
TR-250(CD7766L)
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From: Robert J Carley[SMTP:rcarley@uoguelph.ca]
Sent: Saturday, January 04, 1997 2:21 PM
To: triumphs@autox.team.net
Subject: 73 TR6 front suspension
A question to the list?.
While rebuilding my front suspension, I noticed that both of the 'side
brace sub-assemblies', that is, the bars that run from the frame up to
brace the 'turret assemblies' on the front suspension are both kinked a
little, right where they join the turret assemblies. The driver's side is
a little worse than the passenger side.
I assume this means that at one time some impact caused these to kink.
I also noticed that there was unequal placement of shims where the lower
wishbones bolt to the frame. On the driver's side, there was one shim at
the rear wishbone and none at the front wishbone. On the passenger's
side, there was one shim at the front wishbone and none at the rear
wishbone. Should there be equal shims at each wishbone on each side?
In addition, on the driver's side the tie rod length was shorter than
on the passenger side; i.e. the tie rod end on the driver's side was
screwed on more than the tie rod end on the passenger's side. The
difference was quite noticeable, about .5 inch or more. The factory
manual indicates that both tie rods should be of equal length to ensure
proper turning geometry.
Does this setup indicate an attempt to compensate for slight damage to the
side brace sub-assemblies i.e. 'shifting' the front suspension slightly;
is it sloppy alignment work that someone has carried out; or are the
shim placements and unequal tie rod length normal?
If this is an attempt to compensate for frame damage, is it possible to
have this damage corrected? Or, is it necessary to repair the side
braces- can I just replace the front suspension components as they were
-shims, tierod, etc. The car steered fine before.
Any advice would be appreciated. I'm still learning about Triumphs,
(and LBC's in general) after having had a bugeye and a TD.
P.S. I have used terminology from the TRF spare parts catalogue to
describe the above components.
Thanks
Robert Carley
Ontario, Canada
73 TR6 being restored
66 MGB in pieces
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