>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 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?
Robert:
It is my understanding that you will never find a TR, or perhaps any other
car that uses shims, with equal numbers of shims installed on opposite
sides. This is not to say that yours hasn't been damaged, mind you... but
the manufacturing tolerances for the chassis are not really very tight, so
the shims account for this.
>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.
I would say that this has been adjusted to compensate for the accident
damage. However, I would also say that, for the same reasons described for
the shims, they will never be equal, exactly. But, a half an inch seems
like a large discrepancy!
>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.
It would be best if you could have the frame straightened here... that
kinking of the support beam.. (the one that goes toward the rear and down
from the turret, right?) has surely left you with a lot of positive castor,
and since the kink is not equal, well, who knows. I am not familiar enough
with these sorts of repairs to tell you whether or not it would be cost
effective. I'm sure it could be done, but I would expect that perhaps the
entire turret assemblies on your car have been tweaked as well, and may
also need to be replaced. Have you thoroughly inspected the rest of the
frame? It may be damaged elsewhere, too. Is there any buckling at all
right where the frame rails, aft of the front suspension, curve outward?
Good Luck!
Pete Chadwell
1973 TR6
|