Hi Jeff,
Well, I would say the time is right for a rebuild on the front end. If you
want to swap to disk wheels, now is the time.
The only thing that is slightly expensive it the King pins. They have to be
reamed with the right tool to fit and get aligned properly. It is like a line
bore on the cam bearings. The other part is cheap.
One warning, Be careful of fully charged springs, they can and have broken
peoples various body parts. If you hang the front end, I then use the jack
under the spring pan while I loosen the upper bolt. Then gently lower the pan
and release the tension.
An option is to purchase a spring compressor from some where.
Soapy water works good to insert the bushings.
Rick
Jeff Boatright wrote:
> Dear Spridgeteers,
>
> Sorry I don't have anything to add to the weight and balance thread- I'm of
> average dimensions. Anwyay, the other day, I hit a heck of a pothole and
> later noticed that the steering seemed slightly less precise. Also, I now
> have a vibration that comes on right at 50 mph that was never there before.
> So, I did a few standard checks and here's what I found:
>
> I jacked the front up until the tires were off the ground. Grasping the
> tires at top and bottom and rocked the wheel in and out. There was a little
> movement that did NOT go away when my wife pressed hard on the brake pedal.
> This suggests worn king pin bushes. I found this on both front wheels.
> Also, I tried moving the tires up and down. On the right side only, I got
> some movement and 'knocking' noise, suggesting some king pin end float.
> Also on the right side only, all three of the bolts that attach the damper
> to the car were loose. In fact, the inner one appears to be stripped and is
> not providing much is anny compression to the attachment! I have no idea
> how long this has been in this state, though I did torque all 6 of these
> bolts last winter. This was the side that hit the terrific pothole, though,
> so maybe the bolt actually snapped. Finally, with the brakes applied, I
> tired rotating the tires back and forth. ON the right side only, I got a
> bit of rotational movement, suggesting that the upper outer damper bushes
> are worn or that the damper lever arm is loose on it's shaft. I haven't had
> a chance to do any more diagnostics.
>
> I have now just about used up all of the spridget budget for the year, but
> several of these conditions seem to me to be dangerous, so I'm ready to
> dive in. The damper bolt of course, will need to be replaced at a minimum.
> But, it looks like I may as well replace all of the front suspension
> bushes. While I'm at it, would this be a good time to make any worthwhile
> but inexpensive mods? That is, would this be the time to replace standard
> components with offset bushes. If so, what are sources and approximate
> costs relative to standard? Finally, would this be a good time to switch
> to steel wheels? I have all of the components (the car originally came with
> steel wheels). If so, what does this entail?
>
> Sorry for the length of the post. Nobody can say that we don't get
> technical enough around here! I appreciate any comments from "We tight" to
> "pay a mechanic" and anything in between (though my favorite LBC mech just
> told me this morning that he's stacked up through next week).
>
> Jeff
>
> Jeffrey H. Boatright, PhD
> Senior Editor, Molecular Vision
> http://www.molvis.org/molvis
> Mailto:jboatri@emory.edu
> 404-778-4113
--
52 MGTD,Sparky 74 MGB, B-tris 76 XJ12 Coupe, Jacque
60 Bugeye, Puddles 58 MGA Coupe, Ruby
http://www.softcom.net/users/walters
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Acres/4644
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