Keith, thanks for your post regarding TR6 front end refurbishing. Turns
out I just did the same job on my '75 TR6 about 2 weekends ago, and can
appreciate your comments. My job was made a whole lot easier by having
access to my younger brother's fully equipped professional garage,
complete with hydraulic lift, air tools, good lighting, etc., etc. What
a blessing to not have to work laying on my back or hunched over on my
knees!
I purchased the stock bushing kit from TRF, also ball joints and outer
tie rod ends and sway bar bushings. Everything fit perfectly and the
bushing kit was complete, except the cotter pin holes in the new TRF
trunnion bolts were drilled off center (a minor annoyance all tolled).
For me the hard part was pressing out the old control arm bushings, then
finding the right size drifts and receivers to press in the new ones
without damage.
My brother has a $32000 computerized alignment rack (by Bear), with
which we ran a 4-wheel thrust alignment once the front end was
completed. Here's a good one, though: each rear outer control arm shim
changes the toe-in for that rear wheel by about 5 mm, but the toe-in
specification is 0 to 1.6 mm. We couldn't get it right, and neither
could we find any information about varying shim thicknesses. Finally
we settled for getting both rear wheels at the same toe-in, about 2.5 mm
each side. Aligning the front end was a breeze by comparison,
especially when you can watch the computer screen in real time as you
make each adjustment -- what a tool!
During our battle with the rear wheel toe-in, I noticed that the control
arm bushings are beginning to sag there too; guess that job gets put on
the list!
Final comment: We could not replace the front sway bar mounting
bushings because the nuts which secure the two U-bolts are hidden by the
radiator -- we could figure no way to get a wrench anywhere near them.
Seems like this *should-be-simple* job requires radiator removal! Any
suggestions?
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