[DeTomaso] Help needed with lower a-arm shaft kit installation

[Art Stephens]

Charlie,
     One way might be to freeze the part you are trying to install. Freezing 
should temporarily shrink it slightly.

Art


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Charles McCall" <charlesmccall at gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, August 31, 2007 11:00 AM
Subject: [DeTomaso] Help needed with lower a-arm shaft kit installation


> Hi all,
>
> I've had off-line conversations with several people but am currently 
> stumped
> and would like to know who else has done this task looking for other 
> ideas.
>
> I'm told that one of the most overlooked maintenance tasks on the Pantera 
> is
> the lubrication of the lower shaft of the rear suspension - the shaft that
> supports the hub carrier through the lower a-arms.
>
> So I decided to lubricate this part before it was too late and it rusted 
> in
> place.
>
> It was too late. It was rusted in place.
>
> So I ordered a kit with all the parts - all the washers, spacers, sleeves,
> shims, o-rings, the works. And I began cutting stuff apart - cutting 
> between
> the hub carrier and the a-arm to remove the old shaft in three parts.
>
> Long story, horrible task, but it's done.
>
> Turns out that it had only really frozen in one side of the a-arm, and
> moderate pounding removed the offending part.
>
> I am now in the stage of installing the replacements.
>
> The first step is to install two brass bearings in the hub carrier. (I 
> think
> they are brass - they are brass colored and soft metal).
>
> That is done.
>
> The next step is to install the sleeve, through the bearings, and in the 
> hub
> carrier. That's my problem.
>
> Before installing these parts, the clearance between the bearings and the
> sleeve is approximately 1 thousandth of a micron. Installing the bearing 
> in
> the hub carrier compresses it ever so slightly, making it impossible to 
> fit
> the sleeve in the bearing.
>
> I've chamfered the leading edge of the bearing just to insure that it 
> didn't
> get a lip when I pressed it in.
>
> Does anyone else have first-hand experience with this installation? Did 
> they
> have a similar problem?
>
> If you did NOT have a problem, who did you purchase your kit from? The 
> parts
> are all machined to what appears to be a very high tolerance, but it 
> allows
> very little room for error.
>
> If you DID have a problem, how did you solve it? If I just beat the hell 
> out
> of it to get it in, then I've pretty much defeated the purpose of 
> installing
> bearings and lubricating so that everything rotates smoothly.
>
> If you have NOT looked at your lower shaft recently, do so and grease it
> before it is too late. This task is NOT fun.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Charles McCall
> 1985 DeTomaso Pantera GT5-S #9375
> "Raising Pantera Awareness across Europe"
> http://members.aol.com/PanteraGT5S1985/
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