[DeTomaso] Intersting observations on bushings and ball joints

[Asa Jay Laughton]

Jack,

It wasn't so much shoulders missing from the bushings, they were in fact 
the set from Wilkinson, but that once pressed firmly in place, they 
extended more on the outsides than on the insides of the a-arms.  Width 
wise, they fit perfectly, individually.  But together on one a-arm, the 
total length was too long and I had to muscle them in.  No shims 
required.  I imagine from the pressure exerted from the a-arm, they will 
eventually settle a bit more centered.

Thanks for the advice on the ball joint.  They too are units from 
Wilkinson, which come with a castle nut and the taper stud pre-drilled, 
and he throws in some nice new cotter pins too.  The ones I took off the 
car were also drilled and had castle nuts.  The only nyloc nuts still in 
use are those on the steering rack tie-rod ends.

Asa Jay

Asa Jay Laughton, MSgt, USAFR, Retired

& Shelley Marie
Spokane, WA

1973 Pantera L 5533
[ASASCAT]
    
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http://www.351c.info
  



JDeRyke at aol.com wrote:
> On the shoulders missing from the new a-arm bushings, if you add such things 
> indiscriminately, it varies the caster in the front end alignment. Set the 
> bushings up so the a-arms are pulled toward 
> the front firewall (thus the left & right a-arms will have bushings installed 
> opposite). Then you'll get a desirable increase in caster which vastly helps 
> high speed handling for free. Some vendors sell offset bushings with varying 
> shoulder thicknesses to accomplish this caster increase. I would have used 
> shim-washers to fill any gaps between a-arms & bushings rather than bending the 
> a-arms by graunching on the bolts, but that's just me. The a-arms are only mild 
> steel and typically no harm will be done.
>
> On the tapered stud being slightly too long, add a thin washer of proper hole 
> size under the upright lug to take up the extra space where the stud 
> protrudes. Then the taper on the stud should lock down in the upright hole and the nut 
> will tighten properly. Are you re-using OEM nylocks or are the studs in your 
> ball joints drilled for cotter pins?
>
> >From all this, its pretty obvious these parts are NOT OEM in spite of the 
> pretty logos, but they should work OK- Ford ball joint tapers have not changed 
> since 1957 so the whole world knows its a 1-1/2 degree taper per foot of length- 
> same as some Chrysler models. I'd also bet your wheels will need a toe-in 
> adjustment after all this. I'd do some low-speed testing aroung your home before 
> 'trying the setup out' on a superhighway, too! Good luck- J Deryke
>
>
>
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