Having had to leave the rear shocks and dampers until I iron out a couple of probs I decided to start putting together the front suspension. The lower wishbone was fitted relatively easily remembering to apply copper grease to to all the faces of the polyurethane bushes. The upper wishbone was bolted into place with 1/4" camber spaces as a mean setting. The upright and hub was then fitted and the ball joint nuts torqued up. 
The wishbone nuts were then torqued and the camber was then checked. It was found to be 1/4 of a degree negative which was within the specified range of 0 to 1 degree negative - the important thing is that both front wheels have the same camber.
You will notice from the photos that the hub has been fitted without the brake calliper. There is a good reason for this - all will become clear with time!
One thing that did strike me was how stiff the bushes are. It took considerable force to move the suspension up and down. Polyurethane bushes don't work by twisting like normal bushes rather the wishbones move around them - the interfaces being lubricated (in this case with copper grease). I shall check out whether this is normal or not - I just expected them not to be as stiff - but then the forces I can apply compared to those exerted by the car are two completely different things!
Next jobs are to check castor and hub end float.
2 Comments:
Hi
Thanks foir an excellent reference blog... Where did you obtain the 1/4" camber shims - I recently did my parts order from wards and didn't see them on the parts lists
Hi there,
It was either Wards or SNG Barrat, I'll have a check tomorrow and let you know.
Cheers,
Simon
Post a Comment