Where in the hell are the washers?

My bike is half a 1500cc cobra motor, lol. At75-85hp, that makes sense, lol. I like our lash adjusters better.
I'm going to pull the carbs tomorrow and go thru them.
I need to buy bike oil and a filter.
I'll need to lube cables,get a battery, and see what the chain looks like. 17 years...
 
Went to a different shop, they said not only were the inner tie rods bad, but also that my arms had already failed. most likely because of the abuse from the strut rod failures, bushings were trashed and i didnt realize it.

Also said the last shop didn't grease any of the new parts and or used shit grease..? idk there. It has already been a few months and i was thinking the grease may just be dirty already.. but with all the things the other shop did i wouldnt be suprised

quoted right around 1100$ after alignment... outers, rack/inners, rack bushings, and lower arms.

Bright side is this shop is also running with napa stuff, so he is warrantying all the parts they screwed


I will still avoid mentioning names of the shops just to avoid a shit storm, but it disappoints me. They used to do good work for me. made my 97 cougar ride beautifully, but that was when another guy ran it and they had more than one guy there that knew how to do suspension work (same one that forgot my washers, and installed the first set of strut rod bushings that exploded)
 
Welp, strut rod bushings are loose again....

good news is i found a shop that talks and acts like they understand my frustration, but they cant get me in until Wednesday

Said that the prior shop didnt grease any of the new parts they installed (all of which haD ZERKS), AND or just used crappy grease.

and i was quoted about 1100$ for outer tie rods, rack/ rack bushings, lower control arms (bushings have already blown out), and rechecking strut rods because they were probably not torqued properly and or they used the wrong sleeve and not the ones in the kit i supplied. just really wouldnt suprise me at this point




but for the mean time.. can i loosen the front nut for the strut rods on ramps, let it sag and settle a bit, check the sleeve, and retorque them myself without an alignment? Im wanting to bet they put the split sleeve in instead of the solid one, and or its just not torqued properly. im audibly hearing them pop and having them fail so many times before i know its them but the bushings themselves look fine

Edit: i am now realizing this to be a double take of what ive already stated, but i am curious if i can do the front strut rod, check sleeve on ramps
 
If you don't have one, go buy a grease gun, and a tube of moly based grease for it.
I have two, one for silicone grease for the poly bushings.
I hit all those fittings every oil change, until grease weeps from the boot.
Swaybar endlinks with zerk fittings, and regular grease was the key to those lasting.
 
Grog6 said:
If you don't have one, go buy a grease gun, and a tube of moly based grease for it.
I have two, one for silicone grease for the poly bushings.
I hit all those fittings every oil change, until grease weeps from the boot.
Swaybar endlinks with zerk fittings, and regular grease was the key to those lasting.
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alright i will next time im in parts store.. also.. i tightened my front strut rod nut but noticed that on the passenger side there were more threads? Arent the strut rods supposed to be pretty even if everything else is tight? they did align it but poorly since other things they couldnt find were broken.

It also looks like the sleeve isnt coming out to the end of the bushing. Its not a split sleeve so i think they used the right sleeve, but it just looks like it is buried too far in on one side and i believe that is my popping noise because it got worse torquing the nuts on the end a bit more...

and i was only able to get them to 90ft lbs....? Lots of resistance past that
 
Dude, that is an alignment point. That needs to be set by a tech, on a machine. That sets the length if the strut rod. There are two nuts on that end. If you only moved the outer one, you should be ok.
 
Grog6 said:
Dude, that is an alignment point. That needs to be set by a tech, on a machine. That sets the length if the strut rod. There are two nuts on that end. If you only moved the outer one, you should be ok.
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Alright i understand, i only removed the front nut, but before i even touched them i noticed one side had more threads sticking out than the other
 
i take it this is normal, the strut rods being set in different lengths with how it was aligned.

Im just curious why they continue to pop but aside from one of the sleeves being deeper in/ more threads i cant see anything wrong with the strut rods
 
I'd take a tape measure, and see how close they are to the same length; a car with no wrecks, they should be the same.
 
The lengths shouldn’t be that different, the compressed length of the bushings should be identical on both side, the sleeves should be right up against the washers
 
XR7-4.6 said:
The lengths shouldn’t be that different, the compressed length of the bushings should be identical on both side, the sleeves should be right up against the washers
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Yeah on both sides they are kind of buried in. I believe the side with less threads was the one that cut me off gaurd cause it looks fairly deep while the passenger side with more threads almost looked flush to the washer but still tucked in a little bit
 
LukesCougar said:
Yeah on both sides they are kind of buried in, the side with less threads more so and I couldn't get either of them to torque to spec.
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Don’t worry about spec, the factory spec is intertwined to the collapsable sleeves that preload the rubber, with solid sleeves when they stop they stop. I’m not even sure i torqued mine to a specific number when I installed them

My question is is one side compressing more than the other, if so I’d suspect a damaged thread on the strut rod jamming up the nut when its threads cross it. Otherwise I’m kind of at a loss
 
Only reason they wouldn't be the same lengthis something bent, or someone moved both bolts. When I replaced Lazarus's with thermoplasticdue to destroying the originals, I put them together badly. The alignment guy was WTF? and charged me shop time, rather than normal rate, lol. I found original bushing kits as the thermoplastic disintegrated in a year, lol.
 
Grog6 said:
I'd take a tape measure, and see how close they are to the same length; a car with no wrecks, they should be the same.
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Alright. I will here when it is daylight again.


XR7-4.6 said:
Don’t worry about spec, the factory spec is intertwined to the collapsable sleeves that preload the rubber, with solid sleeves when they stop they stop. I’m not even sure i torqued mine to a specific number when I installed them

My question is is one side compressing more than the other, if so I’d suspect a damaged thread on the strut rod jamming up the nut when its threads cross it. Otherwise I’m kind of at a loss
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Yes one I could torque up a bit more but I couldn't get them both to the same tightness, and by hand feel one felt to give a bit more
 
Grog6 said:
Only reason they wouldn't be the same lengthis something bent, or someone moved both bolts. When I replaced Lazarus's with thermoplasticdue to destroying the originals, I put them together badly. The alignment guy was WTF? and charged me shop time, rather than normal rate, lol. I found original bushing kits as the thermoplastic disintegrated in a year, lol.
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Lol sounds like fun, and to be fair the tech guy at the shop I WAS going to. Is known for faking alignments apparently.

I seriously thought that they may of just been adjusted to compensate for something that is bad but I didn't know how even they are supposed to be drivers/ passenger side
 
When I say same lengths, I mean from theend of the strut rod in front, to the LCA; that's the effective length of the strut.
 
The bushings compress and deform over time, but the hard points need to be in the same spots. :)
 
Grog6 said:
The bushings compress and deform over time, but the hard points need to be in the same spots. :)
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So the points as in the ends of the strut rod point to point? and aside from improper installation/ alignment they could possibly be bent making one or the other shorter correct?

I still have oem rears, and the lincoln continental fronts which all look pristine
 
That, or misadjustment. As long as there's no play in the bushings it's good. If you can move it 1/4" either way, not so much. :)
 
Talking to the new mech about rebuilding the front. He pointed out the difference between the trw parts and the moog parts the old shop installed.

I didn't realize there was this big of a difference in the control arms

1000013225.jpg
I think im in pretty good hands. He is actually being particular about parts and making sure everything lines up before it's rebuilt. I'm gonna spend a pretty penny. Having rack, rack bushings, outer tie rods/ inners, and both lcas replaced. Trw parts aside from the rack i think, rack bushings are trw natural rubber

why are the aftermarket arms/ srbs so dog shit aside from talking about thermogarbage? Seems like all the parts are just made shitty. Not just the bushings but the parts themselves are different lengths ect and he suggested it was poorly aligned, and binding/ popping, because of a combo of the strut rod failures and poor quality control arms.
 
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I take it the arms on the right accommodate the moog style bushings while the left accommodates the oem style correct?
 
The Raybestos high grade ones were the best I found, then they were apparently sold as a company, and several other vendors sold them. AC Delco was one, as the gold looking joints are a chevy design that's in a shitload of cars. I'm hunting those when I need a set, as those joints will be available forever. The common ID was Blue Poly boots, gold joints, and zerk fittings.

These are the current ones:
 
I don't think the arms are different lengths. I think it is more how they are set on the table and the angle of the picture. Moog parts are okay and frankly about as good as you are going to get these days. Back in the day Spicer/TRW/Dana/Federal Mogul was pretty much top of the line. That company has split and been divided, sold off, put back together and split again i don't know what it is any more. Most TRW stuff is made it Taiwan anymore. Do you know where those arms were made? Insteresting that they are using the OEM style clear ball joint boots.
 
KevinVarnes said:
I don't think the arms are different lengths. I think it is more how they are set on the table and the angle of the picture. Moog parts are okay and frankly about as good as you are going to get these days. Back in the day Spicer/TRW/Dana/Federal Mogul was pretty much top of the line. That company has split and been divided, sold off, put back together and split again i don't know what it is any more. Most TRW stuff is made it Taiwan anymore. Do you know where those arms were made? Insteresting that they are using the OEM style clear ball joint boots.
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Im not exactly sure where they were made. ordered from "rareparts"

Also the pic doesnt do it justice, but i had the arms side by side and one is slightly longer or has a thinner steel casting relative to the bushing locations making it look shorter

edit: main concern for me is the difference in where the strut rod bushings seat
 
Bad news guys. :(

Drivers side strut rod was stripped (by the previous shop) , and popping persists, frame holes may not be too happy or the bushings themselves are too firm. He got everything torqued properly, and aligned, and he just doesnt seem to think the strut rod setup as it is will ever be clunk free

He did mention the possibility of the shocks themselves binding on turns/ slopes, but we seem to both agree that the strut rods/ frame holes might be damaged (im more on the side of frame hole because of the first couple sets of bushings that literally exploded) and i have taken my sway bar inlinks off and drove around to still have the same result, but i may revisit that idea because i only drove around the lot and probably didnt get a good feel. I have also loosened the front shocks and let the car settle, and re torqued- still popping

He rethreaded the strut rods, but still doesnt think the setup as it is will be happy.


where im at now, and the good news:

the car overall drives amazing now, he did a way better job than the last shops tech did. He also owns the shop and actually touches the cars (opposed to another shop in question).. We are just gonna have to figure out what in the world is causing the popping considering 90 percent of the front end is brand new and tight with the obvious 10 percent being the strut rods themselves. So taking it back in to recheck the alignment and the front- frame bushings after some driving.

Whats next?

1. Damaged frame hole/ lincoln continental bushings not too happy - i saw something about oversized washers at the frame?

2. Coilover/ shock assembly - monroes? Cant seem to find any kyb. I currently have a cheapo set of fcs shocks

3. Something overlooked like the sway bar/ inlinks
 
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