jkgts1 Posted May 9, 2010 Share Posted May 9, 2010 (edited) Hi, for those that are more knowledgable than me, probably most of you, I am installing adjustable rear control arms from T3 (Gabe). I noticed that there is quite a bit of space at the spindle pin pivot point. The arms cam with a set of washers, but even with all the washers used I still have alot of forward and aft movement. Should I just make some spacers to take up the space? It is kind of hard to see in the pic but there is at least a 1/4 inch that is not being filled by the washers. Here is a picture. Edited May 9, 2010 by jkgts1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evildky Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 Hi, for those that are more knowledgable than me, probably most of you, I am installing adjustable rear control arms from T3 (Gabe). I noticed that there is quite a bit of space at the spindle pin pivot point. The arms cam with a set of washers, but even with all the washers used I still have alot of forward and aft movement. Should I just make some spacers to take up the space? It is kind of hard to see in the pic but there is at least a 1/4 inch that is not being filled by the washers. Here is a picture. yes you should shim it, you don't want the upright movign at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 Not only should you shim it, but you should shim it so that the strut lines up correctly with the strut tower up on top. The further from perpendicular you get, the more side load you put in the strut as the suspension compresses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyoctopus Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 on a related note to this, how did you remove your spindle pin? soak it and smack the bolt on the bottom? and yes shim it, make sure there is no binding on the RLCA and then shim the outside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkgts1 Posted May 10, 2010 Author Share Posted May 10, 2010 on a related note to this, how did you remove your spindle pin? soak it and smack the bolt on the bottom? and yes shim it, make sure there is no binding on the RLCA and then shim the outside. Don't smack the bolt too much if it doesnt move, it will just mess the bolt up. I have a press at home and I just pressed one side out, but the other side I had to drill out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkgts1 Posted May 10, 2010 Author Share Posted May 10, 2010 (edited) Not only should you shim it, but you should shim it so that the strut lines up correctly with the strut tower up on top. The further from perpendicular you get, the more side load you put in the strut as the suspension compresses. This was my next question. What is the best way to make sure it is perpendicular? Edited May 10, 2010 by jkgts1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 (edited) What I did was to assemble the suspension without the spring, and set the strut so that it lined up dead centered in my camber plates. If you don't have camber plates, I'd try to line the 3 studs of the top hat with the strut tower, or bolt the strut top in and aim the strut shaft towards the hole in the top hat. Then I said "Screw this!" and made a new control arm where the strut doesn't need to stay perpendicular: http://forums.hybrid...n/page__st__120 I think idea behind the arms in that thread are far superior to anything for sale commercially. Edited May 10, 2010 by JMortensen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkgts1 Posted May 11, 2010 Author Share Posted May 11, 2010 What I did was to assemble the suspension without the spring, and set the strut so that it lined up dead centered in my camber plates. If you don't have camber plates, I'd try to line the 3 studs of the top hat with the strut tower, or bolt the strut top in and aim the strut shaft towards the hole in the top hat. Then I said "Screw this!" and made a new control arm where the strut doesn't need to stay perpendicular: http://forums.hybrid...n/page__st__120 I think idea behind the arms in that thread are far superior to anything for sale commercially. Thanks for the advise. I'll do my best to set it up so it doesn't bind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyoctopus Posted May 11, 2010 Share Posted May 11, 2010 thanks jkgts1 i just ordered a set for myself and will be in the process of doing just that. do you have a pneumatic press or just a hand held crank press? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkgts1 Posted May 11, 2010 Author Share Posted May 11, 2010 (edited) thanks jkgts1 i just ordered a set for myself and will be in the process of doing just that. do you have a pneumatic press or just a hand held crank press? I have a 12 ton hydraulic/ pneumatic press (cheap kind from harbor freight tools), hopefully you will not need to drill out any of the pins like I did. I actually took the pin that I could not get out to John C to have a look at it. He eventually got it out, but not without a fight. I worked on it for months, I was so frustrated with it I would do other things with the car just because I didn't know how to remove it. Edited May 11, 2010 by jkgts1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverarrow27 Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 My set arrived this morning and will be installing this weekend hopefully! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverarrow27 Posted May 17, 2010 Share Posted May 17, 2010 My set arrived this morning and will be installing this weekend hopefully! Installed mine yesterday and I ended up using 4 of those bigger washers on one end and 3 of the smaller ones on the other. I'd have to take a picture of it. It seems to be nice and tight, tried to center it as much as possible. I'll get a photo of it this evening when I get home from work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New-to-240z Posted May 17, 2010 Share Posted May 17, 2010 Please don't laugh at me . . . but what exactly do you mean by shim? Are you saying that you should center the strut such that the space is equal on both sides to allow for the most perpendicular setup possible? (once again, flaming if you must haha) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkgts1 Posted May 18, 2010 Author Share Posted May 18, 2010 Please don't laugh at me . . . but what exactly do you mean by shim? Are you saying that you should center the strut such that the space is equal on both sides to allow for the most perpendicular setup possible? (once again, flaming if you must haha) The RCAs come with a bunch of washers, but found out from Gabe that the washers go on the inside none on the outside. Once I did that all the space was taken up. But it doesn't mean you have to use the same amount of washers on each side. Every car is a little different with minor tweaks here and there. So, the idea is to get the control arm to move its full range of motion without binding. Well, I'm guessing that is the idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverarrow27 Posted May 18, 2010 Share Posted May 18, 2010 The RCAs come with a bunch of washers, but found out from Gabe that the washers go on the inside none on the outside. Once I did that all the space was taken up. But it doesn't mean you have to use the same amount of washers on each side. Every car is a little different with minor tweaks here and there. So, the idea is to get the control arm to move its full range of motion without binding. Well, I'm guessing that is the idea. Curious, how many big and small ones did you use on your car? As mentioned above, I'm using the same amount on both sides, 4 big washers and three small washers on each side for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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