• Hi Guest!
    If you appreciate British Car Forum and our 25 years of supporting British car enthusiasts with technical and anicdotal information, collected from our thousands of great members, please support us with a low-cost subscription. You can become a supporting member for less than the dues of most car clubs.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

Spitfire A- arms Spitfire [Wishbones]

Share this page

Z

zottlander

Member
Offline
Hi All, I Have been out of the game for awhile. My car was in many Pieces all over the garage. My question is about A-arm Tension. I have started the Gt6 Brake Conversion on my 1500. The car has always had fairly loud squeaks coming from the front suspension. I have the A-arms unhooked from the vert. links. The top Wishbone can support a 8'' cement block with out depression. The manual says 25ft pounds for the bolts with a static load. When i move the Wishbone it squeaks. Can anybody shed some light? Thanks
 
Rubber bushings
When mounted, the rubber bushings fuse themselves to the a-arm and through bolt. The suspension motion takes place *flexing* the bushing. This is why it's so important to have the car on its wheels, suspension in stock ride height, before you tighten the suspension bolts. If you do it with the arms hanging down, you create tremendous ride height problems.

Urethane
This type of bushing does not flex like the rubber bushing, and as such should not be fused to the a-arm or bolt. It should be lubricated on both sides. If it's not lubricated, it will bind, creating all sorts of squeeks and binds.

All
Lubricated bushings require maintenance. Specifically, relubing. The frequency of this depends on the type of lubricant used.
Sometimes people lubricate rubber bushings. This creates a more supple ride, but as the lubrication disipates, the suspension starts binding and squeeking until it fuses.
 
Ok, Pulled it apart. I have what looks like two grey, Hard plastic halves That has a steel tube running through the middle like the trunnion bearings. The trunnion bearings are similar but are grey with white centers. (nylon?) What would be the wishbone bearings be made of? I assume that i grease the bolt and the ends of the bearing. Should i be using diff. bearings?
 
Back
Top