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TR2/3/3A Delrin bushing and I am having a problem

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sp53

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I went out and put in my Delrin bushing and I am having a problem. There is not enough tapered shaft to bite the idler arm or the steering box hole. It seems to me I could get a thinner washer on top to expose more of the shaft or grind off some off the bushing that is supposed to extend past the bottom of the steering connecting rod in the directions. I am asking about this problem before I call TRF and see if it is me or them. I have not torqued them down, but there is little to go
steve
 
So I am the only idiot that bought these Delrin bushing that are supposed to be better than sliced bread!!li
 
I know Randall uses them, but I think he occasionally has trouble logging onto this forum. Try "the other side", and I am sure he will chime in.

If I am understanding, the tapered studs on the bushings are too small for the tapered holes in the idler and steering arms?
 
Well yes that is it; the taper is too small to get a quality bite in the hole. For my way of thinking the two tappers need to be very close and grab a decent amount on each surface. With these, there was about an 1/8 of an inch of shaft showing rite ate the bite when I could still move it by hand. Plus with the tightening there is no shaft visible, so I have no idea what is going on with the connection, but again the holding of those tappers is strong yet question able to me. I ended up putting a bar clamp on the fitting so it would not and then tightened them down and they held, but I am not all warm and fuzzy about the holding power or the upgrade-- plus if they do fail they are a real pain to fish out of the there. That connecting rod is long. Anyways, I could call Chuck at TRF and listen to his monotone explanation, but I am not that spiritualy strong today. At this point, I will run it and see. I think the big 3 are vendors for the manufacture and they looked like a clever idea, so I tried them, but now ?????
 
Thanks Geo I thought I remember you using them. Can you remember when you installed them if there was any of the pin exposed or did the eyelet tighten up tight against the small amount of nylon coming out the bottom when the nut was tight? Mine could be fine also; I might have panicked.
 
No John it is tight and seems to turn a little better, but that is just moving it around in the garage. I guess it is lack of visibility of the tapper I find unsettling. If it does fail, there would be( I think) plenty of warning with sloppy steering. I must admit I always found the original set up poorly engineered.
 
I actually don't use them yet, still using a brass setup I got from BFE many years ago. I've got a set of Delrin on the shelf (from Joe A), but probably won't ever actually use them. Even after some 20 years of service, there was no wear apparent in the brass.

If you are worried about the pin taper not matching the taper in the center link, I suggest a trial assembly of just the pin into the center link. It should fit snugly, no wiggle at all, with only finger pressure. If you want, you can do a further check by painting the pin with machinists blue, and giving it a slight twist in place. The blue will rub off only where the two tapers are in contact.

If the problem is just that there isn't enough if the pin protruding, just check that the joint will still turn after torqueing the nut. The Delrin is relatively soft and will crush under force. So the taper will seat, the only question is whether the Delrin crushed too much. I normally use a regular nut at first, to get the taper locked, so it will hold the pin while installing the Nyloc.

FWIW, I actually trimmed one of the brass bushings to fit, and added shims to the other. The bushings were the same, the variation was in how deep the tapers were in the center link.

Locking tapers are a time honored solution, they work very well. Sometimes a little too well, as anyone who has struggled with a rear hub can attest. They are still in common use today!
 
Thanks Randal, I hear you about the tapper being a strong link. When I mentioned the original engineering, I was referring to the rubber and the tapper on the original. It just appeared weak to me, and I thought there had to be better way, but really in 45 plus year of driving these things, I have only had one rubber deal get so bad it wobbled. I switched over because I thought it might turn better at low speed.
steve
 
The rubber in the original joint is supposed to be bonded to both sides, making it stronger than just a rubber bushing in a sleeve.

Originals I think were good, but I had a lot of trouble with replacements not lasting very long. Not having to rebuild the suspension every few years was my primary interest in the brass ones. (I also used Nylatron in the A-arm pivots, and added a bunch of grease zerks.)

I've never been certain how much difference the free turning links made, but the overall improvement was simply amazing. I also rebuilt the steering box, paying careful attention to adjustment, made sure the steering column was lined up, and filled the box with synthetic GL5.

I didn't replace the worm gear (although I probably should have), which I think was the reason there was still some play in the steering while on-center. (The tight spot was actually off to one side, because of wear in the worm). But other than that, it actually steered easier than my other cars without power steering; and I felt compared very favorably with later TRs and their (slower) R&P steering.

Again, I learned to drive without power steering, so it seems more or less natural to do the little things that make it easier, like letting the car roll a bit when turning the wheel to park. Less wear on tires too, though that's a lot less concern these days. My first set of new tires cost more than the car they went on, and only lasted 12,000 miles!
 
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