fulcrum pin wear

[SilentUnicorn]

Evening all,
Tonight wihile chasing down a kinda serious clunking sound, in the left front of my 79. I discovered that either my new lower a-frame is worn or the pin is worn. Me thinks the A-frame. i have put about 1700 miles since this was all nice and brand new. I recently replaced ther rubber on all four corners. due to the fact that about 200 miles ago, the left font belt in the tire broke. Ya think this might be related? and after so few miles? are these front ends That Fragile? The new aframe was purchased from the folks we all know. Perhaps the cups the pin screws into are made of some old beer cans or somethin ?


when i rebuilt the front end i did one side new. And the first side i did i unbrazed the old cups and made new ones and brazed them in. There is no clunking from that side at all. Course i used some good material. Easier to replace pins than a frames. cheaper too.

Mark

 

[chris roop]

I don't find them fragile.

 

[tony barnhill]

Fragile? Nah...there are MG's running around on 20 ear old rubber bshings....think you've got another problem - it might be called age or incorrect installation last time

 

[Guest]

My front end is all original and I bet it has over 300,000 miles on it. Don't know for sure cause my speedo has been busted since 1989 at which time it had 221,000 on the clock.

 

[aeronca65t]

You may be right about the fulcrum pins being loose in the "A" frame threads....Moss has had some quality problems with replacement suspension parts in the past.

Other stuff.

The suspension mount brackets on the frame are fairly light and can bend and crack pretty easy. The previous owner had mangled mine (a '78) pretty well....I brazed in some reinforcement material and closed up the hole to the correct size...it was clunking before I did this (I did the same thing on an earlier Spridget too). My bushings were shot too....I'm assuming that you put in new rubber or plastic bushings (for the inner part of the "A" frame pivot)....the plastic (race) bushings are easier to remove after they get worn....sometimes the rubber ones have to be burned out (a lousy job!).

Check other stuff that can get loose: shock mount bolts, upper king pin nut, the rubber bushing at the upper king pin mount (trunnion) , brake caliper (and pads too). Check the wheel bearing nut for slop too. Occasionally, the steering rack can be loose and so can the front swaybar.

Check to see if it's a tie rod end....I had a relatively new one fail quickly.

I can't tell from what you've said....did you replace the king pin, king pin bushings (reamed to size) as well as the lower fulcrum pin? These can wear and cause looseness.

By the way, I've cracked several front "A" frames on Spridgets over the years....usually the crack is near the fulcrum pin (and the car always has noticeable negative camber)...might not cause a clunk, but worth checking anyway.

[ 08-21-2003: Message edited by: aeronca65t ]</p>

 

[SilentUnicorn]

Thanx for the tips aeronca65t . Like i said tho all is new ..a frame bushes,aframe (purchased from a lady in kansas) tie rod ends, king pin and bushes and fulcrum pin.
rebuild was by the book, and done to the best of my abilities. I know my way around a wrench.

its just disappointing that my labors were not supported by quality parts.

from above i see that most of us find the front ends to be fairly enduring, imho rather flimsy, but i can find no other reason for such drastic wear in so few miles.

Mark

 

[Bruce74B]

Mark,

I would be interested to hear what you find out, as I have a slight clunk in the left front too and am going to rebuild the front end this winter. Your (as well as others on this subject) will likely be of value to me as this project progesses, so please let up know what you find out?

Bruce

 

[tony barnhill]

Mark....when you rebuilt it, did you put the proper shims (adjustment washers) up inside the upper trunnion?

 

[SilentUnicorn]

Tony ,
yes the proper shim amount was installed.the bronze washer under the trunion cap show some slight polishing but not a lot of wear. and i have religously(sp) greased the front end about every 500 miles.

correcct me if i am wrong, but arent the two systems (fulcrum pin and swivel pin ) seperate.
swivel for left and right and fulcrum for up and down?

Mark

 

[Tom Bedenbaugh]

If you have wire wheel they will clunk when loose or worn. Also as has already been said, check the three mounting bolts on the shocks. They have been known to loosen up and cause a clunk.