TR2/3/3A Randall....another trunnion spindle issue?

[karls59tr]

After tightening the nuts against the serrated washer and thrust washer on both sides of the trunnion spindles evenly I noticed that on the left side everything is snug against the wishbone but on the right side the thrust washer that rests between the trunnion and the wishbone has substantial movement ie. a gap about the same size as the thrust washer so the washer flops around! Any idea what's going on here.

 

[CJD]

Will that side tighten more, or has it hit the spindle shoulder? The important part is backing off properly, the same amount on each side, not tightening evenly. For tightening, you have to tighten them up so you start at zero for the backing off.

 

[karls59tr]

I believe it hit the spindle shoulder? If everything is done correctly should thete be a visible gap betwwen the inner thrust washer and trunnion body (where the spindle meets trunnion body). I looked at the trunnion on the other side(which I did a few years ago...long story) and it seemed that the thrust washer was quite free to move around but maybe I did that one wrong?

 

[TR3driver]

As John said, you need to tighten until both sides are solid, then back off to get the required clearance.

If the outer washer has come up against the shoulder, the spindle may have moved within the trunnion casting (or not have been installed to the right position). Try tightening the other side to see if you can pull it back.

Some folks have also had problems with new washers not wanting to fit over the splines. If that is the problem, you may need to take it off and use a punch or something to "bell" the inside, so it will slip over the splines easier. You can also use a regular nut to initially seat the washer on the spline, as it won't strip as easily as the castellated or nyloc nut.

 

[TR4nut]

There were definitely bad outer washers out there at one time, perhaps they are still being sold - too tight a fit, or too hard - a guy in our club actually broke a trunnion trying get it seated.

 

[CJD]

Karl, this reminds me of an issue I had with my new Trunnion/spindle assemblies from Moss. As you pointed out, the new ones have no cotter key hole in the spindles. I decided to use the original spindles, with the holes, in the new trunnions. The old spindles pressed right out of the old trunnions, but I could not get the new spindles to budge in the new trunnions.

I mention this because part of the propper assembly is to ensure the spindles are centered in the trunnions. If they are substantially off center, you can run into the issue you describe, where the nut hits bottom on one side of the spindle, but the bearing assembly is still loose. the corollary to this is the short side may not have enough thread to capture the nyloc.

This is easy to check by measuring the spindle length on each side of the trunnion. As Randall pointed out, the usuall solution is to just use the bearing nut to pull the spindle into center, and then continue on with setting the correct end play. But! I know from experience that the he trunnion/spindle assemblies may be to tight to be able to center the spindle if it's off. You may have to exchange it with your supplier.

I had to exchange my trunnions with Moss 4 times before I got 2 that were good. One had an off center spindle that would not move. The other 3 had loose threading for the vertical link.