Suspension Question

[jerrybny]

First, its great to have the forum back. I just completed rebuilding the front suspension on my 73 TR6. All new bushings, upper ball joint,trunnion and tie rod ends. Are there any bolts that should be left loosened until the tires are back on and the car is lowered to the ground?

Thanks
Jerry

 

[Rick O.]

Ideally, you should leave all bushed attachment points (upper inner & lower inner/outer) snugged but untorqued. You will find, however, that it is very difficult to torque all these points with the wheels on the ground. My approach was to torque the ones I could get to with the wheels on the ground, raise the front end, remove the wheels, and tighten the rest. Works fine.

Alternatively, you could drive up a pair of ramps and tighten then. But I don't know if the weight distribution would be the same in that scenario.

 

[mailbox]

The idea behind torquing these bolts while the car is on the ground is to prevent the bushing from over twisting. If you torque them with the car in the air, the bushings will will be twisted when the car sits on the ground. If you compress the front end too much, you could rip the bushings. Putting the front tires on ramps and jacking up the back tires should work to distribute the weight. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif