TR4/4A TR4: Lwr C/A bushings in upper C/A

[PanAmeriCan]

Hi all, long time lurker, and first time poster.

Please forgive me if this has been discussed before. I did a fairly thorough search, and didn’t see anything.

I am trying to remove the stiction from my 1962 TR’s front suspension. It’s the later iteration with the additional camber. Without the upper control arms attached to the spindle, the motion is nice and smooth around the trunnion and lower control arm bushings. Every video I have seen that shows new polyurethane bushings installed in the upper arms demonstrates a fairly significant amount of resistance to movement. I realize that the amount of movement at these bushings is minimal in practice, but I would prefer the damping force to come primarily from the spring and shock, and not from the twist of a bushing.

The lower control arm bushings offer no such resistance, and mount in a nearly identical fashion and dimension, with what appears to be a delrin bushing over a metal sleeve.

Has anyone tried this approach, and if so, what was your experience?

Thanks for any feedback!
Mike

 

[CJD]

Are we talking about the up and down motion of the suspension or the steering left and right motion?

 

[PanAmeriCan]

The up and down motion-

 

[auprichard]

Firstly, I'm not sure what you mean by "additional camber" - do you not mean caster from the unequal upper A-arms used in the later TR4s?

Secondly, the original rubber bushings do "twist" but not the newer polyurethane ones.

With the upper and lower wishbones assembled (obviously no spring) you should be able to grab the stub axle and raise and lower it with fairly minimal effort. The two sides should be the same. If working on a bare chassis, the force should not be enough to lift the frame from the stands supporting it.

 

[PanAmeriCan]

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

I misspoke…I should have said 3° additional castor, relative to the earliest TR4’s.

If the new polyurethane bushings don’t twist, do they rotate on the shaft? I just haven’t seen evidence of that in my research, hence my question. If they do, in fact move freely, that would certainly make things a whole lot easier!

Thanks again