[AMC-List] Front suspension reconstruction

[<francis.swygert@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Kent, make sure the strut rod is torqued one the bracket properly. If
you used the one piece strut rod bushing, the back should be almost
crushed. They usually split up and don't last long because they are old
stock -- been on the shelf for several year. There's a torque rating
they should be tightened to, I don't have a book handy in Afghanistan!

If you're using the two piece type strut rod bushing, that's the
problem. The front bushing is 3/4" to thick IIRC. If you cut the rubber
down, it will weaken it and the washer in front will push through while
driving. There are two ways to fix this. The easiest is to get ONE
polyurethane strut rod bushing set. Cut the bushing down to fit in front
and use it on the front. Use the back half for the fornt of the other
side (front and rear halves are the same), and use the rubber halves for
the back. This maintains flexibilitiy and the poly bushings are strong
enough to not push through like the rubber. You will feel more jars when
hitting pot holes and such though. 

The other fix is a lot more involved. Get a pair of Concord/Spirit or
other 70 or later AMC strut rods. These have adjustable ends (stops are
adjustable -- ends are threaded 5-6"). Remove the original strut rods
and cut them in half. Lay the bushing half beside one of the adjustable
rods and cut that much off the adjustable. Weld the two together. I did
it myself, but I was a welding instructor for a couple years. If you
don't know how to weld the rod ends together take them to a welding shop
after cutting and tell them you need them solid and straight. Once
welded, grind down smooth yourself and paint. No one will be able to
tell without very close inspection (one of the rods is perfectly round,
the other has some slight flats on it). No more bushing problems!

One more thing -- I found that with the body supported and the
suspension hanging the strut rod brakets (with rods attached) can be
hard to install. Seems I could get two bolts in easy enough, but the
third was almost impossible. I put a floor jack under the suspension arm
and jacked that up a bit (or put the car on the ground -- it won't go
anywhere!) and the third bolt went in much easier. 

-------------------
Date: Wednesday, August 16, 2006 06:32 PM
From: KENT ANDERSON <65marlin327@xxxxxxxxxxx> 
In the process of reassembling the front suspension on my Typhoon, I'm
having a 
serious alinging problem with the parts.  The lower control arms aren't
ligning 
up properly, and it's putting WAY too much pressure on the rest of the
parts. 
I've gone "by the book" all the way on this (being a total rookie).  The
stuff
LOOKS great!  But, when trying to bolt the front strut rod to the lower
control 
arm, everything is tweeking way out of proportion.  In fact, things got
pretty
ugly for a while, and I had to cut a bolt off the control arm.  Do you
know how 
HARD it is to cut through a Grade 8 bolt?????


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