Two steps forward,one step back. T/C rod length quandy

[zKars]

And in the never ending quest to add value to a topic...

I had a pair of set of T/C rods from a 77 that were sitting 6 ft away from me as I was doing mine the other day. Of course, I had kept the bushings and washers on there to keep it all together until I had a chance to put them away, and there were the washers just glaring at me in the proper convex to bushing orientation. Did I see that? No, of course not. Anyway... on to the real reason I'm posting this time!

The following pictures shows the threaded end and step area of the two spare rods after a quick sand blast for inspection. Which one would you keep and which one is scrap metal? Same car. Scary, huh?

Edited August 22, 2015 by zKars

[240260280z]

Jim=1 : Z=0 you won!  Great game to watch!  OT too.

[Captain Obvious]

Glad to hear that swapping the washers around gave you enough clearance to claim victory. Kinda surprised it made that much of a difference, but whatever works! 

 

Now that you got the immediate crisis under control, here's an idea for the future if you want more clearance. Chuck the T/C rod up in a lathe and remove material to shift the shoulder that the washers sit against closer to the control arm. You'd gain clearance at the expense of caster.

 

Blue, You got your lathe up and running yet? 

[240260280z]

 

Blue, You got your lathe up and running yet? 

 

 

Funny you said that. Your spider senses must have been tingling.... Yesterday I just lifted it of the garage floor, removed the wooden pallet and placed it on a new table I just bought.  Preparing for a fall and winter of fun and wonder!  I still have to break in the motor but that is in the queue.

[Chickenman]

Glad to hear that swapping the washers around gave you enough clearance to claim victory. Kinda surprised it made that much of a difference, but whatever works! 

 

Now that you got the immediate crisis under control, here's an idea for the future if you want more clearance. Chuck the T/C rod up in a lathe and remove material to shift the shoulder that the washers sit against closer to the control arm. You'd gain clearance at the expense of caster.

 

Blue, You got your lathe up and running yet? 

Did that way  back in the 70's on my 1200 race cars. Only TC rods are in front and I used it to increase Castor. You have to be careful with the radius at the parting line though. You don't want any stress risers.

 

I used a small 1/8" dia very fine stone in a Dremel grinder to make a nice Fillet. Chuck the TC rod in the Lathe, rotate at a medium speed then lightly grind a small fillet. Hand polish fillet with some 400 grit and then 600 grit  with oiled Wet and Dry emery cloth.

[zKars]

Ohhhh! good reason to fire up the lathe! I'll make a set and give this a shot. Never spun anything that wasn't axially balanced. Fun!

[Captain Obvious]

It's not unbalanced much. I suspect you won't even notice. However... There may be some issues getting it chucked up successfully. Will depend on the size of the lathe. You need either a big one, or a little one.

 

If the lathe is big enough, you can stick the angled portion through the hole in the spindle. And if the lathe is small enough, you can run the T/C rod all the way through the spindle from the non-business end (over where the drive gears are). But if the lathe is in the middle... You won't be able to push the angled end into the spindle (because the hole through the spindle won't be large enough) and the T/C rod may be too short to poke all the way through the spindle and still have enough working length sticking out the chuck because the headstock is too long.

 

Kinda hard to describe without pictures... Haha!! Does any of that make sense at all? 

 

But in any event, as Chickenman mentioned, make sure you put a fillet on the base of the shoulder. Don't put a hard 90 degree corner in there. Can't possibly make that scary rusty T/C rod any worse! You've got the perfect practice piece.

[Captain Obvious]

Preparing for a fall and winter of fun and wonder!.

 

Yes, they were tingling. Send me some pics when you get it together.

 

I've already told the family that I may be coming to live with you for four years depending on the outcome of the next election. If that happens, I'll teach you everything I know. Then for the remaining three years and 364 days, we can drink Labatt's and watch Second City TV reruns. 

[rossiz]

to everything - turn, turn, turn,

there is a season - turn, turn, turn....

 

sorry, couldn't help myself 

[Zed Head]

Now that you got the immediate crisis under control, here's an idea for the future if you want more clearance. Chuck the T/C rod up in a lathe and remove material to shift the shoulder that the washers sit against closer to the control arm. You'd gain clearance at the expense of caster.

You could also cut the front bushing down and shim the back side out.  Just a thought, same result.

 

Here's an odd thought- the soft rubber bushings that Nissan used gave what is, effectively, an adjustable-in-use caster setting.  Under braking, caster decreases, no braking, it goes back.  Going to poly in front loses that.  Probably depends on whether you're turning or going straight if it's a good thing or a bad thing.