Suspension woes!!!

You guys rock, thank you very much!!!!

In reply to Mazdax605: I just Googled "1974 Mazda pickup ball joint install" and then went to "Images" and those pictures showed up.

Hey guys,

I was talking with my friend from work who cleaned up the lower control arm for me with his sand blaster a little while ago when I started this project. He is a powder-coater on the side, and he said he could clean up my springs and powder coat them for me. Is that something that is acceptable for a spring? Will I run the risk of damaging the spring by having him clean them up with a sand blaster, and then powder coat them? Just asking because I know nothing about powder-coatings.

I'd go with rattle-can instead, the heat treatment process of powder coating can do bad things to a spring:

http://www.eatonsprings.com/techquestions/powdercoatingandchromingsprings.htm

disconnecting the sway bar might help things move easier.

Got most of the drivers side all put back together with the upper ball joint in the right position. Just need to repack the wheels bearings, and put the rotor,caliper, etc back together. My only concern is the spring isn't totally where i want it to be seated in the lower control arm. It isn't going to come out, but I would like it to be better seated. Will it work its way in better as I drive the truck? Also to those who said the shock limits the travel of the suspension, it doesn't. I have it mounted,and the suspension is still on the bump-stop.

One other question. The outer tie rod end doesn't have a castle nut on it, but rather a nylock nut. Do I just tighten it up to a torque spec, and leave it be, or is there another way?

Ohoho no you shouldn't trust a nylock there. Get a replacement castle nut. The reason every car doesn't just use nice reusable nylocks on the rod ends is that it's a terrible idea.

I use nylocs on many suspension things. Tie rod ends are not one of them.

There is no hole in the rod end either for a cotter pin. Did I get a E36 M3 outer tie rod end? My NAPA guy got them for me.

Possibly. It could have been a generic rod-end made for custom suspension members. A rod end for steering should have the slot for the cotter pin.

Could I drill a hole in this one, and use one of the old castle nuts I took off the old one, or just break down, and buy a new set of outers?

Chris

If the other dimensions are all right and you can drill the hole I'd do It.

Okay, so I didn't like the idea of a steering component without a cotter pin, so I ordered two new outer tie rod ends from rock auto, and they arrived today. I went out to put the drivers side on because that whole side is back together. Well I removed the NAPA part 269-2449 part which has a left hand thread like it should. Tried putting in the Moog part # ES2073L and it would not go in. Turns out it has a right hand thread.

The inner on rock auto shows as part #ES2074R which would be a RHT I assume, with the other part# being a LHT. Did I somehow screw up the tie rods, and have the wrong side on the in/out side? When they say inner and outer does that matter from side to side, or is an inner an inner, and an outer an out regardless of the side of the truck? Is this another sort of voodoo like my ball joint that was mounted wrong? NAPA's website shows the outer part number specs as having a LHT so I assume I have my truck together correctly.

I only did one side at a time so I didn't mix up the tie rods. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I called RA, and they tried getting a hold of Moog, but couldn't. They said they will try again tomorrow. Not sure where it is going to go as far as Moog is concerned.

Chris

Anyone??

RA just emailed me saying that Moog shows the part number being correct for my application, and that it should be a LHT. The problem is the part is a RHT, but the RA guy can't seem to get that through his head. Moog says it is LHT, and that is also what I am saying, but the part is RHT. So maybe they boxed up the wrong part? They want me to buy more parts, and they will refund me for the one wrong piece, but I think they are both wrong. Just haven't had a chance to get the other side apart yet to check. Why is this so hard? Moog is saying that maybe my truck is odd in that the tie rods are swapped from side to side. Okay maybe it is, but if you say part # XYZ is a LHT, and it clearly is RHT than how is it my truck is messed up?

Post back once you can take apart the other side and check, sounds like they boxed the wrong part in at least one case...

So I opened up the other of the two boxes that I got from RA. The other one is the correct Left hand thread part that I need. It seems the sent me the proper numbered box, but the wrong part inside it. I am going to see if the can take it back and send me the proper one.

Do you guys put any sort of grease on the threads of the tie rod ends to make for easier adjustment when doing an alignment?

Chris

So Rock Auto said they would make good on sending me two identically marked boxes with different parts in them. Today I went out to pick up my new wheel bearings locally. I get home and see a package hanging from my mailbox. I get all excited as now I have all the parts to finish the truck. Well I open up the box, and another right hand thread tie rod end, when I need a left hand threaded one. How does this happen again? Did Moog incorrectly package a whole bunch of these things? RA contacted Moog who said for my application I need a LHT, which is what I told them, but now twice they send the wrong part. Maybe I will just use the one I got locally that uses the nylock nut? This is frustrating!!! Couldn't they open the box to verify this before sending it out wrong again?

Maybe try modifying the one you got locally but don't drive it with a nylock in place of a castellated nut.

Why would they sell one with a nylock if it is unsafe?

Mazdax605 wrote: Why would they sell one with a nylock if it is unsafe?

Like I said, it's probably meant for a suspension member, where it won't be rotating along the same axis that the nut rotates on, unlike how rod ends are used in steering.

Although I've been doing some research on the issue and it seems that nylocks are starting to appear on aftermarket steering rod ends and even from the factory on some UTVs...still, some horror stories I've heard about people using nylocks as a quick fix will always stick with me, including one where it didn't hold on for the remainder of an oval-track race.

If I had to use one I'd be sure to use a fresh one each time, and apply it slowly with hand tools (to avoid melting the nylon).