Caster Arm bush replacement...

[genius]

I've decided to start the process of replacing everything with Poly...And the first one I NEED to tackle is the caster arm bushes... Easy, hard or otherwise...Anything I should be/shouldn't be doing...

I found a website quite a while ago which described the whole process but I've lost the address...Anyone got any ideas...

Cheers

[Craig]

G'Day Mike,

Pretty easy, undo the big nut on the front end of the arm then the bolt/s to the upper 'A' arm and swap the bush.

With poly bushes, I tend to add graphite powder to the lube to prevent squeeks.

[genius]

Cheers Craig...

I'll add graphite powder to the shopping list...

[AR4me]

You may also want to consider converting to ball joints instead of the regular bushing. This is a typical performance upgrade. Only required modification is drilling of two holes in the chassis per side. Performatek sells the necessary parts. You will also need an angle grinder to cut the threaded rod of the ball joint to length and to grind the mounting plates slightly to perfectly center the ball joint in the stock chassis opening. I have this upgrade on my race cars and have done it to a couple of my street Milanos/75s over the years. Just did it to my current street Milano this weekend.
Jes

[genius]

Hi Jes...

Yeah I did think about it but to be honest the car will always be street car. The crap (with heavy emphasis on CRAP) roads in NZ means that there is already a considerable transfer of noise/vibration through the suspension and anymore would be pretty uncomfortable!...

Cheers

[AR4me]

Gotcha'
Jes

[Echo Leader]

Jes, when you do the ball joint upgrade, do you use the mounting kit that's also offered by Performatek? Are those the "mounting plates" you mention?

Just wondering what exactly needs to be ground....

[AR4me]

Yes, I use the mounting kit from Performatek. In order to get the ball joint centered in the chassis opening for the castor rod I found that you have to grind an angle on the mounting plates. If you don't grind the plates you will have to grind the chassis which is much more difficult.

I noticed JJ does the same, independently. In one case I also grinded slightly on the base of the ball joint (not the joint itself, but the base that is flush against the mounting plate - this wasn't an angle, but removing part of a corner to get tucked into the corner of the squarish corner of the chassis).

Finally, you need to cut the threaded rod of the ball joint to length.

It is all pretty simple, straightforward, and a quick modification - think I posted pics of the above long ago in the Roxanne thread.

Jes

[verdemilano]

I was warned to double nut the poly caster bushings as they have a tendency to work loose if you don't. Thats what I did.

[eddiealfanut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by verdemilano I was warned to double nut the poly caster bushings as they have a tendency to work loose if you don't. Thats what I did.

[Echo Leader]

Thanks Jes! I'll look back through 'Roxanne' and see if I can find anything.

[AR4me]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Echo Leader Thanks Jes! I'll look back through 'Roxanne' and see if I can find anything.

[Echo Leader]

Awesome, thanks!

[genius]

Swapped the bushes this morning...anyone else have "issues" trying to get the front washer off...First one was easy but the second one (LHS) was a bit of a test of willpower

[Rookie ROX]

I can remember it being a little stiff - But it was probably the first time it had been undone since Luigi put it on in Milan

It is certainly one of the easier bushings to replace though imho.

ROCK ON
R~R