what have I done wrong..?

[chedz]

It was all going so well until I started building the car.

Assembling the front suspension was going to be easy, Mr Evans made it look easy.

The problem I have is that the upper wishbones are hitting the springs, also to get the uprights to engage I have to jack the lower wishbone up quite hard to meet it. The two moveable storks on the upper and lower ball joints are pulled tight over to the far reach of their angles, it just doesn't feel right at all.

I've put some piccies here:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/chedzoy/DSC03219.JPG
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/chedzoy/DSC03220.JPG
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/chedzoy/DSC03222.JPG

also, somethings not symetrical as one side is worse that the other.

Hopefully someone will tell me I've got something silly wrong.

Thanks

Chedz


Also, am I suposed to tighten the nut on the lower ball joint tight, when I put it only slightly tight, its very hard to turn the uprights.

[Purple AK]

I think it will all be ok when the weight of the car is on the wheels

[Miket]

As Chris says, it will be ok when you get the weight on it. :thumb: :thumb:

[Pictus]

i could be wrong but arnt the shock units meant to be the other way around with the adjuster facing in?? this wont sort out your problem but it will apparantly make on car adjustment difficult with the wheels on

Warren i fitted mine the same way but was told to turn them the other way i also have gaz fitted to my car

also before any one says anything about the bolt not being done up they all have to come out again

[paolo]

You'll find that once it's all bolted togther the top ball joint prevents the wishbones hanging as far as the suspension struts would otherwise allow.

In the photos you seem to have put the top balljoint in first, I would recommend bolting the BOTTOM of the upright on then jacking up the lower wishbone to meet the top. Another tip here is to bolt the top joint into the mushroom first and then fit mushroom in the upright, it makes taking it apart easier as you are setting the initial camber.

And as said before, the final position when the car is on the ground is with the wishbones almost horizontal so so long as they're not touching in that position you'll be fine.

[chedz]

Thanks chaps, I'm starting to feel better.

I notice in the piccy on your website Paulo, the jack is underneath, but I saw some others where it all looked horizontal with no wheel and no jack.

I'll get it all together tonight and see how it looks.


Regarding the steering, it's pretty hard to turn the upright with it on full droop, with this lighten when its all raised up, the rubber on the bottom ball joint squeaks like its all too tight. Should I keep the nut on the bottom ball joint pretty slack even when completed?

ty



chedz

[Miket]

Another tip, don't tighten the nuts where the upper and lower wishbones mount on the chassis untill you have the car at correct ride height, otherwise it will put undue strain on the bushes. :thumb: :thumb:

[paolo]

Originally Posted by chedz

I notice in the piccy on your website Paulo, the jack is underneath, but I saw some others where it all looked horizontal with no wheel and no jack.

Yep, that's how it ends up once bolted together, like I said the top ball joint prevents the assembly dropping too far.

Originally Posted by chedz

Regarding the steering, it's pretty hard to turn the upright with it on full droop...

I also found this, but can assure you once the car is on the floor it works fine.
DO tighten the bottom ball joint nut!

[Ian Lloyd]

Yes mine looked exactly the same.

However, I have now fitted the top wishbone bolt from the front, the reason was that the exhaust manifolds Chevy V8 would not allow the bolts to be slid out if the top bushs needed replacing. Much easier to do this without the body fitted. It was also suggested to me to fit at least one penny washer on the inside of the top bushes to prevent them from rubbing on the chassis.

As for steering being heavy, I noticed on my chassis that as I turned the steering wheel the inside wheel compresses the spring whilst the outside one releases the spring. It appears to make the car lean into the corner, either very clever or a *?*? up.
Good building
Ian

[chedz]

Hello,

after some investigation, I'm not totally convinced it will all be ok when the engines in and the weights on the wheels. In its current state, going over a bump at any speed I think will trash the front springs as they will hit the top wishbone.

I had a chance to photograph someone elses build from a suitable angle to see what's different about mine. (cheers again Paulo!!)

from the 2 pictures attached you can see that the uprights are quite different.

Mine is far shorter from the centre of the wheel to the top. This is whats causing the problem, it seems to be wider and shorter and so doesn't fit.

My sierra was a 1993 2.0gls with ABS.

anyone know if there's anything to be done with these or do I need different uprights.

(the annoying thing is I spent b100dy hours cleaning and painting them, also Pilgrim did the taper and 14mm hole on them for me, so I'll be pretty cheesed if they're no good)

Thanks as usual for any info.

Chedz