Overcoming Issues

[B y r o n]

So, I'm in the process of a complete front end rebuild (axle and suspension). When placing the freshly painted housing on the OME springs I notice that the pin is smaller than the hole in the housing, WTF? So I think to myself, how can the front end be in alignment if the housing is angled from side to side on the springs because of the mismatch of pin to axle hose size.

My solution is to find/fabricate a spacer that will make things right. I first prototyped a spacer using a nut that fit the hole in the housing (about 5/8") and drilled out to fit the pin (about 7/16"). Once I saw that this worked it was off to the local Ace Hardware. I found a zinc bushing that was 5/8" OD x 5/16" ID x 1/4" tall.

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I opened the hole up to 7/16" in 1/32" increments because I didn't want to risk spinning or crushing the bushing from the force that would have been needed to hold it in place. This is just slightly smaller than the pin but was easily driven on. It also will ensure that the spacer doesn't pop out at some time in the future.

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Now the axle housing sits exactly centered on the spring pin.

I just wonder how many others have simply installed the OME springs and not notices the difference in axle hole and pin size? I wonder how many have had alignment issues and not been able to figure out why?

Once done with the front I need to go back and double check the rear axle because I didn't notice this problem when I rebuilt it and put everything together. Better safe than sorry.

 

[B y r o n]

Sorry, I moved the pictures and this site apparently does not store them.

 

[Living in the Past]

If you down load them to your post it save them. If you link them it will go to the old link. For that reason I have always down loaded rather then link. No one likes looking at a old thread only to have bunch of boxes with a X in them.

 

[B y r o n]

So today I had to overcome another issue. I'm rebuilding the entire front axle assembly so I bit the bullet and bought the Toyota SST for the knuckle alignment. I got the first measurement just fine after playing with tool part alignment and torque for proper bearing preload. Next I try and install the tool in the spindle and it's a NO-GO!

Lucky for me I had a chunk of aluminum I could turn down to the proper size and the equipment to do it. This is what I came up with:

Once the part with the correct dimensions was completed I was able to get the rest of the measurements that were needed and mount the right side knuckle and within specifications.

 

[B y r o n]

Seems the pins on the rear springs were just slightly bigger than the fronts. I had to open the bushings to 15/32 to get them over the pins. The holes in the axle housings were the same. So now I know that the front and rear axle housing are aligned as well as they can be because they are fitting snugly on the spring pins and axle housing perch holes.