Wallered out castor arm bracket bolt hole - too far gone? (1 Viewer)

[Hyup]

It seems a PO used a non-OEM bolt for one of the castor arm bushing bolts. It came loose and hogged out the hole into an oblong shape.

I'm replacing all bushings and bolts with OEM. I think I know the answer but wanted to ask the experts, will this oblong hole cause bolt movement and trash the new bushing, or does this system rely more on the pinch of the bolt against the bushing collar - given use of correct bolt/nut?

Assuming rehabing to original dims will be an expensive process, so wondering if the condition of this hole spell sure doom for my expensive new parts, or is it a minor issue that just needs proper torque and a watchful eye to make sure its holding?

 

[Pascoscout]

This is strictly my opinion...

While the slop probably won't trash the bushing since it's purpose is to allow some movement of the arm I think it would still be best if you repaired or replaced the damaged part. The system relies both on the clamping force of the bolt ("pinch") and the shear of the bolt where it passes through hard parts like that. With the oblong hole you have less ability to resist the shear forces and your arm will move in ways you don't want. Over time the hole will get bigger and eventually cause other issues. Suspension is one area you just don't take chances.

You may be able to drill the hole out to a larger size round and then weld in a bushing to get back to the stock size.

 

[baldilocks]

If you don’t wheel hard, you would most likely get away with torquing it up and letting the clamping force hold it.

You could also weld a grade 8 washer onto the axle bracket in the proper location and call it a permanent repair.

 

[Hyup]

Thanks everyone. It's a Slee 6" lift kit on 35s, factory locked and I do wheel it a bit for sure. I'll look into the welded washer route as that might be something I could do myself - but the factory bolt does'nt have much thread showing so would have to be a pretty thin washer.

 

[Golgo13]

Properly torqued, the correct bolt will prevent any movement of the bushing. That IS opened up a little, but it is probably OK. Get the right bolt/nut from the dealer and run it.

 

[baldilocks]

You could buy the same dia bolt with longer grip if you weld on a nice thick washer.

 

[mudgudgeon]

I would weld a washer on there.
I had similar on my old HDJ81, the elongated hole caused a loud click/clunk every time the torque load on the axle housing changed.
So I got a clunk every time I braked, accelerated, or torqued the axle/suspension crossing into a driveway of speed hump on an angle

 

[Jgunner]

Id put in a weld washer. Just my opinion. Thats a tall lift and a lot of forces at play there.

 

[Tools R Us]

Properly torqued, the correct bolt will prevent any movement of the bushing. That IS opened up a little, but it is probably OK. Get the right bolt/nut from the dealer and run it.

Agree, proper bolt, with the correct torque, will be fine.

 

[mudgudgeon]

In my case, no amount of torque stopped the clunk.

 

[MANUCHAO]

With that much of a lift.... and fact you wheel the rig... you basically are putting everyone at risk on the hwy....

Either (properly) repair it, or replace the whole axle..... used axle housings are not that expensive.....
I would hate to be near that rig if it ever gives way.....

 

[-Spike-]

With that much of a lift.... and fact you wheel the rig... you basically are putting everyone at risk on the hwy....

Either (properly) repair it, or replace the whole axle..... used axle housings are not that expensive.....
I would hate to be near that rig if it ever gives way.....

This seems to be a bit alarmist. I run with one axle bolt removed. I'm not the only one around here. Stay away from Arizona.

 

[Tools R Us]

With that much of a lift.... and fact you wheel the rig... you basically are putting everyone at risk on the hwy....

Either (properly) repair it, or replace the whole axle..... used axle housings are not that expensive.....
I would hate to be near that rig if it ever gives way.....

Good comedy! Have seen much more wallowed, replacement factory bolt, torqued to spec, lots of wheeling, zero issues. What is the disaster that you are predicting? Mine only has 3 bushings at the axle, so even if the bolt fell out, what disaster is going to put anyone at risk?

My guess, the root cause is the generic bolt, not being torqued to it's proper spec, and/or not having the needed strength.

 

[LINUS]

I’m 100% w/ @baldilocks on this - what you have is entirely repairable.

Worst case scenario you either add some weld & flatten/drill the pickup, or weld washers & buy slightly longer bolts in the correct grade hardness.

Even if this was the frame-side end, I’d say the same thing - but esp down where you have 2 bushings on each side at the housing this is just a matter of a little welding action to make it all perfect again.

 

[Hyup]

Thanks for all the advice. I did a bit more digging and found these plates made by Cruiser Bros/Valley Hybrids for just this type of repair.

I might have tried a washer but the hole is elongated on both sides and it seems like it would have have been hard to locate the washers perfectly given that the original hole doesn't exist on either side. This may be a bit of an overkill solution but I'll feel confident that everything is lined up and as strong or stronger than before.

 

[inkpot]

With all the money your spending on bushings and such, why not just buy a new set of caster brackets? Not a big deal. But, as has been said, it is not even required to operate just fine. Also, you could of welded a couple of washers onto it and bought a high grade bolt and torqued it to spec.??

 

[Hyup]

Brackets are welded on - I assumed I'd have to find donor axle to cut off and reweld to mine or have them recreated by a fab shop. Is that not the case?

These plates are kind of like welding a bracket over the top of the existing brackets and come as a set with extended bolts of appropriate grade - like I said, may be overkill but seemed like the most foolproof method.

That said, I haven't done it yet - waiting for the bolts to come back in stock and for everyone to get back from Rubithon!

 

[richardlillard1]

With that much of a lift.... and fact you wheel the rig... you basically are putting everyone at risk on the hwy....

Either (properly) repair it, or replace the whole axle..... used axle housings are not that expensive.....
I would hate to be near that rig if it ever gives way.....

Stop being a wuss.

With all the money your spending on bushings and such, why not just buy a new set of caster brackets? Not a big deal. But, as has been said, it is not even required to operate just fine. Also, you could of welded a couple of washers onto it and bought a high grade bolt and torqued it to spec.??

That’s a Slee arm, so putting caster plates on is likely to throw some stuff out of whack.

I don’t see why he wants to go through the trouble of putting a set of plates on it when he could just try a factory bolt and see how it holds. This seems like a waste of time.