Suspension Repairs
9/21/2010 to 10/11/2010
 These control arms are
a mess. I am not sure if these are supposed to be dead
straight or not but I am damn sure they are not supposed to
look like this. I will have to ask on the Stude
forums. These are 1/8" steel and will be a bear to get
straight. It looks like they got mangled then someone
just forced them back until the bolt holes lined up. |
Yup, those are crooked. The washer at right is worn away on
one side and paper thin on the other by the cockeyed rod
rubbing on the bracket. Time to move on to something
else. |
This
picture from the service manual shows that these arms were
supposed to be dead straight. These are seriously not
straight. |
The
arms are made of very mild steel. I used the vise and
some wood blocks to start working the arms straighter.
This helped a lot but not enough. I need a metal block
that will fit into the channel of the arm but I don't have
anything that will fit. This will take some work... |
 It
is getting better. The plywood looks thin but it is
really there just to spread the load. The real
pressure is in the jaws of the vice. |
Here
is the hardware from the control arms. I have the
bushings and lock washers. I found the bolts at
Studebaker International. Those washers though
will be interesting. They are some sort of rubberized
fiber material. I will have to figure something out
here. |
New
parts came today! The kingpin kit and new spacers to
replace the one I boogered up are left. On the right
is the one shock I found, new shock bushings and retainers,
new center link bolts, and a new center link bracket.
The control links I can't find anywhere so I will have to
straighten mine. |
Here is the new control link bracket next to the old one. Just a little bit bent!
I could straighten the old one out but why not use the new
part? I will keep the old one in case someone needs
it. |
Some of the hardware needs replaced, but a lot of it is usable.
A quick cleanup with a die helps. The top bolt has been
run though the die. The bottom bolt is next. |
I have new upper pins but the old ones look really good.
So I checked them with a caliper. The old pins are just
fine but I will probably use the new ones and keep the old ones. |
The
machine shop did not want to take on straightening the control
links so I have to make them work myself. I decided not to
kill myself trying to take out the curve of the link but rather
concentrate on making the link flat and squaring the ends up.
I found this hunk of aluminum tubing that fits in the bushing
end of the link perfectly. So I put the other end in the
vice. The aluminum tube makes it obvious that the end is
twisted a bit and bent a little to the right. The best
part is the bar makes a great handle to force it back into line.
Once I got the ends square and in the same plane I cleaned and
painted the links. |
 Here
is what I put together for the inner link ends. Two of the
rubber/fiber washers are in good shape but two suck.
Surfing the hardware store isles I found these nylon washers.
The inner diameter is wrong and they are a little thick but I
think they will work.
|
 My
stash of large drill bits yielded one the perfect size. I
clamped the washer into the drill press vice and drilled the
hole out. This looks like it will work just fine. |
Now
for the other end. The new bushings were easy to push in
by hand. I think these are ready to go back into the car |