CrazyAl

Wonderful. Now we have a panic situation.

To re-iterate, according to GTJohn's own measurements that he posted above, this supposed problem is actually worse with the stock parts. Thus, if this "problem" were real, switching to aftermket LCAs would FIX IT.


John still hasn't responded as to wether or not he corrected his pinion angle when he switched to the 1-pc driveshaft. That is a well known cause of clunking, and I am willing to bet this is the problem he's having.


The LCA bolts don't need to be an absoloute perfect fit inside the bushing. Why? Becasue the bolt itself is not a pivot point. The pivot point is the metal sleeve in the center of the poly bushing. The bolt's job is to clamp that sleeve securely in place. The sleeve is fixed and the LCA pivots about the sleeve. The bolt itself is not a moving part. This is the reason for the high torque rating on these bolts...to provide sufficient clamping pressure to hold the sleeve fixed. You can see this in the serrations on the OEM LCA sleeves. If the bolts themselves were supposed to be pivot points as John suggests, then they would not have anywhere near that kind of torque rating. Also, they wouldn't be bolts at all, they would be pins, as specfiiced by SAE. And furthermore the holes in the body and on the axle where these bolts fit in would have to be much thicker. It is clear that the OEM design intends for the bolts to be non-pivoting members, they are used for clamping only.

Take it from a mechanical engineer, this is not something to be concerned about.

drbobvs

I for one, am not concerned, just an observation on my part of what happened to me. I have all other OEM suspension pieces. Perhaps the bolts were not tight enough as I said, I remember not having the car jacked up high enough to get enough leverage for the 130ftlbs when I put them on. My guess is they were about 110. But I did notice the clunk did not recur once I had the Steedas on, and I don't think I got 'em at 130 either.

scramblr

I had a clunk after installing my LCAs when coming to a stop and going from a stand still within the first week of install. Back up on the lift and I found a couple of bolts were loose even though I torqued them to the specified 129lbs. Re-tightened everything and no more issues. This was back in Jun 06. To me it's just like changing out a wheel. Torque it down and come back a week later and re-torque.

classj

Forgetting about the bolt issue for a moment. I think the thing to be more concerned about is bind in the arms unless you use rod ends at one side.

CrazyAl

Excellent advice.

On all my installs I clean the bolts with brake cleaner spray and apply loctite before torquing them down. The loctite helps stop them from working loose over time.

On my personal car I always double-check the torque whenver I have the car up on stands for oil changes. So far I have only had one bolt work loose one time.

But I agree, with proper torque and everything adjusted correctly there should be NO clunking or banging. Clunking or banging means either a loose bolt or something is out of adjustment (usually the pinion angle).


+1!
This is why I always recommend the BMR or Spohn "Combo" LCAs with one spherical bearing (rod end) and one poly bushing.