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Custom Adjustable UCA's?


shasdakota
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incase anyone's interested, you can get 10.9 M14x1.25x65mm bolts @:

http://mdmetric.com/

but you have to get minimum 10, and they're $4.47ea...

only place i can find 'em, and i contacted at least 10 places...

and here's 10.9 M14 washers for use as shims:

http://www.nutsandbolts.com/m14-metric-flat-washer-109-qty-25-p-2945.html

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hey sewebster, did you need any shims before your susp lift?

 

For camber/caster adjustment? Not sure, since the truck was lifted when I got it. Alignment was a PITA because shops couldn't figure it out, so I ended up messing with it myself until it drove straight. I should probably have it measured again.

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For camber/caster adjustment? Not sure, since the truck was lifted when I got it. Alignment was a PITA because shops couldn't figure it out, so I ended up messing with it myself until it drove straight. I should probably have it measured again.

 

ok, thanks man

 

EDIT- i dont know how you guys do that quote thing...

Edited by shasdakota
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For camber/caster adjustment? Not sure, since the truck was lifted when I got it. Alignment was a PITA because shops couldn't figure it out, so I ended up messing with it myself until it drove straight. I should probably have it measured again.

 

ok, thanks man

 

EDIT- i dont know how you guys do that quote thing...

 

 

Just hit the reply button on the post you want to quote, then it is automatic. You can basically do it manually too, like below, but replace the { curly brackets with [ square brackets:

 

{quote}

text you want to quote

{/quote}

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Just hit the reply button on the post you want to quote, then it is automatic. You can basically do it manually too, like below, but replace the { curly brackets with [ square brackets:

 

{quote}

text you want to quote

{/quote}

 

 

great, thanks!

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i was thinkin of using washers for shims. i was gonna ground down some into different thickness's.. there was some talk earlier of using washers instead of shims.

but, yes, i guess we need washers for the bolts themselves also, but i guess they dont need to be 10.9 steel for that...

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i was thinkin of using washers for shims. i was gonna ground down some into different thickness's.. there was some talk earlier of using washers instead of shims.

but, yes, i guess we need washers for the bolts themselves also, but i guess they dont need to be 10.9 steel for that...

 

I was thinking that they didn't need to be 10.9 for the shim washers either...

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If the shims are installed properly and the bolts are torqued to specs they shouldn't fall out. I've got about 3 shims behind each bolt (+/- one for caster changes) and they've been fine for over a year including a few wheeling trips.

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i'm wondering if you guys can have a look at these pics and tell me if you see anything wrong or possible flaw with these UCA's.

here's the pic's:

 

IMG_5060.jpg

 

Do you guys think their worth $300 bones?

 

I know the OP has moved on to running proven UCAs but I wanted to comment on the arms in the original post. Adjustable length A-arms seem like a really good idea. I wish that in practice they worked half as well as you'd think they would. When I was in charge of Engineering & New Product Development at Joes Racing Products I built a fixture with an air cylinder to test the flex of racing A-arms. Any with threaded adjusters like those pictured above are approximately half as rigid when loaded front-to-back as a welded steel tube arm. I don't know if anyone has actually wheeled with those arms, but I'll bet I would twist them into pretzels in the first half mile of trail and I am NOT generally hard on equipment. The engineering problem with them is that they don't have enough rigidity to keep them from twisting. As you apply a load to the upper ball joint the arms twists so it's no longer in one flat plane. As soon as that happens pieces bend and you have an expensive pretzel. Also worthy of note is those arms could not function as the droop stop the way a stock or typical aftermarket Pathy UCA does. That force alone would twist the arm so it's not flat, compromising it's strength as a triangle. When I designed the Joes A-arm line I tried many ways of making an adjustable upper and every single one failed miserably. That's my :my2cents:

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great insight mr.510...

i dont think those custom uca's have been through much testing...

 

sewebster- you could be right. i really dont know if we need 10.9 steel for shims either. i suppose there wouldnt be any forces applied to the shims, they are just there to create space. i know it couldnt hurt, but it also looks like i'll have to order 'em from the states, so i may just go with whatever they have @ the local hardware store... i dont think the moog shims are 10.9 steel...

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I tested the hardness on some factory nissan shims, they are softer than regular SAE washers. So you should be fine using whatever your local store has on the shelf. The main difference is the nissan shims have a smaller diameter than most SAE washers with the same ID hole.

James

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I tested the hardness on some factory nissan shims, they are softer than regular SAE washers. So you should be fine using whatever your local store has on the shelf. The main difference is the nissan shims have a smaller diameter than most SAE washers with the same ID hole.

James

 

 

nice, thanks james...

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