Julian Bradley Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 ....clunking sound, so jacked up car, axle stands, removed old (chewed) bushes. But lo, the A frame no longer reaches as far - so I cannot align bolt! Any reason why the A frame should have moved? Or has the bit it goes into shifted? Am I being hard of thinking? Busy chap at present, so can I drive it slowly the half mile to Ratrace, A frame 2" off the ground? And any experience of rose-jointed A frames anyone? This could get boring! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Brother Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 Julian, You didn't say if the cars a live axle or dedion. If its a live axle, sounds like the axle has twisted (rotated) while it was free of the A frame(they all do it) Try using a jack to gently lift the nose of the diff. This should bring things back in line enough for the bolt to be refitted. I would NOTrecommend driving a L/A car without the A frame connected! If its a dedion car - ignore the above as I don't know what could give you the symptoms you describe. I would still wait for someone to confirm if its OK before attempting to drive the car. Steve Se7en-Up! Less is more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonycaterham Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 Julian Steve is absolutely correct if you have a live axle car. I had problems with bushes, so bought rose jointed A frame from Caterham - no problems now!! Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Smith Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 If it is a live-axled car... Have you put the axle stands under the axle, rather than the chassis rail? IIRC that'll move the axle relative to the A frame. Try lowering it and supporting it from the chassis rail. Once we've the right technique, changing the A-frame bushes takes literally five to ten minutes max. (Mail me if you want my proceedure for changing the bushes). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mav Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 If it is DD then the tube can swing back and forth. Push the tube towards the front of the car and use a large screwdriver to align the holes. Best if you have 2 pairs of hands - took me 3/4 hour to align the holes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian Bradley Posted April 6, 2003 Author Share Posted April 6, 2003 That'll be it....it's a live axle. I'll try that that trick with the diff - graeme, my e mail at work is jbradley@barcouncil.org.uk. Ta! (I still hate wrestling with 7 under axle stands!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Riches Posted April 7, 2003 Share Posted April 7, 2003 Rose joint "A" frame is the way to go, no more perished rubber bushes, but be aware the cost of replacement Rose joints is considerably more than the rubber bushes, but you don't have to replace them as often, so could save you the under 7 wrestling you so dispise, regards Nigel. 1982. 5 speed, clamshells. B.R.G / Ali. The True Colours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian Bradley Posted April 8, 2003 Author Share Posted April 8, 2003 😬 😬 😬 😬 😬 😬 Thank you all, Graeme especially! Worked a treat. Am now going to bulk purchase rubber bushes! In the meantime, I'm feeling very pleased with myself at Actually Having Fixed Something On The Car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Faulds Posted April 8, 2003 Share Posted April 8, 2003 Slightly off topic, but I'm curious because I've never seen one - how does the Caterham rose-jointed A-Frame work? Does it need a modified axle bracket to have the rose-joint working in the correct plane, or does it just go into the standard bracket with spacers? Being a Caterham part, I suspect I know the answer. Stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Riches Posted April 8, 2003 Share Posted April 8, 2003 Stuart, the Rose joint "A" frame is to all intents and purposes the same as the "Original" type, the difference is the bore of the "eye" that the rubber bushes would fit in is parallel (original type is slightly tapered from the outer edge to the centre line) with two circlip grooves machined within, the outer track is 0.5 " wide and 1' diameter if I recall, the sphere has a 0.5" bore for the original bolt, but there is a need for conical spacers to correctly fill between the diff bracket and the flats on the side of the spherical component, all these parts came as a kit, and fitting was straight forward. Regards Nigel. 1982. 5 speed, clamshells. B.R.G / Ali. The True Colours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Faulds Posted April 8, 2003 Share Posted April 8, 2003 I thought as much, thanks for the description. Stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YW Sin Posted April 8, 2003 Share Posted April 8, 2003 look here A ll standard, Classic 1.7 X-flow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bare Posted April 8, 2003 Share Posted April 8, 2003 If I could suggest: use Poly Bushes.. no need for a "rose jointed" A Frame replacement at not insignificant cost, with the continuing Aggro of having to buy surprisingly short lived and pricey Rose Joints... PolyUrethane bushes are essentially Permanent... As in buy once only. Can't find some Locally? Make yer own, puchase a small length of the material and "turn" a few on your Lathe or even Drill press. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Smith Posted April 8, 2003 Share Posted April 8, 2003 May be towing the Caterham line here, but I was told that the rubber bushes are sacrifical. If you fitted poly bushes, you could just send the forces elsewhere and break other components??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bare Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 Note I said Poly urethane.. NOT delrin.. polyU is actually 'deformable' almost rubbery.. Delrin is rock hard. These will do the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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