Probably not a big deal for most of you...

[slngsht]

But I believe my axle hop issue IS FIXED http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/hurray.gif



Finished replacing the rear suspension links last night, and drove to work this morning. No hint of axle hop at all. It'll be nice to put the power down a little more now.



New link compared to old link. Comparing notes with other Rotus owners, it appears the links on my car were not standard issue Rotus links, which were larger in diameter, and had smaller bushings. The heim joints don't seem harsh at all (I was expecting a noticeable difference).

http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/slngsht/CIMG1036.JPG



Now I have to take them all off, powder coat them, and use grade 8 hardware to put them back together, along with aluminum spacers instead of boat load of flat washers that I used for the test.<edited><editID>slngsht</editID><editDate>2006-09-15 11:04:23</editDate></edited>

[soareyes]

Wow, those old bushings were monsters! Much larger than the old bushings off my Birkin. Glad to hear there was no noticeable increase in harshness, the same as my experience with the upgrade. Good job!

[slngsht]

yeah, they're huge. Mine was the first Rotus built, so it has some non-standard parts on it.



I did get some minor hopping on the way back - in rain.



I've had that in my other cars too... not sure if there is a way to completely eliminate it.

[Mike Rohaley]

I may be wrong but I was under the impression that you should never use grade 8 bolts for suspension components because of the fact that as they get stronger in tensile strength they become more brittle. You would want your bolting to deform under load and not fail completely. Think of a bolt made of wood and a bolt made of chalk, the wood would deflect under load but not fail but the chalk would maintain it's shape until SNAP!



Someone out there should be able to shed some well informed light on this subject.

[slngsht]

interesting... I've never heard that before. Maybe someone can chime in. I just know the regular grade 5 bolts can not be trusted.

[powderbrake]

Tensile strength and brittleness are not necessarily related. The Grade 8 bots are the proper ones to use. I have had grade 8 bolts bend in the suspension, and there was no cracking.

A bolt , by it's very nature of use would not be the proper application for a brittle material. The tensile strength/ brittleness relationship is true for some steels that are quenched from heat treat, but subsequent tempering restores toughness.

[Catie]

Mike is actually correct, but it comes down to who made the hardware. I've purchased some truely bad AN (supposedly aircraft quality), grade 5, and even grade 8 hardware. For example 35# of torque on an AN bolt would stretch the threads on a 3/8" bolt almost to the stripping point - I've used grade 3's from the local hardware store that were better! Slngsht, call me if you want to know local suppliers that have, or can get, decent hardware.

[slngsht]

Mike is actually correct, but it comes down to who made the hardware. I've purchased some truely bad AN (supposedly aircraft quality), grade 5, and even grade 8 hardware. For example 35# of torque on an AN bolt would stretch the threads on a 3/8" bolt almost to the stripping point - I've used grade 3's from the local hardware store that were better! Slngsht, call me if you want to know local suppliers that have, or can get, decent hardware.



I was planning to drop by Fastenal on Southlawn. Let me know if you have someone better.

[locostv8]

I came across a thread a couple of days ago about this, on c-c I think but thier site has been down. It seems they were talking abbout plating but the thread drifted a bit and talked about bolts. For something as critical as suspension bolts I might be tempted to check out ARP.

[locostv8]

C-C has been down but are now up. Here is the URL on a thread about plating suspension pieces but it drifts into hardness of bolts http://forums.corner-carvers.com/showthread.php?t=31170 Appears to be good info.

[slngsht]

Finally got a chance to work on the car a few hours this weekend.



Powdercoated the links, made some aluminum spacers and mounted everything up. (note, the bottom link is in single shear. All the rest are in double. A little strange:



http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20061001_115210_CIMG1047.JPG



A better view of the link and the spacers. I also made the orange piece as a suspension stop. It didn't have any, and there was a clearance issue with the driveshaft when the rear wheels were at the bottom of their travel:



http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20061001_115445_CIMG1049.JPG





Finally, got a helmet for my son (and one for myself). It is absolutely beautiful outside today:



http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20061001_115548_CIMG1048.JPG



No more problems for the eyes or ears at highway speeds.

[slngsht]

well, last thing to get done on the car this weekend was to shorten the balance bar between the two master cylinders - I had no room for adjustment without hitting the bracket. While I was doing that, I noticed by throttle doesn't open the butterflies all the way http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/willy_nilly.gif I feel like I found free power - I'll know tomorrow. Looked like about 10 - 15 degrees.