Limited Lifetime Warranty
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ONLINE CHAT SKINNED KNUCKLES Limited Lifetime LARES ARTICLE CORPORATION Warranty Orest LazarowichPresents Looking Backward but Moving Forward A Continuing Series focused on the Repair and Restoration of your old Car and Truck. Steering Linkage Part 1 On the solid axle the movement of one wheel is dependent on the movement of the other On rear wheel drive vehicles the steering wheel on the axle. The steering knuckles which linkage consists of a number of steering rods that contain the spindles are connected to the axle by connect the steering gearbox to the front wheels. a kingpin. The steering linkage and thereby the They convert the rotary motion of the steering steering knuckles are connected by a single ad- wheel into angular motion of the front wheels so justable tie rod. The connection from the steering the vehicle can be steered to its destination. The gear box Pitman arm to the steering knuckle is type of steering linkage depends on whether the through a steering rod called the drag link. When front axle is solid ( I-beam) or independent front the driver turns the steering wheel the Pitman suspension (IFS). The solid axle was used on arm rotates and transfers the motion through the many early cars and trucks and is still used on drag link to the steering knuckle to turn the front many pickups and larger trucks. The vehicle wheels. weight is carried by flat springs or coil springs. The independent suspen- FRONT #! - Upper arm sion system is mounted on coil #2 - Wheel Knuckle springs and allows each of the SUSPENSION #3 - Stabilizer bar link wheels to move independently of #4 - Wheel bearing and hub the other one. On independent #5 - Rear lower arm front suspension, a steering #6 - Front lower arm knuckle support is located be- #7 - Stabilizer bar tween the upper and lower con- trol arms. The steering knuckle is joined to the steering knuckle Magazine. support by a kingpin. On vehi- cles after the mid-1950s, ball joints connect the control arms to a steering knuckle assembly which combines the steering Knuckles Skinned knuckle and support into one unit. In most North American cars the steering linkage consists of three parts. The Pitman arm transmits gear movement to the PAGE 10 - SKINNED KNUCKLES Article content provided by Lares Corporation Steering Components • CALL 1.800.555.0767 • VISIT www.LaresCorp.com ONLINE CHAT SKINNED KNUCKLES Limited Lifetime LARES ARTICLE CORPORATION Warranty left end of a relay rod or center link. An idler arm fail. The flexible connections (tie rod ends) in parallel to the Pitman arm is attached to the the steering linkage can fail because of wear. frame to support the right end of the relay rod. Some vehicles use rubber bushings which be- Two short tie rods connect the relay rod to the come brittle. King pin bushings wear out as do steering knuckle arms which transmit the move- ball joints - especially the bottom one. Any bang- ment to the steering knuckles to turn the wheels. ing or thumping noise when going over potholes Ball joints between the tie rods and steering arms can be caused by worn ball joints. Steering gear allow steering movement even when the suspen- boxes do wear out over time. Most vehicles sion moves up and down over rough road sur- today are built with ‘sealed’ ball joints and tie faces. rod ends. When the factory filled grease dries out the joint wears out. You should establish some sort of maintenance schedule that includes greasing these parts, if the parts are not worn or the rubber boots around these parts are not torn. A hypodermic needle type attachment on a regular grease gun will allow you to pierce the rubber boot and pump in the grease. Do not burst the boot. Older vehicles have grease fittings to allow lubrication. Aftermarket parts will have KINGPIN ASSEMBLY Road test grease fittings when you replace original parts. GREASE NIPPLE the vehicle Power wash all the entire front suspension parts over smooth to remove the road crud NEEDLE BEARING and rough { KINGPIN road surfaces. Before you raise the front of the vehicle AXLE Roll down the on safety stands, check the steering gearbox for windows, and steering wheel free play. If the vehicle has power listen for steering, start the engine. Wheels in straight noise (clunks, ahead position. Stand outside the vehicle, dri- squeaking, ver's window down, and turn the steering wheel. WHEEL banging) that If you can move the steering wheel more than HUB comes from one to one and a half inches without moving the NEEDLE the front sus- wheels, the steering gearbox may need adjust- Magazine. }BEARING pension. A vi- ment or a rebuild. Wear safety glasses to protect GREASE NIPPLE bration on the your eyes and mechanic's gloves to protect your steering hands. Place the safety stands under the axle on wheel at speeds below 50 mph might be caused solid axle vehicles. On independent suspension by tire problems or tire balance. Tires fail be- vehicles place the stands under the control arms Knuckles Skinned cause of wear or road damage. If the vehicle so the weight is on the suspension. Block the rear pulls to one side or wanders in the lane, the sus- wheels. Inspect the tires for irregular tread wear. pension parts need to be inspected for wear. Two common causes of early tire wear are im- Wheels can be bent by hitting potholes. Springs proper inflation and tire misalignment caused by can break or sag. Shock absorbers can leak and improper camber, toe-in and caster (alignment) SEPTEMBER 2018 - PAGE 11 Article content provided by Lares Corporation Steering Components • CALL 1.800.555.0767 • VISIT www.LaresCorp.com ONLINE CHAT SKINNED KNUCKLES Limited Lifetime LARES ARTICLE CORPORATION Warranty adjustments. Any unusual tire wear patterns can screw-in style bushings. At the bottom outer be caused by worn or loose parts. Check the control arm, a threaded bushing and pivot pin are wheel lug nuts/bolts for tightness. Lug nuts/bolts used to adjust the caster angle. The inner bottom should be tightened with a torque wrench. control arm is attached to the frame by a cross Tighten in a star pattern alternating from the lug shaft that pivots on bushings. Rock the wheel to nut/bolt to the one that is directly across from it. check for movement at the kingpin. Check the Torque setting for steel other side. If kingpin wear is evident, replace wheels is 90-100 foot kingpins and bushings. 1 4 pounds. Recheck after 100 miles. If you heard a Remove the front wheels. Use a pry bar, grinding noise coming and check for wear at the steering knuckle pivots 3 2 from the front wheels, at the upper and lower control arms. Check for check the wheel bear- wear at the outer upper and lower pivot pins of 5 ings. A loose front wheel the control arms. If there is excessive wear at the bearing will cause un- upper or lower pivot pin, it will be difficult to set even tire wear. Spin the the camber and caster wheel alignment adjusters wheel to check for bearing roughness as it ro- to specifications. Camber is the tilting angle of tates. Push/pull on the tire to check for bearing the front wheel. If the camber is out of adjust- side movement. Bearing side movement must be ment, tire wear will be on the inside or outside minimal ( 0.001”) and max (0.005” ). Any more edge of the tire. It also causes excessive wear of than this and the bearings should be removed suspension parts. Caster is the tilting of the up- and inspected for cracks, pits and scoring. If permost point of the steering axis. If the caster bearings and bearing surfaces are okay, they can is out of adjustment, the vehicle will wander be repacked. If they are damaged, they must be and/or pull to the side. Caster has little effect on replaced. Check both sides as they are exposed tire wear. Check for wear or binding at the inner to the same road conditions. If ball joints, king- control arm cross shafts. If there is minimal wear pins, bushings and tie rod ends are good, refer to at the control arm pivot points but the kingpin the wheel bearing section at the end of this arti- wear is excessive, start with replacing the king- cle. pins. Repeat this test on the other front wheel. Kingpin Check Ball Joint Check To check for kingpin wear remove the Ball joints are flexible joints that allow the steering knuckle dust cap and the cotter key. suspension to move up and down and side to side Tighten the axle nut to remove all wheel bearing usually in a full 360-degree rotation. During the end play. Place your hands at the top and bottom road test, a banging sound coming from vehicle's of the wheel and try to rock the wheel. On a front corners is usually caused by worn ball straight axle see if there is any movement at the joints. With the safety stands under the lower steering knuckle. Check the other side. If there control arms you can check the bottom ball joint is, the kingpins and bushings need to be re- for wear. Look for any signs of rust, a torn grease Magazine. placed. On many early type independent suspen- boot or grease leakage around the ball joint. Grab sions with the coil spring between the frame and the top and bottom of the tire, and rock the tire.