I’m ready to torque up the wishbone nuts but not sure what the value should be. Both my shop manual (ca. 1965) and the Buckland book urge me to tighten them up to “the correct torque” but don’t mention the number! A search of the archives yields one mention of “75 nm (IIRC)” and the poly bush manufacturer (Autobush) didn’t include torque specs in the very general information.
BTW, the Autobush front bushings seem to fit well, allowing movement by hand when the nuts are tight enough so that the washers (both ends) are clearly clamping the crush tube. I used the supplied grease between the bush flanges and the washers as well as between the crush tube and the bushing ID.
Hi Andrew,
The workshop manual show the front setting as 50-60lbs. and the rear as 35-40lbs; obviously this should be carried out with the correct front and rear weight loading to get the correct ride height.
I too have purchased a set of bushes from Autobush so it is good to hear that everything went well. Hopefully I will be changing them over during winter.
With the Poly bushes that pivot freely on the crush tube you can tighten at any ride height as you dont have to worry about getting the inner tube clamped at the wrong position like you do with a bonded rubber bushing.
I reassembled my wishbones last weekend with new SS nyloc nuts + copperslip with a long wrench by ?feel?, and when checked with the torque wrench they all showed between 75-80 lbf ft.
Technically, assuming a US grade 2 (EU grade 8. 1/2" UNF bolt thread, the torque should be 64 lbf ft when oiled and 85 lbf ft when dry.
Thanks for the replies. I used 75 nm (roughly 55 lb-ft) which felt right. The arms are a bit stiff on the spindles but they do move.
One thing to note with these bushings: With washers at each end of the bushing, there is not much thread left at the end of the spindles. Even using reduced-height locknuts (from RD) the end of the spindle doesn’t quite reach the end of the nut, and doesn’t engage much of the nylon locking part. Makes the correct torque all the more important. At least the washer prevents the nut from experiencing any rotational force from the bushing.
1/2" UNF bolt thread, the torque should be 64 lbf ft when oiled and 85 lbf ft when dry.