Tie rod ends

[ctuinstra]

It just so happens that I took a photo of the boxes with the part numbers before I trashed them thinking I might want to know what number to use if I have to replace them.

Hope this helps.

 

[Karter2026]

Sorry I don't have an answer, but how is your build parts list coming along, Ron? Did you put in things like tie rod ends, radiator hoses, etc?

I do have them listed in my parts log. I have all the hoses that I used that were supplied and where I used them. Chad beat me to it with the part #. I was at work having a battle with mother nature and the snow and ice. Here is an example of what I did.

 

[baustin]

I really love the way the camera mounted to frame highlights the obnoxious noise that I hear all the **** time!

I'm having this same type of squeak/groaning noise. I noticed my steering column was rubbing on the front firewall where the shaft pass through, clearanced that a little. Of course it didn't solve the entire noise, but I know it was bumping as it turned.

Seems like I should go check all of the jam nuts on the control arms, any thoughts on putting a little blue thread locker in the clamp surface of the jam nut to the powder coated control arm? Maybe they just need to be tightened that much harder but I've only driven ~500 miles and the groaning is quite noticeable at driveway speeds.

I'll also try jacking the front of the car to see if the noise goes away.

 

[ctuinstra]

Lube the heim joints with a very lightweight spray lube and work it in. I also found that the powder coated surfaces that rub together at the a-arm to frame mounting points also caused noise. On the most recent build, we filed off the powder coating where the two pieces make contact and that stopped it from happening on the second build.

How I found my noises is I just grabbed everything with my hand while someone else made the movements until I could feel the vibrations in my hand. I was a bit shocked to find it in the a-arm pivots joints! But others also said that it was in the heim joints.

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

Would a hard bronze washer between the a-arms and the frame mounts to separate the coated (paint/powder coat) surfaces help reduce the chance of squeaking? These would be wear items that would require periodic replacement, but if it eliminates the squeaking...

 

[ctuinstra]

Would a hard bronze washer between the a-arms and the frame mounts to separate the coated (paint/powder coat) surfaces help reduce the chance of squeaking? These would be wear items that would require periodic replacement, but if it eliminates the squeaking...

I did a bad job of explaining the issue as I made it sound like it was the powdered coated a-arm rubbing against the powder-coated frame. It's actually the center of the inner heim joint of the a-arm as it's mounted to the frame. The bolt going through both leaves just a hair of slop between the bolt and the hole of the heim joint. This small amount of slop allows the center of the heim joint to move and rub against the edge of the mounting tube (that is powder coated). I filed off all of the powder coating off the mounting tube for the bolt on the frame so it would be metal to metal contact. This allows the two metals to be clamped down better without the "rubbery cushion" of the powder coating between the two surfaces.

No one is really going to understand what I'm talking about here. It's difficult to describe.


The surface of this tube as the heim joint is mounted to it is what was causing a lot of noises for us. The bolt can allow the heim joint to move ever so slightly against this surface. At first I over-torqued the bolt to tighten it and it helped but that's not the best answer.

The lateral movement of the joints cause a rubbing noise. "But how, Chad!" "How can this happen while I'm just turning the steering wheel?" Turning the steering wheel applies a force to the wheel/tire that resists against the ground thus forcing all the other components move. If you jack up the front, you probably won't hear it since there is no resistance.

Now with this being said, this was OUR issue. It may not be your issue and may very well be something else. But it's something to consider as it may kick your ass otherwise. This can also happen on the lower arm, I just showed the upper because it's visible in the photos.

Good luck!