McPherson Struts - Cost to modify top mounts to add Caster??

On 11/25/2010 11:32 AM, Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B wrote:
> On Wed, 24 Nov 2010 16:53:18 -0800, ChrisCoaster wrote:
>
>> On Nov 24, 7:25 pm, "Steve > wrote:
>>
>>
>>> 01-07 - Off the shelf upper ball joints with 1 degree of caster/camber
>>> possible run about 50 bucks each. They are available from Mevotech,
>>> Moog, Wagner
>>>
>>> Pull a tire and look at the actual suspension. It is a linked coil over
>>> system, the strut is the spring/shock BUT it is not the steering pivot.
>>> Works just like the system on the front of a Jeep Liberty.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Steve W.
>>> (\___/)
>>> (='.'=)
>>> (")_(")- Hide quoted text -
>>>
>>> - Show quoted text -
>> ____________________
>> 2001 - 2007 is that? Actually, the last year of the 2001 generation
>> optima was 2006. The newer design(mine) debuted as a 2006"1/2" which
>> share nothing with the old optima save the name.
>>
>> So I'm afraid I'm out of luck on this mod.
>>
>> -CC
>
>
> Check with Energy. I have an '88 Supra and NOBODY had bushings for this
> car, and then they suddenly showed up on AutoZone's web site. Thank God,
> mine are SHOT! I was actually hoping to go with rubber, but at least
> SOMETHING was available. I could get most of them from Toyota, but the
> front lowers are only available with the entire control arm. At $198 each,
> no, thanks!

you say that dude, but thin walled bushings can be a giant pita to get
out, even on low-rust california cars. even if you have dies that will
fit and not mangle the bushing wall [by no means guaranteed], you often
need a /honking/ great press to get them moving.* unless you have ready
access to a machine shop and someone with a press of >100 tons [a diy
30-ton press won't do it] it can be an entirely non-trivial job.

[you can of course spent hours sweating away with various drills,
dremels and punches to remove the old bushings, but it'll take you
literally hours. by the time you've priced the tools, knuckle skin and
inconvenience spending a day doing a job that will take you less than an
hour with simple arm replacement, your likely cheapest route is simply
to replace the whole control arm.]



* that's just removal. unlike many bearing jobs where the bearing
itself is stiff and usually self-aligns, pressing in new thin wall
bushings requires a press that remains square as pressure builds because
the bushing walls do not provide support. that's not as simple as it
sounds and "parallelogram" elastic distortion in the press frame can
mean misalignment of the bushing sleeve, buckling and destruction.
presses that can do the job reliably are very expensive.


--
nomina rutrum rutrum