Well at the Auto X yesterday with my new (used R6 Hoosiers.....4th corner I hear a loud CLUNK! and keep driving....I get to the end of the shoprt course and smell a funny smell.......look under the car and no oil leaky so...I am like OK back in line.

Round 2 I hear a squeak squeak as I slowly pull down towards the start and I call it off.

Well it was my driver rear suspension arm that has let loose enough to throw out my rear toe so that the tire is rubbing the inner fender well.....I had just finished my alignment @ a shop and was not able to get the negitive toe out due to the outer mount and the chasis stiffing kit I had put in....We tried to pull the wheel out with the play I had on the inner mount and came close.....I guess those tires are pretty sticky????

Shit!!


So aside from big welding (which I do not wqant to do right now) what else have we done to remedy the problem? I can not imagine that I am unique here....will sloting the hole and putting a turn buckle in to the fire wall help you think?


As a side not my beautiful engine has begun to blow blue smoke......either the rings didnt seat or my guides are worn (supposedly a 1000 mile heads) SO looks as though the Watkins glen is out as is my wallet if I cant get a refund ($400 + dollars!!!) and well shit I am pissed!!!

anyway life goes on!

In case I cant get out of it I'll gopo blow a little smoke I think and what would a quick fix be on that suspension ear??

Thanks

Josh

you need a brace kit.
I thought that simply replacing my first torn ear would do it with fresh metal... turns out the brand new console ripped itself in 6 months also...

you need a brace kit
I've run them on 2 different cars
mine are even aluminum, with bolt in bars and weld in mounting points.

So I am thinking of a brace that will go around the rear inner bolt through a turnbuckle to the fire wall....does that make sense?

you really need to replace the torn console.
and then the brace doesn't have to go through the actual bolt hole.
even "near" the bolt hole is sufficient

from below..

most -6 do not have room to spare on the acutal mounting nut of the ear.

damn, brant - looking at that pic reminds of all the pics of your build. I really enjoyed watching that car come together!!

thanks for the kind words Sean...
I wished it still looked like that

4 track years, and a big hit from a spec miata (who took out both fenders, the door, and rocker in one fell swoop) have taken their toll.
but then again... the memories of those 4 years are well worth it!

brant

a better view of how tight that mounting nut is... and why you do not want to go to that bolt hole. a little bit too tight:

sorry guys had some chores to do. The console is not torn the inner mount hole is ovaled a bit and the tolerances are so tight between the outer mount bracket and the body (insert chasis stiff kit) that I cant adjust it forward to give my big assed 245/50's room to breath. The small amount of movement 1/8" or so is enough to move the whole rear arm forward on the inboard side as to take away the 3/8" I had in clearance for the tire....so it rubs. I was just going to remove the arm and weld in some steel to keep the bar from moving forward???

see cheesy pic

Click to view attachment

Josh, I'm sure you can weld in some on the ear
but the problem is the flex that caused that ovaling
you will just oval the patch in a matter of weeks or months.

those inner and outer trailing arm mount nuts.
I'll bet they are coming loose on you?

before I had a brace I used to track a 2.0/4
and had to tighten those 22mm nuts every single day of track use
they would come loose after 30-60 minutes of track time and then cause that ovaling.

like I said, eventually I ripped a console out that was NOT rusty
I thought "well its 20 year old metal" (yes this was about 1994)
I had a new console welded in and had the same "loosening" experience for the 4-6 months it took to rip that console out also.....

the problem is that the console flexes without a brace
Once I put braces in, I have not had any of the mounting nuts come loose... On 2 seperate cars (1 a four, and 1 a six)
this after another 14 years of track use... nothing has come loose!

you can weld in a patch
you will still need a brace
especially with those big tires

If you don't brace it, you will oval or rip the console in probably the same amount of time it took to do this one.

brant

Yep I figured.....And I see your point. It all started with my suspension arm rubbing where it mounts b/c of the arm stiff kit and a lowered car. You think a 1/8 inch steel plate will help? cut to size and welded in. I have a bit more clearance than you due to my oil cooler being a bit shorter on the 90 degree. I think a plate made with a place for a turn buckle like yours that goes to the firewall is the ticket and would ad some adjustablity.......

Brant:
We agree about most things, but......
I've never ovaled a inner ear hole. I do check those nuts often and have have found them loose....that is to say not hella tight even after adding bracing & what not. The key is routine maintenance schedule on those nuts......do it or pay.

I never have cracked a console.....the seam welding I did must have really done the trick but, figuring nothing lasts forever, I did strengthen the whole mess last winter.

I'm happy to concede that your experience was different
maybe I'm a bit doomsday about it.

I just know that my experience was bad.. until I braced.

brant

and thats what I want to do....you added a plate to it right? and then a turnbuckle??

Click to view attachment

Josh,

you'll need to go inboard a bit from the line you drew.
look at the dimple in the firewall with a motor in (my pic above)
the 4 will handle a turnbuckle where you have drawn the line
the 6 has the valve cover and cooler in the way, you valve adjustments will be really tricky in the future.

The tube coming off the console is on that angle for a reason.
The turnbuckle you penciled in has 2 problems:

The firewall is very thin there. Even a large doubler might not stop oilcaning of the area.
It does nothing for lateral loads.

The angled tube helps with 3 directional loads. Fore, aft & lateral (less so but better than nothing).
There is a 1/8 inch doubler on the ear.

pic of the ear pre paint.
That hole ain't gonna oval.

I offer these, all ready to install.