I'm doing a re-build of my front suspension and plan on replacing the rubber bushings.

Now this question really only applies where the bushings are rubber, due to their resistance to rotating.

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Is there anywhere that the "clocking" of the brackets is called out. I've looked in the factory 914 manual and it doesn't call it out. There is a reference to an A-arm jig and maybe that's what would define it.

What I'm talking about is that if you placed the A-arm flat on the ground, the brackets that have the rubber bushings are at a certain angle from horizontal.

This means that when the car is jacked up, the rubber bushings would want to have the A-arm point in some angle. (sloping downward something like 15 degrees)

When the car is sitting on the ground, the arms are pretty much horizontal and the bushings have a "pre-load" of 15 degrees rotation.

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Is this to pre-load the torsion bars?

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Would the desired angle change if you plan on lowering the car?

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(in other cars I've worked on, without torsion bars, you would always want the rubber bushings to NOT have a rotational load on them when the car is on the ground)

Wes

Get the FreeMotion roller bearings ...

http://www.originalcustoms.com/FreeMotion.php

Andy

There's no spec that I've seen, but I'm sure the factory installed them a certain way for ease of mounting on the car.

The rubber does pivot on the shaft, so I think they will self center. You can hear the rubber breaking free and slipping (sounds like a creaking noise) on a stock bushing car.

Wes if you just got through reading the bushing stuff you are on the right track. It seems that the rubber on the 914 if it's correct it's supposed to twist and not slip. So it will be acting against the bars unless it's all put together like it's supposed to be. How you figgure the final resting place out is a good question. If it moves after it's assembled it's going to squeak unless it is a continously lubed slip.
Maybe someone has a arm angle at a certain ride heigth with a certain diameter tire already figgured somewhere. Maybe a few degrees isn't a big deal but it will always be there unless the rubber takes a set over time.

It would be a pita but you could asemble it with the old bushings and get the ride heigth where you want it then mark the brackets in relation to the arms and redo it with new stuff.

Wow, thanks!

I didn't think about that possibilty.

Wes

Wes this stuff does sell itself , you just have to have or letgo of the money. I have wondered what the life expectancy of the various systems would be ?? 5 / 10 / 20 / 30 / years ?? Will replacement parts be available in the future , will they be NLA ??
It's all just a matter of money , how much do you want to spend on your car to get it roadworthy , cherryied , tricked out . Just what level you are willing to settle for. Darn, all the choices !!!

Jaxdream

Jaxdream;

That last posting of mine was just a snotty response.

I know that there are different options that could be done and avoid the whole "clocking" question.

What bugs me is that the question was very specific in regards to retaining the original style rubber bushings. Which could be significant if doing a "points car".

Wes

Wes is there a way / test the judges could do to determine that the buhings were original or aftermarket ?? I know that the old rubber buhings most of the time do look like ' old " rubber , I've read postings on keeping rubber weatherstripping plyable by using glyceren ( spelling may be off ) on them as prefered to armor all/ silicones and such , don't know if this would help appearence if that is what your wanting- fresh looking rubber?? I personally will be after the rubber type , as to who's rubber I haven't desided yet . Just want to get as much info as I can gather. Good luck with your endevour , you may hve to get someone with a known low mileage car to participate in the examination of thier setup to determine a good ballpark degree of inclination.

Jaxdream

Check out the Youtube videos on the Elephant Racing site.

http://www.elephantracing.com/suspension/r...berbushings.htm

They have installation steps showing the phasing of the a-arm once the rubber bushing is in place. At least that's what I think is being shown. Very curious to hear how your install goes as I'm thinking of doing the same to my suspension.

Good luck,

John

Thanks John!!!!!

I went to their site and found their installation PDF for their rubber bushings and installation tools.

It has the clocking (or phasing) angles.

Here is a link directly to the PDF;

Elephant rubber bushing installation PDF

Although I can normally figure out a "work-around", I've got to say that the two "tools" that they include with their kit are really well thought out and would simplify installation a lot!!!!!

Question answered! (it's 18 to 19 degrees for the front bushing and 14 to 15 degrees for the rear one, with the a-arm sitting horizontal)

Wes