Just bought my second Moog control arm shaft kit (Part #5250) and went to put the bushings and shafts in last night and the whole project came to a screeching halt. I bought the first kit last fall and the second one, just a week ago and both have the same problem. One of the nuts from each kit are threaded wrong. The shaft has a fine thread on both ends, but the nuts that I got were one fine thread and one coarse. :af: I can thread the correct nut on by hand, the other doesn't even spin on the shaft one revolution. I thought that Moog would have had some sort of QC for stuff like this. The parts came in a little baggie that was sealed up. And that's not all, one of my ball joints didn't come with the castle nut, so I have to make another trip to the store to get one of those now too. Does anyone know if the nuts one the control arm shafts are anything special, or are they something that I could pickup at Home Depot, if they have them? Also, what are the bolts that got through the frame and then through the front upper control arm shafts called?
u should be able to purchase the nut (regular hex head ?) probably 1/2" ? be sure u buy the correct grade of nut - grade 5 or grade 8 ? do NOT attempt to rethread the course-threaded nut to a fine thread .
Thanks Gerry, I wasn't going to do any rethreading, I just wondered if they were hardened nuts or had some special coating. I'm gonna try Auto Zone first and see if they have the same nuts, before I try Home Depot. I was just aggrevated last night, I finally got the time to work on the car and something stupid like this happens and of course everything was closed, that would have the right nuts for this. :ball:
The nuts on the upper control arm shafts are usually some kind of locking nut. Not your everyday hardware store stock.
Those are special nuts that should fit the sahft tight and be hard to turn by hand. But if you cannot get it started something is wrong. Take it back to the store and see if they will get a new one. They should honor that screw up. I just checked mine. You need a 5/8" nut with an 18 thread pitch. Check out www.amkproducts.com, go to PDF catalog and check out page #39 top right of page. That is waht you need. It is a grade 5 bolt. This is option if store is an ass about it.
Scott, Amk also has the correct bolts that go through the shaft. They are serated and have to be driven in with a drift and a hammer and it is tough. They are on page #16 middle right of page #381909, the nuts are on page #41 middle of page #9422299 with the S7 finish which is silver cad. New lower control arm bolts are available here as well. Do you need those numbers as well? You really should cahnge them. Dont't trust your life to 40 year old bolts
If for some reason you don't have enough stuff to meet AMK's minimum order I have a set of new nuts for the ends of the front upper control arm shafts. Easier yet...all you need to do is go to a local bolt supply place and they should have them in stock. I think these are what you are talking about:
Thanks Dave, I actually had 3 or 4 shafts that a friend gave me last summer when I couldn't find the kits in stock anywhere local. He had just sandblasted them and installed brand new nuts, so I ended up with what I needed and then a couple of extras. I found them behind the stereo on my bench, I had totally forgotten that they were sitting up there. I'll have to order those bolts though, that go through the shafts, nobody has those locally either. The guy at AZ looked at me like I had two heads when I tried to describe them, then the other guy (who has a 70 Cutlass) broke in and knew exactly what I needed, and said that NAPA should have them, but they are a couple of town over from me. I'm putting all new hardware and components and don't want to use any old stuff that I'm not sure of. I figure what's good about having a quick car if the suspension falls apart when it hits a bump in the road. ou:
If you could specify A YEAR and MODEL then people might be able to check their cars and/or do some comparisons. They could be the exact same nuts or bolts but without specifics you may not get much help. Thanks
Oops....'72 Electra. Actually, not just the control arm bolts, but any of the hardware including the rear suspention bolts. Thanks. Mitch
Anyone have a source for the big washers that go over the control arm shafts? AMKs are way bigger in diameter than stock. Originals were about same diam. as bushing. Don't want to buy a whole shaft kit to get them.
has anyone seen these bolts welded to the shaft ? my century has both sides welded :shock: looks like an original weld to me ( or someone was very good with a welder ) Greetz Lennard
on both sides of the shaft ? mine are only welded on the front side of the shafts may i ask how you got them off or did you just grab the die grinder and replace everything ( my plan btw ) Greetz Lennard
One had been loosened for some reason and the other was grinded off. Yeah I worked with what I had, then had an uncle with a welder weld it back once it was set. Good Luck:beers2:
