As soon as the lock washer engages, the entire shaft turns - with wheels on the ground or suspended on lift.
No place to grip it, so there must be a trick to it.
Attached is a photo of an old shaft - no place to grip it. Totally frustrating.
How do you tighten the LCA shaft?
- Thread starter Bobacuda
- Start date
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As soon as the lock washer engages, the entire shaft turns - with wheels on the ground or suspended on lift.
No place to grip it, so there must be a trick to it.
Attached is a photo of an old shaft - no place to grip it. Totally frustrating.
Urethane LCA bushings?
mopowers
Well-Known Member
Try giving it a few hits with an impact gun and finishing it off with a torque wrench.
Get out your pair of vice grips, and clamp it down onto the shaft, up in the space where you can get to it in the crossmember , where it goes in.
That's what i do at the wrecking yards when removing a LCA, when the bushings are totally shot, and the nut and shaft spin together.
Easy peasy.
Ok.
Edit.
Here's a picture for you.
You can figure it all out from here, what i'm talking about.
That's what i do at the wrecking yards when removing a LCA, when the bushings are totally shot, and the nut and shaft spin together.
Easy peasy.
Ok.
Edit.
Here's a picture for you.
You can figure it all out from here, what i'm talking about.
Last edited:
Greasyfingers
Well-Known Member
What nut are you using? If it's a pinch lock nut, I use a regular nut to pull the shaft in tight. Than I'll remove it and replace it with the pinch lock toqued to spec.
If it's the original castle nut I'll hit it a couple times with an impact gun (as suggested above). Just need to pull the pin in tight enough to not spin.
If it's the original castle nut I'll hit it a couple times with an impact gun (as suggested above). Just need to pull the pin in tight enough to not spin.
Impact - same as using a socket, so far
With all their engineering, why the hell didn’t Mopar make the damn collar on the shaft where you could put an open end on it?
i was already thinking of grinding a couple of flats on that collar, and making a thin wrench out of flat stock the next time i do those
If I ever do it again, I will modify the collar. This is ridiculous.
With all their engineering, why the hell didn’t Mopar make the damn collar on the shaft where you could put an open end on it?
Well, when they designed this setup, urethane bushings didn't exist, and with the factory LCA bushing, the shaft won't turn in the bushing.
Nothing special, vice grip wise.
Just a standard 8" one.
Then maybe, a needle nose style, vice grip would get up in there for you.
All that i can tell you is i have been taking out LCA's from cars, for probably 40 years, and rebuilding them, and haven't had any difficulties in sticking a vice grip up in the cross member to hold onto the shaft.
You gotta remember decades ago doing things at a wrecking yard, these battery pack tools weren't invented yet, so you did what you had to do, in taking things apart.
Did i get lucky in 40 years, not getting anything that wouldn't come apart. I dunno.
Jim Lusk
Well-Known Member
Sounds like you may have installed the poly bushings too far on the pin. Otherwise there would be plenty of room for normal vise grips.
512Stroker
We are all here because we are not all there.
I hope you did not grease/oil the shaft prior to installation.
Take the wieght off the LCA and with a dead blow seat the shaft in to the K member hard. Put the weight of the car on the LCA.
NO lock washer or lock nut tighten it with an impact, bounce the front of the car several times.
Remove the nut install your lock washer and torque
Hope that works for ya, that's how I did mine.
By the same token, you can also grind two nice flats on the collar before assembly. A little late now though.With all their engineering, why the hell didn’t Mopar make the damn collar on the shaft where you could put an open end on it?
If I can get the nuts off (same problem on both sides), I’ll try this.
This is a family site and you're talkin about gettin nuts off? lol
Ironracer
Gearhead
I kinda needed that after "NOT mi or My Amigo " fun" today...
Scody21
Just send it
I’m with the other guys, a cheap *** HF grinder with a flap disk, two flats on the collar. And a cheap *** wrench from the thrift shop to customize for said job...
The greaseable LCA pens that Firm Feel sell have flats on the collar for a wrench.
The greaseable LCA pens that Firm Feel sell have flats on the collar for a wrench.
Ironracer
Gearhead
I've been known to take a bench grinder to custom make odd tools... had to change something on. 90s Caddy for a Friend's Mom ( RIP Shirley Hinds, got jab 5 days later, gone) cut the wrench down, and narrowed the opening, otherwise, it was pull the engine up some. May have been a Northstar, I don't remember. All I remember, was a bunch crap all in the way. Water pump, maybe? I dunno
Scody21
Just send it
I had a HF 5 minutes from me at the old house. I was known to take a trip down, get a set of wrenches and the moment I got home pick out the wrench necessary and head right to the bench grinder or bust out the death wheel.... lol
If this were mine, I believe I would take the whole thing back out and take a good look at it. If Jim is right, then I'm thinking it will never really be right until the bushing is installed correctly.
I actually had a mechanic rebuild the front suspension. About 2 months later, he quit and the body shop told me my car was done. I put it on the lift at my house and notice the LS brake and spindle were on the RS, and vice versa. I am now checking the torque on everything the mech did.
While correcting that, I noticed the upper ball joints castle nuts did not have cotter pins - not torqued, either. Lower joints had cotter pins, but were not torqued. That’s when I saw the strut shaft and the LCA nuts were finger tight, no cotter pins. So, I grumbled, set the ride height, torqued the strut shafts, then tried to tighten the LCA shafts - no dice. I tried it loaded and unloaded. I’ve tried it with impact- nut stays and shaft spins.
So, tomorrow I will get smaller vise grips and try again. Next one, I will do - and those damn pins will be modified for a box end.
Last resort is to pull the LCA’s. Can I just pull the torsion bar and tap the shafts out from behind?
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