Front end rebuild 1972 Duster
The two strut rods.
Coarse thread:
Fine thread:
It looks like the coarse thread is the first version. They are the shorter ones. This car has one short/coarse thread and one longer/fine thread. This will affect caster if the same thickness bushings are used. I thought I read that the bushing changes when the length of the strut rod changed. In theory, the shorter length rods used a thicker bushing so the overall working length was the same. This means if you didn’t pay attention, you could have three combinations. 1) The correct bushing , resulting in proper alignment. 2)Short rod/thin bushing for more caster at the risk of lower bushing distortion. 3) Long rod/big bushing resulting in excessive negative caster.
I have a 16x8 wheel in front with a 225-50-16. The right side strut rod is the longer one. Note the difference in the clearance to the rear of the wheel opening.
Left:
Unscientific but that is about 2 7/16”.
Right side:
That is around 2” even. That is a huge difference. The lower ball joint is pushed back enough to make a 7/16” difference. Caster on this side is probably several degrees negative. I’m going to replace the RH strut rod and bushings. This and the offset bushings should get me at least 3 degrees of caster.
The two strut rods.
Coarse thread:
Fine thread:
It looks like the coarse thread is the first version. They are the shorter ones. This car has one short/coarse thread and one longer/fine thread. This will affect caster if the same thickness bushings are used. I thought I read that the bushing changes when the length of the strut rod changed. In theory, the shorter length rods used a thicker bushing so the overall working length was the same. This means if you didn’t pay attention, you could have three combinations. 1) The correct bushing , resulting in proper alignment. 2)Short rod/thin bushing for more caster at the risk of lower bushing distortion. 3) Long rod/big bushing resulting in excessive negative caster.
I have a 16x8 wheel in front with a 225-50-16. The right side strut rod is the longer one. Note the difference in the clearance to the rear of the wheel opening.
Left:
Unscientific but that is about 2 7/16”.
Right side:
That is around 2” even. That is a huge difference. The lower ball joint is pushed back enough to make a 7/16” difference. Caster on this side is probably several degrees negative. I’m going to replace the RH strut rod and bushings. This and the offset bushings should get me at least 3 degrees of caster.