LCA torque

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Ironracer

Ironracer

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I may have to drive my car about 9 miles down a country road, and ain't physically able to torque the lower control arm pivots.. can I just snug em and roll? All components are new, thanks for looking, and hope Y'all all are well!
 
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I'd forgot I hadn't torqued mine on the Bee after a full resto and drove it a 100 miles.... no issues.
 
Properly cared for poly bushings will both outperform and outlast the OE rubber bushings. But you have to keep them lubricated, otherwise they’ll dry out and fail. No different than running a ball joint out of grease, it’s not a problem with the part it’s a problem with the maintenance.

As for the torque question, I would want those LCA pivot nuts pretty darn tight. I can understand not being able to torque them completely to the spec since it’s really high, but I would not want those moving around at all. Last thing you want is for the pivots to move and tear the tube out of the K frame. The factory spot welds for those tubes are pretty small
 
I've never torque a lower control arm, just tighten them down and go, I've driven my vehicle's for years like this and never had a issue. I don't torque every bolt and nut and I've never had problems with anything.
 
Dan the man said:
I've never torque a lower control arm, just tighten them down and go, I've driven my vehicle's for years like this and never had a issue. I don't torque every bolt and nut and I've never had problems with anything.
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I tighten everything to specifications in the factory service manual or if it's an aftermarket part by the specifications by the manufacturer
 
72bluNblu said:
Properly cared for poly bushings will both outperform and outlast the OE rubber bushings. But you have to keep them lubricated, otherwise they’ll dry out and fail. No different than running a ball joint out of grease, it’s not a problem with the part it’s a problem with the maintenance.

As for the torque question, I would want those LCA pivot nuts pretty darn tight. I can understand not being able to torque them completely to the spec since it’s really high, but I would not want those moving around at all. Last thing you want is for the pivots to move and tear the tube out of the K frame. The factory spot welds for those tubes are pretty small
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I agree man just after having double pneumonia for 5 months dude I don't physically have the strength to even finish the struts rods to where they meet the LCA. That stuff kicked my *** I didn't have 30 lb to lose, but I lost it! I'm definitely weak as I've ever been
 
Ironracer said:
I tighten everything to specifications in the factory service manual or if it's an aftermarket part by the specifications by the manufacturer
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That's probably the correct way to go. I torque cylinder heads and other engine parts but that's pretty much it
 
Ironracer said:
I agree man just after having double pneumonia for 5 months dude I don't physically have the strength to even finish the struts rods to where they meet the LCA. That stuff kicked my *** I didn't have 30 lb to lose, but I lost it! I'm definitely weak as I've ever been
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Geez, sorry to hear that man.

I think with only a 9 mile trip you can probably get way with a lot, just go slow and be careful. I know I wouldn’t recommend it, but I know we’ve all done things we wouldn’t recommend to get out of a tight spot. Best of luck!

Dan the man said:
That's probably the correct way to go. I torque cylinder heads and other engine parts but that's pretty much it
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Lol! So you’ll make sure the cylinder head bolts are torqued to spec, but not the parts that literally hold the wheels on your car? Makes sense :rolleyes:
 
72bluNblu said:
Geez, sorry to hear that man.

I think with only a 9 mile trip you can probably get way with a lot, just go slow and be careful. I know I wouldn’t recommend it, but I know we’ve all done things we wouldn’t recommend to get out of a tight spot. Best of luck!



Lol! So you’ll make sure the cylinder head bolts are torqued to spec, but not the parts that literally hold the wheels on your car? Makes sense :rolleyes:
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I've always used a impact on them. I tighten them in a criss cross pattern. I've done it like that for years, I don't know anyone who uses a torque wrench on lug nuts not even tire stores
 
72bluNblu said:
Geez, sorry to hear that man.

I think with only a 9 mile trip you can probably get way with a lot, just go slow and be careful. I know I wouldn’t recommend it, but I know we’ve all done things we wouldn’t recommend to get out of a tight spot. Best of luck!



Lol! So you’ll make sure the cylinder head bolts are torqued to spec, but not the parts that literally hold the wheels on your car? Makes sense :rolleyes:
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Indy cars, they don't torque those wheels either, no time. I've never had any problems with lug nuts breaking or lug nuts coming off in all of the years that I have been driving.
 
Dan the man said:
Indy cars, they don't torque those wheels either, no time. I've never had any problems with lug nuts breaking or lug nuts coming off in all of the years that I have been driving.
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I call bull ****. The guns used are set to a torque spec for said center lock setup, same for NASCAR and any other pro racing series that has pit stops. The guns used are not your run of the mill cheap *** HF air guns. The guns in F1 are made to the teams specs and can cost more than your dart we all have yet to see photos of… The wheel nut torque on the vintage F1 cars my brother runs is in the 300 to 400 Foot pounds depending on the car. Ever seen a torque multiplier?
 
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Tsully said:
Aren’t they supposed to be lose until you get the weight of the car on them and then tighten?
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With the OE rubber bushings , yes.
Dan the man said:
Indy cars, they don't torque those wheels either, no time. I've never had any problems with lug nuts breaking or lug nuts coming off in all of the years that I have been driving.
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First, I was talking about the LCA pivot nuts. They also “hold the wheels on” since they hold the LCA on the car. You said you never torque anything, so that would apply to every critical part in the suspension.

Scody21 said:
I call bull ****. The guns used are set to a torque spec for said center lock setup, same for NASCAR and any other pro racing series that has pit stops. The guns used are not your run of the mill cheap *** HF air guns. The guns in F1 are made to the teams specs and can cost more than your dart we all have yet to see photos of… The wheel nut torque on the vintage F1 cars my brother runs is in the 300 to 400 Foot pounds depending on the car. Ever seen a torque multiplier?
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Exactly. There are actually a lot of impact guns that have torque settings. Obviously the ones used in F1 and Indy are a lot more sophisticated.
 
72bluNblu said:
With the OE rubber bushings , yes.


First, I was talking about the LCA pivot nuts. They also “hold the wheels on” since they hold the LCA on the car. You said you never torque anything, so that would apply to every critical part in the suspension.



Exactly. There are actually a lot of impact guns that have torque settings. Obviously the ones used in F1 and Indy are a lot more sophisticated.
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I don't know any mechanic or shop technician who torques suspension parts, it's time consuming and time is money to those guy's. I've always tighten them up and put in the counter pin and good to go. I've never had problems and don't know anyone that has. I'm not saying that it's not a good idea.
 
72bluNblu said:
With the OE rubber bushings , yes.


First, I was talking about the LCA pivot nuts. They also “hold the wheels on” since they hold the LCA on the car. You said you never torque anything, so that would apply to every critical part in the suspension.



Exactly. There are actually a lot of impact guns that have torque settings. Obviously the ones used in F1 and Indy are a lot more sophisticated.
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I’m running poly and did it like it was OE as a just in case and torqued it down to specs.
 
Dan the man said:
I don't know any mechanic or shop technician who torques suspension parts, it's time consuming and time is money to those guy's. I've always tighten them up and put in the counter pin and good to go. I've never had problems and don't know anyone that has. I'm not saying that it's not a good idea.
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I guess you don’t know any good mechanics then!

I’m not claiming that I torque every single nut and bolt to spec, but I absolutely torque major suspension components to spec. The LCA pivot nuts are supposed to be torqued to 145 ft/lbs, that’s well beyond just “tight”

The LCA pivot nuts don’t have cotter pins either.

Tsully said:
I’m running poly and did it like it was OE as a just in case and torqued it down to specs.
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That certainly won’t hurt anything, but since the poly bushing rotates on the pivot pin it’s not necessary like it is for the rubber bushings.
 
Dan the man said:
I don't know any mechanic or shop technician who torques suspension parts, it's time consuming and time is money to those guy's. I've always tighten them up and put in the counter pin and good to go. I've never had problems and don't know anyone that has. I'm not saying that it's not a good idea.
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The real problem with not using a torque wrench is of over torquing the nut/bolt on lower torque value nuts/bolts which put undue stress on said item or item being bolted on. The same could be said for under torquing items like head bolts. Sometimes it really matters, sometimes it does not.

Now how often to people put their street car on the rack and do a nut / bolt check? When we run the formula cars, we do a nut/bolt of each corner after each session and then back in the shop after a race weekend. For my duster, I do at least once a year, as I don’t drive it much. For a daily street car, I’d torque it as when do ya ever do a nut/bolt or check of it after said install? Yep never…
 
Scody21 said:
The real problem with not using a torque wrench is of over torquing the nut/bolt on lower torque value nuts/bolts which put undue stress on said item or item being bolted on. The same could be said for under torquing items like head bolts. Sometimes it really matters, sometimes it does not.

Now how often to people put their street car on the rack and do a nut / bolt check? When we run the formula cars, we do a nut/bolt of each corner after each session and then back in the shop after a race weekend. For my duster, I do at least once a year, as I don’t drive it much. For a daily street car, I’d torque it as when do ya ever do a nut/bolt or check of it after said install? Yep never…
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I've never rechecked a suspension part after I've installed it and never had any problems. Most suspension parts I use a 1/2" breaker bar or a ratchet. Even when I was in tech school the instructor's never used a torque wrench much. There's no room for a torque wrench for upper shocks, or the upper control arm in most cases
 
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