[C1] Third arm 'wobbles'
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2021
Posts: 805
Likes: 198
From: NH
Third arm 'wobbles'
I thought I had my front end all done, but when I took it for alignment, they found a few problems I need to correct. (see also other threads I started today). One serious problem that he showed me is that when you turn the steering wheel, the third arm moves up and down before it moves the tie rods at all. The degree of motion was scary. (I never saw this as I don't have a helper to turn the wheel while I am under the car. I guess I'll have to recruit my grandson) I had a terrible time getting the bearing out of the third arm (another thread I started), but I finally got it out and installed a new one. I tightened the nut on the stud to torque spec (totally squashing the rather useless 'seal'), but it appears that it needs to be pulled down a lot more to prevent the 'wobble'. Do I just keep cranking on the nut until the wobble goes away or is this a sign of some other problem?
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2021
Posts: 805
Likes: 198
From: NH
The short answer is, Yes. I pulled the cotter pin and re-torqued the nut which was quite loose and that removed the wobble. I can only guess that when originally installed the raised area of the stud was not properly seated and with the first 'test drive' it seated itself becoming loose as it did so. In any event: problem solved.
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 10,696
Likes: 3,090
From: Cottonwood AZ
C1 of Year Finalist (performance mods) 2019
The 3rd arm was a popular jacking location on these cars and of course it was wrong and likely caused them to loosen up from all the undo weight it placed on it. 
