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??? - (front) upper control arm pivot bar - end nuts - torque value - ???
(85 corvette) -- for the life of me, I can't find the torque value for the upper control arm, pivot bar end nuts. there is not specific section on bushing replacement in the FSM - most likely, GM wants to replace the control arm as an assembly, so no torque specs. anyway, back to the question - torque value?
BTW, I know about loading the suspension before final torque on the nuts - need to know for final assembly.
one down - three to go. this turned out to be a bigger PITA than I thought - - the rear, two piece bushing was a snap, but the forward bushing had to be pressed in. that was the pain. must have taken 6 or 8 attempts, four hands, and a 20 ton press - - not a lot of give to those poly bushings. I've never done U/L C4 control arms before, so this one was pretty much the learning curve.
I would think that since you've another that you haven't touch you do a "first movement test". A friend does this on equipment that there's no known specifications. He bought his measuring tool I'm quite sure at a machine shop auction. Maybe a local machine shop can accommodate you with the arm that's not done. I've never done it but here's something that GOOGLE found this AM.
It might be interesting for maybe a few owners with arms on the shelf or not done yet maybe do and post comparisons.
I would think that since you've another that you haven't touch you do a "first movement test". A friend does this on equipment that there's no known specifications. He bought his measuring tool I'm quite sure at a machine shop auction. Maybe a local machine shop can accommodate you with the arm that's not done. I've never done it but here's something that GOOGLE found this AM.
It might be interesting for maybe a few owners with arms on the shelf or not done yet maybe do and post comparisons.
been there, done that (sort of...) broke them loose using my standard 1/2" drive torque wrench-- one at 150 lb.ft. and one at 130 lb.ft.. my torque wrench hasn't been calibrated in several years - last time it was within the +/- 4% factory spec, but i'm sure i'm within the ballpark - just not confident in those values. the nuts are M20-2.5 prevailing torque locknuts with red locking adhesive and that adhesive will affect the "first movement" torque values. not sure if i'm going to re-use the existing nuts, or not -- also searching for new. would still like to know the factory spec. just don't have a warm-fuzzy with the 130-150 numbers. thanks for the help -
Now the part where good judgment comes in to play. GM does not have a recommended torque setting for the upper control arm shaft nuts. The upper control arms were not to be serviced; hence they have no guidelines to go by. It is very hard to determine what the initial torque was because a locking compound was used on the threads. In the shop, we apply blue Loc-tite to both shaft end nuts and torque them to 35-40 foot pounds. This may not seem very tight but we are dealing with aluminum threads. Once the project is complete and has been driven a couple hundred miles we recommended that the torque be checked. So far we have not had any problems with this torque setting.
i have also got some feedback indicating 37 lb.ft. which pretty much verifies the above 35-40 values. i'd like to find new, and for now, most likely go with the 35-40 values.
i have also got some feedback indicating 37 lb.ft. which pretty much verifies the above 35-40 values. i'd like to find new, and for now, most likely go with the 35-40 values.
Your on-line find is I believe from Corvette Central, I've seen that, but never paid much attention. The 14060153 OE nut was replaced in service as a Ny-lock GM# 11516202 and "PLRX" has mentioned in the past using them more than once and torquing to 40.
I torqued mine to 35 foot pounds and used red loctite. Two years of being almost daily driven and no problem. After I tightened them and let the loctite cure, I used white testors model paint to put a stripe from the arm to the nut, so far nothing had moved. They weren't meant to EVER be serviced, so there's no official GM torque value I could find.
Good luck
Your on-line find is I believe from Corvette Central, I've seen that, but never paid much attention. The 14060153 OE nut was replaced in service as a Ny-lock GM# 11516202 and "PLRX" has mentioned in the past using them more than once and torque to 40.
thanks for the part number info. thinking i'll reuse the originals and blue thread locker - torque to 37 lb.ft. --
just want to jump in to say thanks to wvzr-1 and joe c....my car's fuel pump is now pushing it out 44#....thanks for all the help....it was a wire underneath the bulkhead connector...a small pin was misaligned..wish I had started from the pump forward.....Paul
thanks for the part number info. thinking i'll reuse the originals and blue thread locker - torque to 37 lb.ft. --
You might want to consider a read of more recent lockers. There's comments regarding "primers" that might be interesting. I believe there's even different requirements when you get into larger thread pitches etc. Tape might be interesting!
just want to jump in to say thanks to wvzr-1 and joe c....my car's fuel pump is now pushing it out 44#....thanks for all the help....it was a wire underneath the bulkhead connector...a small pin was misaligned..wish I had started from the pump forward.....Paul
Good to see the run aspect of the repair is maybe accomplished. Have you looked further into the wires dangling up front and the VSS issues?
just want to jump in to say thanks to wvzr-1 and joe c....my car's fuel pump is now pushing it out 44#....thanks for all the help....it was a wire underneath the bulkhead connector...a small pin was misaligned..wish I had started from the pump forward.....Paul
most of the credit on this one goes to WV - he nailed the connector issue early on. since your FP bench tested, I assumed that associated wiring was not the problem. as we got further into problem, I somewhat suspected the same, but WV definitely beat me to the punch -
Originally Posted by dclafleur
Joe, you mind sharing your process for getting those control arms that pretty? It looks great.
degrease, followed by a trip through the blasting cabinet (my cabinet presently contains TP tools, speed blast media - 20% Aluminum Oxide, 80% Glass Beads) http://www.tptools.com/Speed-Bead-Abrasive,352.html -- on this batch of aluminum parts, I tried something new - new to me, that is -- a quick, light polish using #0000 steel wool with wenol metal polish.
the wenol/0000 steel wool combo adds a little shine over the straight sand blasted part without the highly polished look. IMO, looks fairly close to factory. also, the wenol paste adds a bit of sealant to the finish. hopefully, the parts will look good for a long time.
You might want to consider a read of more recent lockers. There's comments regarding "primers" that might be interesting. I believe there's even different requirements when you get into larger thread pitches etc. Tape might be interesting!
- I pretty much follow this -- http://www.wdarc.org/Loctite%20Guide.pdf . #242 covers just about everything on a C4, and my personal preference. , tape is interesting, but it maybe a little more labor intensive. may have try it someday.
BTW, the attached loctite website contains a wealth of info - everything you wanted to know about thread lockers, but were afraid to ask - - consider a bookmark....
You might want to consider a read of more recent lockers. There's comments regarding "primers" that might be interesting. I believe there's even different requirements when you get into larger thread pitches etc. Tape might be interesting!
12-09-2017, 11:34 AM
??? - (front) upper control arm pivot bar - end nuts - torque value - ???
- the rear, two piece bushing was a snap, but the forward bushing had to be pressed in. that was the pain. must have taken 6 or 8 attempts, four hands, and a 20 ton press - 
- not a lot of give to those poly bushings. I've never done U/L C4 control arms before, so this one was pretty much the learning curve. 
- I pretty much follow this -- http://www.wdarc.org/Loctite%20Guide.pdf . #242 covers just about everything on a C4, and my personal preference. 
- consider a bookmark....
