Technical On the search for castle nuts

Is that still a king pin setup? You mean the nut that locks the trunnion (the lower threaded shaft connecting the LCA to the lower spindle)? The guys above are right--- buy a rebuild kit and get all the parts.

I have a few from a '51 Merc but they're not castle nuts, they're regular flat nuts that are used with star washers.

 

Another place you can try is Joblot. www.joblotauto.com

 

Might just do that. The price isn't bad and it will get me to clean up the front suspension too

 

That must be a one off bolt and nut as I can't find tap, die, nut or bolt with that size and thread combo.

 

Joblot is pretty good for finding odd parts. They also cover older cars that may share hardware.

 

Okay, here are a few pictures for everyone to gawk at.
First the aforementioned nut in situ. This is a picture of the passenger side of the 1953 Ford Customline convertible I'm working on. This side is undamaged but it shows the castle nut with cotter pin holding the shaft at the outer end of the lower control arm.


Now we have the good used lower control arm that I got from the place in Albert Lea, Minnesota mentioned earlier in the thread. This is the first thing I've bought from them, but they are a big presence on the auction site. The arm looks very serviceable.



This is the damaged area on the driver's side lower control arm. I'm not sure how this happened, but this is why I got a "new" lower control arm for this car. My first inclination was to weld in a thick piece of stock and drill and tap. I then ran into the issue of not being able to find the weird thread size that @cdoh started the thread talking about.



On the left is the new lower control arm outside shaft kit from Early Ford Parts. They don't use part numbers that I can tell, just descriptions. It wasn't too hard to find and came with everything you see, the middle threaded part, two rubber biscuits, a star washer, castle nut, and zerk fitting. I will have to supply a cotter pin when I install it.

@cdoh, on the right is the used shaft bolt and nut from the lower control arm I bought. The shaft is messed up from the original and the original nut is awol. These are in good shape if it's all you need. If your rubbers are messed up, then spring for the kit. Send me your address in a private conversation and I'll get it in the mail if you want it.

 

damn thats good info.

your saying that the part on the left replaces the threaded bolt on the right? it just goes right back in? and yes the seals on shot to all hell

 

The part on the right is missing a few pieces that come in the kit. The two rubber biscuits of course. The bolt goes through another threaded piece that is pushed into the bottom of the spindle eye. It is threaded. Here's an exploded view. That middle chunk is all one piece.
It does just go back in, pretty simple, but it's threaded all the way through, and be careful with that spring, as I guess you have been since you've got it apart. If you have only taken the castle nut off, make sure you compress the spring safely before you start unscrewing that long bolt. You don't want to be in the way of the energy releasing from that spring.

 

Oh ok ok. That makes sense now. Thanks.

And yea the spring is out. Here is a little back sorry for shits and giggles. Somehow. Someway. The spring wrapped itself around the Frame and I had to use a 10 foot pole and some wood to wedge the pole to unwrap the spring from the frame. It was a nightmare. I'm going to message you

 

cdoh,
The part in the middle is what's used to adjust your wheel alignment caster. The idea is that the whole lower spindle will move to the left or right (looking from the side of the car) depending on which way you turn the big nut.
There is another similar one in the upper control arm that adjusts your wheel alignment camber. That one moves the upper spindle in and out.

Oh, and regarding coil springs---- You should be able to reinstall the coil spring by jacking up on the lower control arm (while the car is supported by jack stand on the frame) and then inserting the threaded shaft through the lower control arm.

Since it sounds like you need new springs, look into 1990 Ford Aerostar coils. They're cheap, they fit, and they'll lower your suspension about 2 inches.

 

Are the coils are chopped up from the last guy. I think they will run fine until the air suspension.

That alignment info is gonna be really great to know in the near future. Thanks for that.

 

Installed eyelids and took this picture. It's just looks cool to me so I thought I would share.

 

Sorry. I meant to post that on my build thread

 

BOOM! The early ford store. Had what I needed. Thanks