Posted March 12, 200916 yr Ok, so we all know lowered Escorts eat lower arms. In fact I think it was actually written so on one of the tablets Moses brought back from his Mount Sinai walking holiday. But... I'm sure I've broken a record here; I fitted a cheapy pattern set less than 500 miles (and a mere 6 weeks) ago. Now the driver's side is already knocking like a Prostitute's headboard and has gotta be changed. So, Do you think I have grounds to take it back to the motor factors given that my last set lasted 2 years and many thousand miles on the same suspension set-up? ...Or was I just lucky with that set? (...and, yeah, I know... poly bushes will be on the shopping list ASAP!)
March 12, 200916 yr If your car is non-standard, I.E. oversize alloys and/or lowered, then no. It'd do no harm to call them and enquire though, assuming they wouldn't want to see the car.
March 12, 200916 yr maybe,, depends on if they know its a lowered car and what thier returns policy is,,
March 12, 200916 yr Id try, but i think theyll say they've been fitted wrong etc... Like tightening them up while the cars in the air
March 12, 200916 yr Author Id try, but i think theyll say they've been fitted wrong etc... Like tightening them up while the cars in the air My improvised way to sort that is to use my old ford pepperpots with a sturdy bit of scaffold board across them, front and rear! Place the old wheels flat on the ground with the scaffold board across them, then lower the car into place on top. Hey presto, car is now level, but high enough to gain underside access to tension the arms properly, slacken off, and re-torque as per manufacturer's specs! Ok, it's not brilliant, but it saves having to buy wheel ramps and take off the front splitter
March 12, 200916 yr Id try, but i think theyll say they've been fitted wrong etc... Like tightening them up while the cars in the air Now I'm glad you said that, 'cos this ones always puzzled me. Ok, so with the cotton reel type bushes you need the suspension to be at normal rest, otherwise you twist the bush and shorten it's life, but these on these ones the bush is vertical - so why do you need the car on it's wheels?
March 13, 200916 yr Author Just following on from yesterday, I've chucked on another cheap lower arm as a temporary solution, but I can't see ANY damage or wear on the one I've taken off!! The bushes all seem free from tears, and obvious signs of deterioration, and it's scarcely even dirtier than the day I fitted it. Surely there should be some obvious signs given the horrendous clunking noises it was making?!
March 13, 200916 yr Author Drop links, mine made a rotten clunking noise! Yeah, they do that... ...but that wasn't my problem! As I said right at the start of the thread, MY problem was my OS lower wishbone went on me in under 500 miles and less than 6 weeks after fitting. A "new" new wishbone's cured the noise (again), but I can't see anything visibly wrong with the "old" new wishbone!
March 13, 200916 yr The bushes all seem free from tears, and obvious signs of deterioration, and it's scarcely even dirtier than the day I fitted it. Surely there should be some obvious signs given the horrendous clunking noises it was making?! Not at all. You can't replicate the stresses that a moving car would apply, by hand.
March 13, 200916 yr Author Bloody hell... You're going soft Siddy! 2 helpful posts in one thread... That's GOTTA be a record! So, being a polite soul, thank you for your assistance, fella.
March 13, 200916 yr You'd be shocked what I say in the mechanical section.... I've seen many a perfect looking part come off of cars, which although seemingly tip-top, are causing issues. It's impossible to tell what suspension(and brake) parts are doing under load.
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