Suspension & Brakes - Tightened Roto-Joints, now they squeak

I finally tightened up my LCA roto-joints this past weekend, first time in ~20K miles and 1.5 years of daily driving. They were pretty loose, I probably got about 4-5 full rotations on the body joints and 2-3 on the axle joints.

Here's what I did, loosen the lock screw, tighten the joint, tighten the lock screw, wipe off the excess grease/grime, re-install them on the car, and finally grease them to the point of pushing out the old grease with fresh marine grease. Now it squeaks worse than cold polyurethane. The ride is nice and firm again but the noise is 10X more annoying than the transitioning load rattle from before.

I got them pretty tight, not sure if maybe I went too tight? If I had to roughly compare, maybe like putting 40 lb/ft on the spanner wrench?? I remember when they were new, there was no possible way to rotate the joint with my hand and it's pretty close to that as far as tightness goes. Anyone that has tightened these have any experience?

This is why I will stick with rubber bushings.

I finally tightened up my LCA roto-joints this past weekend, first time in ~20K miles and 1.5 years of daily driving. They were pretty loose, I probably got about 4-5 full rotations on the body joints and 2-3 on the axle joints.

Here's what I did, loosen the lock screw, tighten the joint, tighten the lock screw, wipe off the excess grease/grime, re-install them on the car, and finally grease them to the point of pushing out the old grease with fresh marine grease. Now it squeaks worse than cold polyurethane. The ride is nice and firm again but the noise is 10X more annoying than the transitioning load rattle from before.

I got them pretty tight, not sure if maybe I went too tight? If I had to roughly compare, maybe like putting 40 lb/ft on the spanner wrench?? I remember when they were new, there was no possible way to rotate the joint with my hand and it's pretty close to that as far as tightness goes. Anyone that has tightened these have any experience?

Good afternoon. 4-5 and 2-3 turns as in complete turns or do you mean notches? That many turns sounds like they could be too tight. They should be completely quiet after a tune-up and proper greasing (which it sounds like you did a good job on).

ramey

This is why I will stick with rubber bushings.

:eyes:

Good afternoon. 4-5 and 2-3 turns as in complete turns or do you mean notches? That many turns sounds like they could be too tight. They should be completely quiet after a tune-up and proper greasing (which it sounds like you did a good job on).

ramey

I am talking about complete turns, should I back them off a bit? For future reference, how tight, approximately, should they be? FYI, they were pretty loose, I could easily rotate them about their axis' when they were on the car with the suspension under load AND at full droop.

Since it seems like they may be too tight, are there any downfalls, besides the noise, to driving like this for 1-200 miles until I can get back under it this weekend?

When we build them from new, the tolerances on the ball, Delrin inserts and end caps are very precise. So, our assemblers run the nut down until flush with the body (i.e. there is no particular torque value). As they wear, the outer nut can go slightly below the body.

You shouldn't have any trouble for a few miles until you can loosen them.

The Delrin is available separately for a minimal cost should something go amok.

ramey

When we build them from new, the tolerances on the ball, Delrin inserts and end caps are very precise. So, our assemblers run the nut down until flush with the body (i.e. there is no particular torque value). As they wear, the outer nut can go slightly below the body.

You shouldn't have any trouble for a few miles until you can loosen them.

The Delrin is available separately for a minimal cost should something go amok.

ramey

Thanks, I guess I will go 1/2 turn or so past snug and back them off. Do you mind PM'ing me the cost of the Delrin? Just to feed my curiosity. Thanks for your help thus far.