MX73 strut into AE86

[takai]

Ah, so thats why my rear pad is so freaking hard to fit. Ohwell, out with the grinder before i put the next set in....
Yay for being able to transfer pads off the race car and onto the others.

[minorobsession]

Did some research today:

MX73 rackends/tie rod end are much the same lenght as the AE86
The gotya is the ball joint on the MX73 rackend is shorter than the AE86 so it would shorten the distance between the two rackend ball joints by about 10mm thus introducing bump steer. But it would work if you were not too fussy.

The radius arm does not fit the MX73 LCA due to the fact that the bolt spacing is wider. You could file the holes if

This is what I think I will look at tomorrow:
AE86 LCA
MX73 Lower ball joint
MX73 Steering arms
AE86 Rack ends
MX73 Tie rod ends
Make an adapter from hex bar that screws into the MX73 Tie rod end and onto the AE86 rack end.

Can you safely press out the lower ball joints from the LCA without wrecking them?

[takai]

So you are saying that the MX73 rack ends have the balljoint placed 10mm further inboard than the AE86?
If so thats very good news for another conversion.

As for the ball joints, yeah you can press them out. You have to remove a circlip first though.

[minorobsession]

about 5mm each side

When you press them out do you push on the end of the taper?

[minorobsession]

The MX73 rackends are much longer than the AE86 because the MX73 tie rod ends are quiet short compared to the AE86

[slide86]

i have been doing a fair few balljoints lately. we have a f**king huge press at work which makes things easier.

remove the circlip and then you can push it out.
i have been putting a socket over the balljoint and hitting them out. rest the end of the control arm on an open vice, so the balljoint can fall through. then you can hit em out.

this is where i have been hitting them:




also, does mx83 have same stud pattern as falcon. i have seen falcon rims on later 5 stud toyotas. does this mean the BA disc will go straight over the mx83 hub?

[takai]

Yeah, the MX83 pattern is the same as other large Toyotas, and is 5x114.3 and therefore will fit the BA disc without redrilling.

[minorobsession]

Thanks guys

I will push the joints out of the mx73 and put them into the ae86 lca's

[takai]

The MX73 rackends are the same thread as the AE86 tierods i guess?

[minorobsession]

The threads on both ends of the MX73 Rack ends are the same as the AE86

I have attached an image of the MX73 rack ends/tie rod ends and the AE86. The MX73 are on top.

I did not get to far today other than finding out that no one in my area stock BJ314 lower ball joints! I can believe it they must be used on every mid-large size Toyota for decades!

Spoke to an engineer neibour of mine he suggested that I make the adapter I mentioned further up in the thread from en25 or 1045 steel. I might just use the MX73 rack end and tie rods until I sort this out.

[terryo]

can anyone who has a FACTORY shop manual, check what the steering axis angle is . The AE86 is 8degrees 50 minutes. I want to double check other models like RA40/60/AE70/MX73 etc to help with some other conversions. If I dont get enough help here, I'll start a separe post. thanks a lot

[minorobsession]

MX73 ball joints dont fit into AE86 lower control arms. Are there any ball joints that fit into an AE86 control arm with a larger taper?

What strut fits a the AE86 steering arms have a reasonable spingle angle, take the same wheels bearings as the MX73/ST141 etc? I can adapt the brakes so I am not too worried about that.

I am really after the bigger spindels to satisfy the Engineer that the 7inch rims are safe on the car!

[Hen]

Mino Rob - No balljoint I've found matches MX73 taper and fits AE86 arms.

The info here is basically what I posted previously after a trip to Pick-a-part.

RA40 is a good option for strut legs. They definitely fit AE86 steering arms, and have a nice simple brake adaptor mounting face on the strut. Also I know RA60 hubs fit RA40 stub axles, so I assume they must use a bigger stub axle and bearings than AE86.

Plus I suspect RA40 struts have the same stub axle angle as AE86.

Hen

[minorobsession]

Thanks Hen I appreciate your help.


I made an assumption that the ball joints fitted into the same size hole in the LCAs, but it is like 2 mm difference.

I will check out the bearing size on the RA40 and go from there,

Oh, do they take the same sized shock?

Thanks again.

[slide86]

what is the distance of the calliper bolt holes on a ra40 strut? same as 60?