Strut bending.

[The Real Roadrunner]

off topic but saw a mad corty of at my tuners shop the other day with a cosworth motor in it.
had 27?rwkw with ecu turbo and camgears, the thing was horn.
COSSIE numberplates set it off.

cheers
linden

[30psi 4agte]

yeah i know ...... It is one of them things !! Ill try first and see if it is going to bend without cutting ( im not holding my breath )its pretty F##N solid .

that way there isnt the chance of it moving once i re-weld

Its never smooth sailing when it comes to me and cars

[30psi 4agte]

off topic but saw a mad corty of at my tuners shop the other day with a cosworth motor in it.
had 27?rwkw with ecu turbo and camgears, the thing was horn.
COSSIE numberplates set it off.

cheers
linden

Was it a blue mk1 2 door ??

[The Real Roadrunner]

Was it a blue mk1 2 door ??

yep thats the one, where haver you seen it?
your still on 64k aren't you, come on man get with the times (i can tell by your response speed)

cheers
linden

[30psi 4agte]

Nah im just slow in general

64K.......I wish...I only get 50k and thats on a good day..

I have seen it around over the years...Its been in th same classic fords mag that my car was in too.

[hypo23]

the best way i can see in doing it is wat linden said with the heat on only half the side of the strut heat it till its red hot then instantly cool it with shit loads of water will make it move a lot easier, it works with 20mm plus steel plate so will work easily with a strut.

the only problem with cold pressing it if you dont know wat your doing you can crush the strut slightly like you said

[ian]

Anyone had any experience in dong this ???

The reason i ask is..... I had my tyres fitted to my rims today and when i fitted them to the strut i found out that one strut is different to the other ( camber wise )

It is quite easy to see due to the fact the 8 inch rims leave only a 4-5mm gap to the strut when bolted on , on the right side and almost no gap.

So this tells me the strut is bent slightly...Its not the camber difference that really bothers me as i have adjustable strut tops..... its the fact that one of my wheels basicly doesnt fit ...

I rang around today to find some one who could bent it out a bit to give me some more room and found someone..

They basicly use a porta-power and some form of jig attached to the hub ------ from what i understand. Im going down there to check out how they do it tomorrow but was wondering if any of you guys have had it done or better yet done it yourself..

hi
it may sound like a dumb answer
but could you use spacers to bring the wheel out
ian

[30psi 4agte]

Yeah i can and then just correct the camber with the strut tops....... but i want to do it properly.

[IN 05 NT]

hi
it may sound like a dumb answer
but could you use spacers to bring the wheel out
ian

haha, ian, this dude is a COMPULSIVE PERFECTIONIST .....just have a look at his members rides thread

[LeeRoy]

What about just getting another strut?

I know its probably a slightly bigger pita but at the same time you know it will be right from the start and if fixing this one is going to be such a hassle it could save you some time. Also, if you got another strut it would be perfect (in theory) whereas even if you try and fix the other one it has the chance of still being out.

I bet you also want those sexy camber tops to be identical too

[WDE_BDY]

With 4 or 5mm difference I would be checking everything. Are hubs the same/straight?
Unless something got bent/messed with while building them that difference just shouldn't happen.

Callum

[30psi 4agte]

A 4-5 mm difference at the top of the rim is approx a 1mm bend on the stub...... I worked it out

I could have made a complete strut but choose not as its far more work then fixing the one i have..+ the fact that there is a big chance it wont be the same as the good strut i have now.. - We are talking about a 68 cortina here.
Finding a strut let alone a "good" one is a challange on it own.

So i decided to bite the bullet and fix the one i had.
I ended up deciding that the due to the fact that the strut had been reinforced at the top section of the stub section- there was NO WAY i was gonna be able to move it in the press..

So i decided to cut straight through the welded reinforcing and spread it with a wedge in the press. I would then leave the wedge in their and weld it back up.
The down side to this is i will have to get the strut re powder coated ..... but hey it the easiest way out of this.

BY the way WDE BDY : i have checked everything out like the hub / rim / strut tube etc etc.. they are all sweet. The prob was in the stub section.


I have set the camber correct now- it actually moved pretty easy in the press.
i just have to weld the strut back up, then clean up the weld and strip the stut back to bare metal again so it can be re-done.

[The Real Roadrunner]

hmmm wonder where you got that idea

should work properly.
have you put the hub/disc/rim back on to check that it has the same gap as the other side?

cheers
linden

[30psi 4agte]

yeah i did notice you had said that------Its true great minds think alike
In the end it was the best way to do it as there was no way in hell it was gonna move welded.

I have tried it with the hub/ rim back on - Its now within .25mm ......so prob far closer than the factory would make em!

Ill post some more pics up soon of when i weld it etc etc

[The Real Roadrunner]

better be TIG'd or ill -rep you
definately closer than factory (ive seen them 6mm out)


cheers
linden