I ordered the 2 studs, 2 springs, 2 castle nuts and thick wire from langs the other day. I went to put the ball and cap back on. The studs go through the cap fine but do not seem to want to go through the mount on the pan. Why is this, also, does anyone have a decent picture of what the set up all together should look like?
You may need to clean out the threads in the holes.
Thanks for the response. Yes, it looks like I am going to need to clean out the threads.
The use of safety wire versus cotter pins in this location is important. Cotter pins would capture the castle nuts, but would still allow the studs to back out.
Matthew, I bottom out the studs as in Steve's second photo. Then when I put the nuts and springs on , I run the nut down just enough to get the safety wire in. I do not "over compress" the springs. That way it leaves just a little "wiggle" to the cap. It will not move under "normal" conditions but under a hard "jolt" it cushions the blow ...
There have been some interesting prior discussions about how tightly to compress the springs:
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/411944/447815.html?1401122662
Personally, I'm in the "make sure the springs are well compressed, but do not allow them to coil bind" camp.