spindle arm bushing question

[NY John T]

Hi all,
Do I have to remove the spindle arm in order to ream out the new spindle arm bushing that I pressed in. I have a machinist trying to work on reaming out the bushing and he's having trouble. Thanks for any help.
John

[CudaMan]

No, you should not need to remove the spindle arm to install and line ream the bushings.

[Steve Jelf]

I don't understand. Why can't he just put the arm is a vise and ream the bushing? I don't see why the arm would have to be removed from the spindle.

[NY John T]

Thanks guys. That's exactly what I was thinking. He should NOT have to remove the spindle arm in order to ream the steel bushing. He had done a good job reaming out the brass spindle body bushings but is having trouble reaming out the short steel bushing on the arm by hand.
John

[Scott_Conger]

That bushing is a split steel sleeve. It will usually not install into the arm and stay round, and because it is split, it's very difficult to ream with a straight reamer. A right hand cut, left hand spiral reamer will do it fine.

While he's at it, have him loosen the arm for you anyway...invariably, they are installed crooked/twisted relative to the rotational axis of the spindle body and you must bow the tie-rod to get it to link both spindles. If you cannot move the tie rod up/down in the bushing (ever so slightly within the small gap between the yoke and the bushing) at every angle of turn of the spindles with everything assembled, it's binding. The fit should be dead smooth with no slack in the bushings at any angle of steering. Getting it right makes a world of difference in how easily it steers, how well it recovers and how long it will last before wearing out (probably longer than you). I would bet not 1 in 10 repairmen go to this effort and if it's not done, then it was done wrong.

[John kuehn]

Heat up the split steel bushing and you can knock it out with a socket. Knock it out when it cools. It usually works every time. It’s called using the heat wrench.

[Allan]

Listen to Scott. Loosening the spindle arm in the spindle allows it to self orientate with the yoke, enabling you to re-tighten it in the alignment dictated by the yoke.
Then read the next post and follow it. Get rid of the split steel bushing, which is never round and also difficult to ream to size. I make my own spindle arm bushings out of worn king pin bushes. The OD of the bush is the correct dimension, the bronze ID is easily reamed, and if you measure up, you can leave part of the original flange in place to take up wear between the yoke eyes. Put the flange to the bottom and you have a wear surface to take the weight of the tie rod.

Hope this helps,
Allan from down under.

[TWrenn]

That bushing is a split steel sleeve. It will usually not install into the arm and stay round, and because it is split, it's very difficult to ream with a straight reamer. A right hand cut, left hand spiral reamer will do it fine.

While he's at it, have him loosen the arm for you anyway...invariably, they are installed crooked/twisted relative to the rotational axis of the spindle body and you must bow the tie-rod to get it to link both spindles. If you cannot move the tie rod up/down in the bushing (ever so slightly within the small gap between the yoke and the bushing) at every angle of turn of the spindles with everything assembled, it's binding. The fit should be dead smooth with no slack in the bushings at any angle of steering. Getting it right makes a world of difference in how easily it steers, how well it recovers and how long it will last before wearing out (probably longer than you). I would bet not 1 in 10 repairmen go to this effort and if it's not done, then it was done wrong.

Yep, good advice to a lot of people. Been there, done that, do that now!! Really does make a difference. I can practically steer my beloved '13 like it has power steering.

[Steve Jelf]

I agree with Allan. Bronze, not steel.