**yea i posted this in the EF forum too but i need as much help as i can get

ok, i'm in the middle of doing this right now so i really need some help if any can be provided.

while replacing the rear springs/struts on an 89 dx hatch, the heads of the lower strut mount bolts snapped right off on both sides. ok, no big deal, i expected it to happen anyway cuz this car has never been worked on and is old. finally get the old shocks/springs out and pull out both old lower arms as well. decided to just replace lower arms to prevent future headaches, plus they come with all three bushings installed already. look up part numbers, go to dealer, order items, and they come in a week later. now the parts are in and i already have the new spring/shock assembly together so its just waiting to be thrown in. i go to put everything back in, and both bolts on the ends of the arms go in perfectly with no problems. the difficulties came when i was putting in the bolt for the lower shock mount and attaching the shock to the arm. apparently after careful comparison, the arms i received are identical to the old ones, except for one thing; the middle bushings (where the shock mounts) are half the length on each side of the old ones. so when i bolt it all up, there is almost a total inch of space left and the shock can slide around on the bolt shaft.

just to make sure, i've looked up part numbers and verified those i ordered and received. the shocks are definitely the right ones as well cuz i checked all the part numbers. now 89-91 lcas should all be the same but when i checked the computers, the 89 has 52350-SH3-A11 listed as its part # while 90 and 91 have 52350-SH3-A12 as their #s. i am considering going to the dealer tomorrow and seeing if maybe the 90-91 have the longer bushings i need but the fact of the matter is that the car is an 89 and the arms i ordered are the rite ones. i have no idea why they wont fit and why there is so much room left. if anyone can help out or has had the same problem, please let me know. it is like literally 0 degrees here and i have to get this done really soon to get back to school. thanks

-alan

EDIT: checked the shock mount bushing just now. even tho the 89 and 90 lcas have slightly different part numbers, the bushing numbers are all exactly the same, so i cant see why these are shorter


[Modified by Pengo, 12:33 AM 1/18/2003]

 

From the sound of things, why don't you just shim it by sandwiching in some washers?

 

i was thinking of something along those lines, and getting something to wedge both sides equally so it fits snug, but the first thing that bothers me is that the factory part doesn't fit rite. and the second thing is that the amount is space left is like 1/2 or almost 3/4 of an inch. think a bunch of washers will hold fine? i was thinking since each end of the lca will bolt in perfectly that it shouldn't take too much to prevent the shock from moving too much back and forth, but i didnt wanna take any risks on something i just thought up.

 

95% of the loading will be vertical in nature, there should be very little angular play in the assembly so long as the shock is aligned vertically to the bolt. Which is why I suggested shimming it to center, and properly chosen washers should do the trick no problem. And yes, the washers will be plenty strong for such an application, as they'll basically be a solid metal outer bushing.

EDIT: Primarily, you just want to prevent binding here, and that amount of play will cause significant bind along with probable bushing damage.


[Modified by texan, 11:06 PM 1/17/2003]