as soon as i say this i am ready for everyone to strap me to the whipping board and let me have it. But i need to say it, it doesn't tell you to do so in the instructions when installing this sub par lift but make sure you set the preload on the bushings for the control arms with the supplied allen bolts. if you dont' they will all loosen up and your suspension will become very loose. and yes i know im a moron.
Rusty's Long Arm install issue
NRV95ZJ
1 - 15 of 15 Posts
as soon as i say this i am ready for everyone to strap me to the whipping board and let me have it. But i need to say it, it doesn't tell you to do so in the instructions when installing this sub par lift but make sure you set the preload on the bushings for the control arms with the supplied allen bolts. if you dont' they will all loosen up and your suspension will become very loose. and yes i know im a moron.
Yeah, I learned that lesson the hard way too. Problem is, they don't really tell you how to set the preload. I pulled mine apart once already and re-tightened the ends but I didn't get them tight enough and some of them are rattling again. I'm guessing they need to be tighter than the barely hand tight I've been setting them at. It would be nice if they offered a tool for adjusting them with too. Needle nosed pliers spread out across two holes doesn't cut it.
I just put mine back in the garage to tear down and readjust them again. Other than that though, I've had no problems with it.
Yeah, but how tight should they be? I can't find anything, anywhere that says how to adjust the preload.
By the way, not trying to hijack your thread but it sounds like you and I have the same problem.
these hunks o junk
![Image]()
i just got them as tight as i could with a fairly hefty set of needle nose. luckily i had kept all of the allen bolts. and times 2 on the instructions not telling you to put these things in. I have to say those were some of the worst install instructions for something mechanical i have ever seen in my entire life. make sure to keep these things greased im sure it will make them last alot longer. the difference i had when i tightened them was like night and day.
i just got them as tight as i could with a fairly hefty set of needle nose. luckily i had kept all of the allen bolts. and times 2 on the instructions not telling you to put these things in. I have to say those were some of the worst install instructions for something mechanical i have ever seen in my entire life. make sure to keep these things greased im sure it will make them last alot longer. the difference i had when i tightened them was like night and day.
Joined
·
1,647 Posts
I had the same question when rebuilding my RE control arms so I called RE. The guy on the phone told me they just whack them with an air wrench. They could not give a torque spec. I came away from the conversation amazed and a bit less confident in the company. In the end, I think I went with something like 80 ft-lbs.
Why not give Rusty's a call and see what they say?
Why not give Rusty's a call and see what they say?
Yeah, that's what I got. I know they make special tools just for these things (spanner wrench?) but I've though about trying to make my own. Can't be too hard. Something like a flat piece of metal, long enough to have handles of sorts, with a large hole drilled in the middle to fit over the pivoting part in the middle (have no idea what it's called) and two pins to turn the nut with. I wish I could draw!these hunks o junk
![Image]()
i just got them as tight as i could with a fairly hefty set of needle nose. luckily i had kept all of the allen bolts. and times 2 on the instructions not telling you to put these things in. I have to say those were some of the worst install instructions for something mechanical i have ever seen in my entire life. make sure to keep these things greased im sure it will make them last alot longer. the difference i had when i tightened them was like night and day.
I did call Rusty's once about it. They told me they were going to carry the tools for them but I couldn't get an answer about how tight they should be.
I agree, the instructions were crap. I used the pics AndyZJ had posted of his install to make sense out of it all. I'm still not sure I didn't put the front frame brackets on backwards!
Joined
·
273 Posts
That will work fine. They are made in Shipyards all the time because the ships will lose the thing and when it is needed a new one has to be made 90% of the time. Home mades work just as good as store bought.
as far as how tight.... take this for whats its worth, when they did the install of the rusty's kit on trucks! tv, the guy used a pair of needle nose pliers. so i would say 80 pounds of torque may be too tight and may pinch something on the inside.
Joined
·
1,647 Posts
Yea, could be. I came up with 80 because RE told me they use an air wrench and 80 is on the low end of what you'd set the air wrench for lug nuts. I have not had any problems and its been 9 months now. I think most of the 4x4 shops are just re-sellers for these components. Perhaps the actual manufacturers could give a definitive answer.
Well, I would guess "tight as you can get them with needle nose pliers" isn't tight enough since mine seem to loosen up after a while (and I do have the set screws in). I'm going to get a tool made for them and crank them this time. Not quite 80 ftlbs though.
Wait, 80 ft/lbs is on the low side for an air WRENCH? My air wrench has a max setting of 65 ft/lbs, with many other air wrenches being a max of 50 ft/lbs. Now if we're talking about an air GUN then yea 80 ft/lbs is low, but I think a max of 50-60 ft/lbs should be adequate.
1 - 15 of 15 Posts
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
