The Sprite Forum

I have attached a picture of a banged up part on my Mk IV wishbone. (yes, I banged it up myself). It appears to be a metal tube that fits inside the rubber bushing.I have also attached the Haynes diagram and the Moss catalog diagram. I can't identify the part on either diagram. What am I missing here?

Thanks for any help you can give.

Steve

Number 21 & 22 Part of Major Suspension Kit. Inspect those Wishbones carefully, Frequently cracked on the outer end. The Critical piece is the fit of the fulcrum pin that fits into the end of the arm. Threads are usually toast and cheaper to replace the Wishbone that have Metal Bushing, the threaded female piece of the bushing rebrazed back into place. In addition, new bushings supplied with the Major Suspension Kit need to be reamed to fit. Peter Caldwell at World Wide Imports in MAdison WI provides a Turnkey In and Out Service to Ream bushings to fit correctly. NFI just a satisfied customer who has done this job 3 or 4 times now. And if Wishbones need replaced, Peter is a MOSS Distributor.

nosimport@mailbag.com

Peter Caldwell
World Wide Auto Parts
2517 Seiferth Rd., Madison, WI 53716
(800) 362-1025 Fax (608) 223-9403

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Jim Gruber - Apollo Beach, FL
Bugsy IV - '60 Bugeye - 1,275+.040 and a 5-Speed - CA Car - 2nd Owner from new - Driving It Like I Stole It!
A truly rust free, garaged in Los Angeles for 57 years Bugeye
Mr. MAX - '04 Miata MAZDASPEED w Factory Turbo - Zoom Zoom Fun and Fast!

Jim is correct about the other end of the wishbone being the key component. The fit of teh fulcrum pin in the threads is critical.

This end should clean up just fine. Get a big flat blade screwdriver to leverage those rubbers out of there and the metal tube (what's left of it) should come out as well. Clean up with a wire brush on a drilI. I am sure I have replaced rubber bushes without this metal tube, as shown in the 2nd diagram where #11 is the rubber bush, and the metal "bush" is actually part of bolt shaft #8 assembly. Was there by chance a non standard bolt in there and someone had decided to put a sleeve in to fit the rubber bush ?

I think #22 in the top diagram you will find is the outer metal liner that is part of the wishbone, and the rubber bushes fit inside this. I have never replaced this piece in a wishbone.

Cheers
Lew

Thanks for all the suggestions. Upon closer inspection, I see that one of my wishbones has already been welded at the point end, just like you warned me to watch for.

Any suggestions on how to get the Fulcrum Pin out? I've soaked it with penetrating oil and tried a large flat-blade screwdriver with a pipe wrench on it. I've also tried using a screw extractor in the hollow center. It just won't budge. At this point, I'm wondering if I'd be ahead to just order everything new and start from scratch.

Were it me (which it was not too long ago) I would definitely order new and start fresh, especially since a wishbone has already been repaired once. It's not worth it. Peter Caldwell is a great source.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2018-05-30 12:43 PM by matmire.

When they are in that state of repair best buy new. In the UK we had a BMC car
called an Allegro-a sort of Morris Minor/ Morris Marina replacement that had a bad
reputation for the bottom link on the front axle failing especially on round-a-bouts.
The wheel hit the ground at an odd angle!!