Toe Compensator Link Installation

T

TheBigRedOne

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Is this just a matter of taking out 2 bolts and replacing them or is it more complicated than that? Will I have to get an alignment afterwards? I'm trying to save as much money as possible since I am unemployed.
 
You'll need to throw the rears on jackstands and remove the tires. Put a hydraulic jack under the lower control arm to steadily lower and raise it into position.

Apply pressure to the lower control arm, pull the nuts off the bolts, slowly lower the jack until the bolts are loose enough to remove.

Remove bolts, pop toe compensator out, install new toe compensator, slide bolts back in, remember the lock washer, install bolts and tighten.

Repeat for other side.

I had my alignment checked afterwards and didn't have a problem. Everything was still good to go.

**I'm sure there are several ways to do this, but I knocked it out in my driveway while I was installing DLF's updated rear sway bar brackets and it went flawless and quick**
 
Mark8Murder said:
You'll need to throw the rears on jackstands and remove the tires. Put a hydraulic jack under the lower control arm to steadily lower and raise it into position.

Apply pressure to the lower control arm, pull the nuts off the bolts, slowly lower the jack until the bolts are loose enough to remove.

Remove bolts, pop toe compensator out, install new toe compensator, slide bolts back in, remember the lock washer, install bolts and tighten.

Repeat for other side.

I had my alignment checked afterwards and didn't have a problem. Everything was still good to go.

**I'm sure there are several ways to do this, but I knocked it out in my driveway while I was installing DLF's updated rear sway bar brackets and it went flawless and quick**
Click to expand...

So the toe adjustment cam is on the rear of the arm and the compensator link is on the front, right?
 
I believe so, this is the part. On the front of the control arm:

IMG_4013.jpg


Here's my bad one:

IMG_4012.jpg
 
I'm looking at doing these soon. Damn things are pretty expensive for their size! I think the cheapest I found for a decent brand was $50. And of course, I have to do 4 of them...
 
Use that money towards Delrin Bushings, and never pay for toe-links again. :cool:
 
RockAuto has ACDelco for $52 (was gonna ask around about this brand, not too sure on it yet)
For some reason, RockAuto only has it listed for Thunderbirds and 93-96 Mark VIII's. Probably just a mistake on their part...

Max has OEM from Chapman Ford (formerly Five Star Ford) for about $60.

RockAuto has Moog for $68.99 <----best price I could find on Moog's...
 
Also, MOOG can be found on eBay for a little cheaper than RockAuto. All of the prices I just posted would have shipping added to them.

I found MOOG part #K8594 on eBay for $60.54, and one seller has $7 shipping. Small difference from RockAuto, but every little bit helps...

That being said, a 5% RockAuto discount code can be found pretty easily, and is a very good, well-known company.

I encourage you to do your own research as well, though. You may be able to find something better than I have...

If you do, let me know! :p
 
Autopartswarehouse.com has some made by a company named Ingalls....

Never heard of them before....probably why they're $33.57...
 
97MarkJA said:
DLF, Ever looked at making the upper inner bushing.
Click to expand...

I have.

However, the UCA inner bushing is still widely available, and already consists mostly of plastic.

And there needs to be some flexiblity in the suspension in order to eliminate binding. With all of the bushings solid it would be quite a pain to even get the car aligned properly.
 
Is the inner uca bushing the one with the offset hole for adjustment? It's been a while and I only did the knuckles.
 
I got a major problem. Would bad toe compensator links cause the rear wheel to be visibly toed in at the front? I can actually see that my right rear wheel is angled in at the front. I ordered the toe compensator links but they wont be here until next Wednesday. The way it is now I can't even drive it. I don't know what would cause the wheel to do this.
 
TheBigRedOne said:
I got a major problem. Would bad toe compensator links cause the rear wheel to be visibly toed in at the front? I can actually see that my right rear wheel is angled in at the front. I ordered the toe compensator links but they wont be here until next Wednesday. The way it is now I can't even drive it. I don't know what would cause the wheel to do this.
Click to expand...

Not likely. The toe links are only there to prevent excessive toe changes during acceleration/deceleration due to the soft stock bushings.

It's more likely that either one of the bushings has failed, or that the adjustment bolt at the rear inner LCA worked loose.
 
DLF said:
Not likely. The toe links are only there to prevent excessive toe changes during acceleration/deceleration due to the soft stock bushings.

It's more likely that either one of the bushings has failed, or that the adjustment bolt at the rear inner LCA worked loose.
Click to expand...

I took the car to the shop and found out that the nut on the front bolt on the right rear spindle (where it attaches to the control arm) had fallen off somehow and the bolt had worked out of the control arm and the bushing had almost fallen out as well. Luckily the bolt was still there so they pressed the bushing back in and replaced the nut and all is well.

Is this bolt supposed to be installed with the nut to the front or the nut to the rear?
 
TheBigRedOne said:
I took the car to the shop and found out that the nut on the front bolt on the right rear spindle (where it attaches to the control arm) had fallen off somehow and the bolt had worked out of the control arm and the bushing had almost fallen out as well. Luckily the bolt was still there so they pressed the bushing back in and replaced the nut and all is well.

Is this bolt supposed to be installed with the nut to the front or the nut to the rear?
Click to expand...

The knuckle to LCA bolts are all supposed to have the heads to the rear.

KnuckleInstallation.jpg
 
DLF said:
The knuckle to LCA bolts are all supposed to have the heads to the rear.
Click to expand...

When they say push the halfshaft inward does that mean it has to be disconnected from the hub? What will happen if its not installed correctly?
Sorry for all the questions.
 
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