31 replies to this topic

[maystro]

Here is an update.  

 

I have been driving my Moke along a beachfront stretch to charge my battery at 90 km/hr because I had another issue about charging problems and took advantage of this bumpy road with my winded down HiLo's to test them, still a real comfy ride at a measurement of 410 mm from the center wheel cap to the top of the rear deck height.  I did lower mine down 30mm from what I had which looked silly with a jacked up look.  

So I thought I would test my suspension on my Devils driveway at 35km/hr in second gear and I still herd a clunk.  Got to the top and went forward and backward in my garage and herd another clunk.  Had a look and my lower front arm pin has removed it self from the chassis and the front tyre was resting against the front shocky.  I found the nut at the top of my driveway.  After a bit of persuasion with vice grips, a big screw driver and a big hammer I managed to get my front assembly in tact again. 

I was just thinking, this could have been really bad if this had happened on my 90km/hr testing stretch.  

The nut that came loose was just a standard nut with a spring washer which I'm sure I torqued up to the correct pounds at the time.  

Should I be using loctite or Locknuts for these nuts?  

 

Thanks Brad

   

[Quinlan minor]

The nut that came loose was just a standard nut with a spring washer which I'm sure I torqued up to the correct pounds at the time.  

Should I be using loctite or Locknuts for these nuts?  

  

It would appear so.

 

[Spider]

Do you think this was the noise you've been hearing all along ?

On those Pins, originally, they had a Nyloc Nut. The thread is quite short on them and there's not much room to get creative with them. I sure found the Nylocs would come loose fairly easy and then wear the Hole in the Subframe to a slot.

I gave up on Nylocs here long ago. I use Conelocs here, they are a much higher performance Self Locking Nut than an Nyloc is and they cope with heat much better too. The name 'Coneloc' is a trade name, there's similar nuts under different names.

[maystro]

Thanks Chris,
Coneloc's are definitely on the top of my shopping list.
Would you know what size nut I need for the front lower pin arm.
I'm thinking this could be the source of the clunking noise. I'm going to avoid going up my driveway in second. If I can't get up in first, I'll just park at the bottom till the driveway drys.
Thanks Brad.

[Spider]

Would you know what size nut I need for the front lower pin arm.

 

3/8" UNF.

The threads on the Pins are easily stripped if you try and pull the pin in (compressing the rubbers on the other side) buy winding the nut. I pull the pin in using vice grips on the other end, then do the nut up.
 

[maystro]

Thanks Chris,
Yeah I used vice grips to push it through because I noticed their wasn't much thread to play with.
Lucky for me I ended up with 4 front lower arm pins from M-parts instead of the 4 rubber bushes I ordered.
Maybe not so lucky because then I had to order the correct parts I wanted originally.
It would be nice if they came with correct securing nut but of course I'm in no position to complain when I got the pins for free?

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[Steam]

You could always drill through nut and thread and wire it on or use split pin.

Edited by Steam, 14 June 2023 - 12:54 AM.

[maystro]

You could always drill through nut and thread and wire it on or use split pin.

Thanks Dave, but theirs not a whole lot of bolt sticking through the nut and that would require me removing the lower arm pin again.  
I just found Spider's "conelocs" local for the prize sum of 37 cents each from Boltmasters.

https://www.boltmast...hex-nut-06nltfz

Chris if your listening, is their any other suspension components I should be using conelocs or locknuts?  
 

I never felt very confident with the standard nut and spring washer holding the 4 front and rear trailing arm pins?

 

Thanks Brad

[Spider]

Brad, the only other place I use them is on the Shock Mount Pins, but that's more to do with the use I put them to, for road use, Nylocs would be OK here.

If you did want to change them, they are the same size - 3/8" UNF.

 

I hear you concern on the Trailing Arm Pins. I've found as long as the Spring Washer is a medium or medium / heavy grade, then Nuts and Spring Washers here are fine. If you really do want to change these, they are 1/2" UNF. If you go that way, get 'Tensile' Flat Washers to do with them.

[maystro]

Thanks Chris,

 

Just one question with these coneloc's they say they fit because of an interference fit with a imperfect thread on the nut.  So does this imperfect thread strip the bolt it attaches to, because I don't need any help striping nuts or bolts?

 

If these are good I will definitely get 8 1/2" UNF nuts and flat washers for my trailing arm pins, I'm kinda paranoid about these pins since breaking two??

 

I'm pretty happy with my nylock nuts for the shocky bolts after all my Moke does a 6 km ride twice a a day along the Esplanade to work, no Big Red expeditions for this Moke. Maybe down the track??

 

Brad 

[Spider]

Hey Brad, I have been using them for years and while they sure do grip the threads, they don't do any damage to them.

[maystro]

Ok back to the rear suspension problem again?  

I pushed up and down on my rear bumper and it doesn't take much force to really rock the crap out of my Moke.  I stood on the bumper and a few little jumps and it was bottoming out and making that clunk noise.  

I think the problem is my new the rubber cones are too soft?  My 40 year old rubber cones didn't have this problem?  

I'm thinking of getting the yellow dot cones or red dot cones.  I have a good back and can take the bumps.   Any recommendations out of the two for longevity? 

 

Thanks 

Brad.

[Spider]

For what ever it's worth, I'm not sure if you looked at our recent trip;-

https://www.theminif...twice-in-mokes/

 

These Mokes all had stock M-parts rubber cones on them, we were each carrying about 1/3 the weight of an empty Moke in the back.

But, if you are wanting harder cones, the Mini Spares EVO Cones are around 20 to 25% harder than standard, the Red Spot are almost double the rate (or 'hardness') of stock cones. I haven't tested the Yellow Spots, as I felt the Reds were WAY harder than anything I'd ever need. Again, for what ever it's worth, I did try the EVO Cones on 2 recent trips, prior to this last one and I found them too hard for my liking.

I'll add here, if you bought your new M-parts Cones and fitted them more or less right away, then yes, they'll be too soft, they really need to be left for at least 3 month or longer. While I mentioned that the Cones in all the Mokes that went across the Simpson were M-parts ones, they were all around 4 - 5 years old. Your 30 year old cones will just about be rock hard by now.

Without looking back through the threads, the new shocks you bought could well only be single acting and I suspect now reading your issues, this may well be the issue.

[maystro]

Hi Chris,

 

Looks like an epic journey you, Jack and your mates did.  I'm still reading through the full story.  I don't know even hard core 4wder's that could do a roadside repair and and pull out a welder?  Those corrugations brought back memories of our trip to the cape York, their defiantly not car or body friendly

I was thinking if your same genuine M parts rubber donut could take all that weight and be subject to those conditions well that isn't my problem?  

The Matt Read HiLo's I've got have a sprung end section where  the rod inserts into the alloy cup which attaches to the donut.   (I'm not sure if all rear HiLo's are like this). When jacked up with the load taken off the wheels, their is a about a 15mm gap between the solid section of the rear strut and the HiLo cup.   Anyway I'm thinking this is where the slapping noise is coming from because I jacked my Moke up and wound out my HiLo's so that their is no free travel on this mounting pin and lowered the Moke and now their is no slapping noise or bottoming out noise.  However I had to wind out the HiLo's so that their is about 9 threads showing between lock nut.  This gives me a pretty high rear stance though, approximately 20mm higher than before, but it has cured the noise?  

I saw from one of your roadside repairs, Jack still had trumpets on so I am thinking of just ordering some new longer Moke trumpets from Minispares.

My thoughts, any other suggestions?

 

Thanks

Brad.

[Steam]

The Readspeed hilos also alter the springrate of the cone as the platform is a different shape and size compared to the standard trumpet and also some hilo or adjustarides. I find the Readspeed units to be fine on a mini but n3ver used them on a moke.
The shockers should prevent the cones from being loose though.