Wilsons Sandbox

Hi,
I understand that there is a trick with the front end, i.e.. putting a
flat-washer type radial roller bearing between the stub axle and the axle to
reduce friction in the kingpin joint. Any info??
Best,
Ray McCrary
"Speed is Life;
of course Luck and Altitude
are helpful, too."

In a message dated 5/8/00 8:34:29 PM Pacific Daylight Time, spook01@home.com
writes:

>

I have these Torrington bearings on my TA and SA and now the NA...just take
your old bronze thrust washers down to your bearing house and tell them what
you want to do. You'll need to buy a couple of different thicknesses of the
hardened steel shims to work them in there....a word of caution however, you
can make your front end to loose...some friction is necessary to keep from
feeding back road shock in to the steering box.
Terry

On Mon, 8 May 2000, Ray McCrary wrote:

> I understand that there is a trick with the front end, i.e.. putting a
> flat-washer type radial roller bearing between the stub axle and the
> axle to reduce friction in the kingpin joint. Any info??

The bearing is a Torrington radial needle bearing that replaces the bronze
thrust washer. The bearing races are machined and hardened flat washers
that are available in several thicknesses, allowing you to adjust the
total bearing thickness.

This used to be a popular modification in the never-ending quest to
lighten up the TC's steering, and was often used in combination with
a modified steering box (roller bearings, Thompkins Kit). It works, but
there are disadvantages.

The friction of the standard bronze thrust washer provides some dampening
action. This helps to keep the front wheels from jittering all over the
place in reaction to road surface irregularities, which helps you keep the
car going in a straight line and reduces kickback at the sterring
wheel. Without that friction, unless the rest of the front end is in
absolutely perfect condition and adjustment, the car can be a real
handful to drive. I've driven some TCs with the Torrington conversion
that scared me to death!

If you do the conversion, make sure there is no play in the king pin
bushings, the tierod ends are in good shape and adjusted, the toe-in is
adjusted coprrectly, the caster and camber are within specs, the front
springs aren't sagging, and the dampers are in good shape. Adjusting the
camber requires bending the axle, and alignment shops that know how to do
this are few and far between these days. To help keep the car going in a
straight line, adjust the caster to early TC specs. This means removing
the late TC caster wedges if you have them, and may also require axle
bending.

My own preference is to keep the standard bronze thrust washers, and
concentrate on steering box improvements to provide lighter steering.

--
Chip Old 1948 M.G. TC TC6710 XPAG7430 NEMGTR #2271
Cub Hill, Maryland 1962 Triumph TR4 CT3154LO CT3479E
fold@bcpl.net

Ray,

Quoting from "The T Series Handbook" article "How To Get Your TC To Steer
Right (and Left)" by Doug McCowan:

""The modern answer is to fit Torrington NTA 1220 needle thrust bearings,
which also eliminate the lion's share of friction in the king pin assembly.
The NTA 1220 thrust bearings are supplied as only a retainer containing the
needle bearings. The bearing races, which must be purchased separately,
consist of hardened steel washers placed on either side of the bearings.
The thinnest washers available (TRA 1220) give a total bearing thickness
(needle bearing plus two washers) of 0.141". This is slightly greater than
the 0.125" standard thrust washer, but axle and steering knuckle are almost
always worn to such an extent that the thicker bearing is easily
accommodated."

I was able to buy the bearings and washers above at a local auto parts house
(not DAP or Discount Auto - but even they might have them).

Gene Gillam