tool needed

Bill, PM sent

Larry

I've PM'd you.

Thanks Larry, Husker, What a misererable job this is. My painting hands are getting dirty. I have both upper arms built and ready for paint. The lower shafts are giving me hell. I did a search and see that I'm not the only one. I'm just lookin' for a shoulder to cry on... Now I know why I put this off so long...Bill 1362

quote:

The lower shafts are giving me hell.

Bill,

I had problems with the lower shafts on mine too. I spent over an hour trying to get the upright assembly started into the lower a arm. It would just start to go and then pop out, with the washers falling on the floor. Then I would have to clean the washers, regrease, and reassemble them. There was now way that I could use a clamp or some other leverage to get the upright to slide into the a arm.

So, I took a break to access the situation. What I found was that the sleeve (the part that goes through the bushings) was .028" longer than the old sleeve. The small washer was .038" thick. If I were to replace that washer with a .010" thick washer, It would fit. But .010" would be too thin for this washer, so I took .028" off of the new sleeve and everything fit perfectly. The sleeve for the other side was .023" longer than its old sleeve.

Also, one end of the sleeve was not round and had to be cleaned up.

Was this the problem(s) that you had, or was it with the bushing alignment (another story)? Or other?

John

The problem in reassembling the upright to the lower a-arm is, those two thick o-rings must be slightly compressed to act as seals, and most humans simply aren't that strong. Compounding this is the tendancy of the thrust washers on both ends to slip a little, mis-aligning the short dowel pins with the matching holes in the thrust washers. With enough brutality, its possible to assemble the a-arm to an upright with a washer misaligned to its pin.... I grease the o-rings, the thrust washers and the surface it bears against, then I do one side at a time, sliding the long shaft in thru whichever end of the a-arm goes in first. I use a 12" c-clamp between the lower end of the upright and the cross-brace in the lower a-arm, to ease the second end in place. Note this greasing is supposed to be done once a year- unless the system is modified for external grease zerks. Most Panteras have NEVER been greased since the factory shipped them out! Simply adding a grease-zerk to the center of the lower upright will not guarantee any grease getting to the hollow tube inside the upright which surrounds the lower shaft- and that's the area that often collects moisture and rusts solid to the shaft. It takes more extensive mods than a simple zerk. Details available for do-it-yerselfers...

I had to cut my lower shaft ends off. I cut through one of the thin washers with the hole. I got a thicker washer and let it ride on an appropiate size socket in a vise while hitting with a sanding wheel. AKA Poor mans lathe.. Took a while but I thinned it down. Finished. My arms are free at last! http://pantera.infopop.cc/eve/...10042044/m/705102003