[Spridgets] Front End Reassembly

Bud Osbourne abcoz at hky.com
Sun Mar 16 12:17:42 MST 2008


Chris,
While I certainly agree with you about protecting the rubber parts from
exposure to petroleum based lubricants; let's be careful we don't throw
the baby out with the bath water, here.
Never-Seize is an excellent product to use, to protect screw fasteners
from, well, seizing.  I can think of a few places to use it in/on the
Spridget's front suspension (such as any where a bolt or pin passes
through a non-Zerk fitting equipped steel sleeve).  What is important to
keep in mind, however, is that it doesn't take much Never-Seize to
protect a part from seizing.....it isn't necessary to bathe an entire
bolt in the stuff.  The king pin/stub axle, for example, needs
anti-seize protection only on the threads AFTER everything is
positioned, and ready for the nut to be installed and torqued.  And, at
that point, it only needs a little "dab" of the stuff on the upper few
threads.  The nut will spread it over the rest of the threads as it is
run home.  Then, you will want to put some on the lower fulcrum pin &
retainer pin, where they seat in the "eye" of the king pin.  Be sure to
wipe off any excess, as it's of no use to anything/anybody outside of
the threaded or sleeved joints.
I also use Never-Seize on the inner fulcrum pins, where they pass
through the steel sleeves of the inner fulcrum pin bushings (which are
rubber, unless you replace them w/another bushing material).

The bottom line is that, where an anti-seize compound is appropriate,
use it sparingly, and make sure it only gets on what it is meant to
protect.  The Spridget front suspension is a maintenance-intensive
design, to be sure.  It needs all of the help (including lubrication)
that it can get, not only to function correctly and for a reasonable
time/distance, but also for the sake of facilitating an easier
disassembly, for the next overhaul/rebuild.

Bud Osbourne
-----Original Message-----
From: spridgets-bounces+abcoz=hky.com at autox.team.net
[mailto:spridgets-bounces+abcoz=hky.com at autox.team.net] On Behalf Of
Chris M West
Sent: Sunday, March 16, 2008 11:30 AM
To: spridgets at autox.team.net
Subject: Re: [Spridgets] Front End Reassembly

Skip Tannen wrote:
I'm getting ready to put my front end back together after refreshing

  

Skip - I would STRONGLY suggest not using Never Seize, or any other
PETROLEUM based lubricant  anywhere that it might come into contact with
rubber parts as it will prematurely deteriorate that rubber.  Instead,
use a synthetic grease as is usually used on, and sold for, brake
calipers.  It will not harm the rubber and is made to resist high heat,
extreme pressure and "under car" environments.  My information, by the
way, is directly from a Raybestos brake seminar that I atteded several
years ago as part of my job in auto parts.


Chris

AN5L35578


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