Link pin shims?

[Juha Vane]

Again this little car throw me a curve ball...

Changing the link pin bushings and have measured the offset of the suspension arms, driver side 7.0mm.
According to chart "Arrangement of shims on Suspension arm link pins" I should have equal amount of
shims in A, B, C and D. One shim in A and C is the "sectional shim", the cup shim.
But when I mount the king pin assembly I should install 3 shims in location A and then there is no "binding"
in the link pins. Please see photo where the gap in A is visible. This gap is about 1,5mm.

- What am I doing wrong or don't understand?
- How much should I pump grease in the torsion bar tube grease nipples? Normally I would like to see some
grease coming out and this way be sure that there is lubricant where there should be. (This don't apply to
hand brake cable greasing)

Arrangement of shims on Suspension arm link pin

Screenshot 2020-01-24 at 18.47.40.png (316.17 KiB) Viewed 1107 times

[Jay Darlington]

do you have the 7 shims at the inner lower ( c) in the chart if so then you need (3) at the upper inner (a) in the chart. I just went through this and finally pulled my trailing arms and sent them to ZIMS and found one was out of spec. it can get mind boggling if something is bent a little, those trailing arms live a horrible life being bumped into things for 50 or 60 years

[David Jones]

Juha, is it possible that the "C" link is out of spec as it will not take much to throw it out, but even if it is out I would not worry too much about it? Assemble it with the correct number of shims which I read to be an equal number 5 in each position and when done put the car on the floor and roll it back and fore a few times then measure the camber. If it is the same on both sides you are good to go. If it is off a small amount then calculate where the shims need to go to make it right. Usually I have found that one inner upper or lower exchange is enough to get the camber within spec and there is not enough binding to be of concern. The instructions do mention rounding out but I feel you can round up or down without degrading the suspension operation. On the F Vee I would reduce the number of shims from the inner top to add to the inner bottom in order to increase the negative camber for better handling. We also used offset link pin bushings to maintain that setting easily.

[Juha Vane]

Hi David, I measured the gap without any shims at the bottom and I'm a bit skeptical about
that the C piece would be distorted because I have the same "problem" on both sides.
I have not assembled it, mean inserted the top pin, but as there is about 1,5mm gap on top,
it would mean that the top should be forced 1,5mm in to close the gap.
It's not really clear in the photo, but the gap is even all around.

[Martin Benade]

I believe the arrangement of shims, second from last in chart will give you a correct fit. You will then have the 1.5 mm gap filled with three additional shims at the upper link pin compared to the lower one.

[Bill Lawless]

Looking at that chart? You measure 7mm:
Isn't 7mm 5-5-5-5 for ABCD.. and the note a) says always 10 shims must be fitted on one link..
7mm is dead center, that why 5555...

5mm is 3-7-7-3 for ABCD
9mm is 7-3-3-7 for ABCD and so on..

[Martin Benade]

I based my suggestion on the 1.5 mm gap he got with no shims

[Bill Lawless]

I based my suggestion on the 1.5 mm gap he got with no shims

Yes, with 1.5mm using the KingPin Assembly you would use the 7mm offset for even + the 1.5mm or 8.5mm on the chart..
The first post said "measured the offset of the suspension arms, driver side 7.0mm"

[Martin Benade]

Bill, you may have interpreted it better than I did. I can’t tell for sure.

[Bill Lawless]

Bill, you may have interpreted it better than I did. I can’t tell for sure.

I think the 1st thing is to measure the offset on the KingPin Assy. That should be 7mm, if not it could be bent slightly??

[Martin Benade]

And in the real world a slight bend could be corrected with a shim or two without much danger of binding.

[David Jones]

The spec allows for +/- 2mm to be corrected by shims so I would say just shim it. I doubt that in the real world it will make very much difference and it is highly unlikely you will ever know it when driving.

[Al Zim]

Take your spindle and C carrier and put them in a vice clamping gently on the lower link pin assembly. If the spindle moves up and down or is sloppy back and forth it is time for a restoration. Usually putting in a new standard size king pin will not cure the oversize opening in the spindle. The up and down movement means that the plastic or phonelic busing has worn out. It usually takes an experienced Porsche machine shop to properly do this (for both Porsche and VW) You should also have your trailing arms checked to make sure they are in specification. When you remove the trailing arm look for grooves in the bearing area if you have these the arm is probably bent. These can be replaced and the bearings are also available. Cleaning the front axle tube is a tedious DIRTY job. Looking at the wear on your link pin bushings I would say that you have more situations than have been addressed in our post. The newest car is 55 years old and they do wear out ...all of them. al zim

[Juha Vane]

Hi Al,

Take your spindle and C carrier and put them in a vice clamping gently on the lower link pin assembly.

This I have done, there is "no" play in any direction in the spindle, measured with dial indicator.

When you remove the trailing arm look for grooves in the bearing area if you have these the arm is probably bent.

By grabbing the trailing arms by hand, I can not feel any play so if became necessary, these I will check next winter.

Looking at the wear on your link pin bushings I would say that you have more situations than have been addressed in our post.

Now I don't understand, where did you see my link pin bushings? There was little play and wear mark on pins, but not excessive.
I replaced them with Febi parts and pressed in so that the inside of bushing is flush with the C part inside surface, where shim A and C goes.

Trial assembled them dry and even that I had the gap, the whole thing went together without any force. It is of course possible that there
is too much play in the trailing arms bearings. Perhaps I have put everything together dry and the rocking the wheel and this way find the
play in trailing arms bearings?

[Al Zim]

Juha: I find it hard to believe that your king pin is still tight. The Porsche Factory installed and only sells the king pin set with a plastic bushing on the top of the spindle. This bushing supports the weight of the car! Everything else around it is metal so it will be the first to deteriorate and the spindle should move up and down. With the lower "C" carrier held in a vice (use wood on each side so it does not distort the metal) you should be able to tap on the spindle and see clearance between the spindle and the carrier. Even a small movement will be magnified at the wheel. If you have used the sintered metallic bushings for the link pins the clearance is correct if you are using the brass bushings you will need to properly machine the clearance to the link pins. Here it is about a two week turn around to have the front end rebuilt correctly. I cannot suggest anyone in Europe to help you. al