Having been shamed by Ray into getting out into the garage to
tackle a few more of the tasks that need to be done on my Series
II, I went to work on one of the radius arms that I removed from
the IRS some time ago. Somehow the PO had bent/twisted it
significantly, so I tried to straighten it. It is made of pretty
thick steel, so progress was slow. I did succeed in getting it
fairly straight at the expense of breaking off the corner of one of
the jaws of my bench vice. Very fortunately, when it parted company
with the rest of the jaw, I was standing out of the line of fire,
and it shot across the garage harmlessly - note to self: WHEN
SOMETHING YOU’RE DOING FEELS UNSAFE, IT USUALLY IS…
Anyway, though the arm is now pretty straight, on inspection I see
that in the process I have cracked one of the welds that holds the
large circular ring into the arm at the ‘‘large end’’. Given that all
the bushes need to be replaced, and that involves access to a
press, I’m now considering buying a pair of replacement radius arms
(complete with bushings) from one of the usuals. Has anyone on the
list bought these (C.23824), and what was their experience? I
imagine that they come fitted with the same (suspect) rubber
bushings that are available separately, but other than poly (at
$270 for a set of 4 bushes!), I see no alternative. As always,
positive comments welcome on the forum, negative ones offline
please.
Thanks
-David–
davidxk '56 XK-140 OTS, '69 XKE OTS , '98 XK8
Monterey CA, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
In reply to a message from davidxk sent Tue 10 Feb 2009:
David,
Can’t help with the radius arm, but I do have a press if you
need it…–
Ray Livingston - '64 OTS Santa Cruz, CA
Santa Cruz, CA, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
In reply to a message from davidxk sent Tue 10 Feb 2009:
David, personally I don’t see the need to rush out and buy
new radius arms…not just yet I feel.It seems that you have
more or less straightened it out , you have bushings that
need replacement, and there is a crack in the seating for
the large bushing.The old bushes can easily be pressed out,
or you can remove them yourself by cutting the bush centre
out cutting through the rubber( sabre saw very wet usually
works ! ). A hack saw then allows you to cut the bush outer
ring, and then it will tap out!. The crack can be welded
back, and ground down to give an oe shape.The cost so far is
probably a lot better than a new arm I suspect. You will
have to buy new bushes from one of the usuals, and you will
have to take what they have, bearing in mind that Metalastic
as a company ceased existence some years ago. IMHO you are
better off with regular rubber bushes, and I feel there is
no benefit to be gained with polyurethane unless you really
must have the bright blue or red look to the IRS! My
perspective may be different from others…that’s why the
forum is so interesting!!–
The original message included these comments:
Anyway, though the arm is now pretty straight, on inspection I see
that in the process I have cracked one of the welds that holds the
the bushes need to be replaced, and that involves access to a
press, I’m now considering buying a pair of replacement radius arms
(complete with bushings) from one of the usuals. Has anyone on the
list bought these (C.23824), and what was their experience? I
imagine that they come fitted with the same (suspect) rubber
bushings that are available separately, but other than poly (at
$270 for a set of 4 bushes!), I see no alternative. As always,
positive comments welcome on the forum, negative ones offline
davidxk '56 XK-140 OTS, '69 XKE OTS , '98 XK8
–
John M Holmes 1973 E Type SIII Supra 5Sp, 70 SII OTS 05XJ8L
Ontario, Canada
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
In reply to a message from John M Holmes sent Wed 11 Feb 2009:
I agree with your sentiments entirely, but would suggest
that whatever bush you put back in the large end of the
radius arm, turn the bush through 90 degrees so the ‘‘gaps’’
are across the car not fore and aft as this increases a
degree of firmness back there. Only do this of course if replacing both sides at the same time and and you want a
firmer back end.
Regards–
The original message included these comments:
In reply to a message from davidxk sent Tue 10 Feb 2009:
David, personally I don’t see the need to rush out and buy
new radius arms…not just yet I feel.It seems that you have
In reply to a message from 600 sent Wed 11 Feb 2009:
I also agree that buying new radius arms will not be cost effective
at all. The only expense incurred using the original arm will be
about 20 bucks to get it welded. I would suggest using the original
spec rubber bushes unless you plan to do a lot of slalom or racing.
If you plan to turn the large bushing 90-degrees from the original
position, be darn sure your floor and mounting area are in totally
rust free condition, as it puts a lot more stress on it in an
attempt to ‘pry’ it down on the rear side. The reason those cut-
outs are in the rubber are to relieve some of that tendency.–
Tom Hishon, 1969 E-type 2+2, 1969 E-type OTS
Wasilla, Alaska, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
In reply to a message from kassaq sent Wed 11 Feb 2009:
Thanks to everyone who replied to my question. I guess that no-one
has tried the replacement Radius Arms. My reason for considering
the new Radius Arms was that they didn’t seem much more expensive
than replacement bushings, and come without the hassle of removing
the old ones, and inserting new. However, if I assume that the new
arms come fitted with the cheapest aftermarket variety of bushings
available (probably true), the price difference is enough to
encourage me to think again! Thanks to your encouragement I will
continue to try to refurbish my existing radius arms. Today I’ve
managed to extract the two bushings from one of the arms by cutting
out the rubber centres, and then using a hacksaw to make a couple
of cuts through the outer metal rim. Peeling out the resulting
narrow section of the rim with a cold chisel and big hammer, freed
up the remainder of the metal rim to be knocked out easily. I media
blasted this arm, and it should do just fine with a coat of paint.
Thank you, Ray for the offer of use of your press. I’ll probably
need to take you up on it when I have the new bushings. I should be
able to repair the weld on the second arm, once it’s cleaned up in
the same way.
Thanks,
-David–
davidxk '56 XK-140 OTS, '69 XKE OTS , '98 XK8
Monterey CA, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
In reply to a message from davidxk sent Thu 12 Feb 2009:
David,
I could powder coat those things for you too, if they’ll fit into
my oven… How long are they?–
Ray Livingston - '64 OTS Santa Cruz, CA
Santa Cruz, CA, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
Hi David,
I’m sorry I didn’t pick up on your question before, I bought the
replacement arms with the bushings installed. I bought them from SNG
barrett and they have held fine so far. 10K miles and 2-3 years.
Cheers,
LynnOn Feb 12, 2009, at 3:46 PM, davidxk wrote:
Thanks to everyone who replied to my question. I guess that no-one
has tried the replacement Radius Arms. My reason for considering
the new Radius Arms was that they didn’t seem much more expensive
than replacement bushings, and come without the hassle of removing
the old ones, and inserting new. However, if I assume that the new
arms come fitted with the cheapest aftermarket variety of bushings
available (probably true),
In reply to a message from Ray Livingston sent Thu 12 Feb 2009:
Ray,
Thanks for the offer. They are 20’’ long. How well does powder
coating deal with underlying rust? The surfaces of the arms are
pitted. The media blasting has done a good job of removing the
surface rust, but there is no doubt rust present in the pits. I’d
planned to use a Rust Encapsulator, and then paint them with
chassis black.
-David–
davidxk '56 XK-140 OTS, '69 XKE OTS , '98 XK8
Monterey CA, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
In reply to a message from davidxk sent Fri 13 Feb 2009:
David,
For powder coat, it needs to be 100% rust free. Usual practice
is to sand blast immediately before powder coating.–
Ray Livingston - '64 OTS Santa Cruz, CA
Santa Cruz, CA, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
In reply to a message from Ray Livingston sent Fri 13 Feb 2009:
David
It has been my experience that reproduction parts are rarely if
ever made to the same standard as OE. A classic example is rubber
bushes which prematurely fail either where they bond to the metal
or tear within the body of material.
In the case of repro radius arms I would expect them to be as
strong as original but even with the best, ever so slightly
different from original. I may be wrong of course having never seen
an aftermarket example.
I’d be doing what others have suggested and repair what you have
got. As far as painting, POR 15 loves a bit of light rust and if
sprayed on gives a beautiful fiish.
Regards
Peter–
The original message included these comments:
David,
For powder coat, it needs to be 100% rust free. Usual practice
is to sand blast immediately before powder coating.
Ray Livingston - '64 OTS Santa Cruz, CA
–
'60MARK IX, '70E type, '71 XJ6 Manual, '92XJ40
newcastle new south wales, Australia
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–