Horizontal Upper A-Arm Movement...Normal?

[Shifty]

I tried to post this last night and I guess it didn't post, so let me try this again. a few weeks ago I purchased a used Yerf Dog Spiderbox and have done a lot of work on it thus far. I stripped the entire frame down, sandblasted it, repainted and put it all back together with grade 8 bolts. there was some serious surface rust that needed to be dealt with. I decided to upgrade to HD ball joints, replace the master cylinder, brake pads, starter, rectifier, wiring harness, battery, front and taller rear shocks, stage 2 Uni filter, re-jetted with a 125 jet, 5 point seat belts, and the list goes on. The only things have have not really been touched are the internals of the engine, but it runs like a dream.

However, yesterday while riding with my son, I noticed that the front seemed to have a little movement from something when riding on hard dirt pack. When I got home, I started fiddling with the front end and all the bolts are really tight...but the upper a-arms have a little horizontal movement which is allowing horizontal movement at the spindles of about 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch, so the front wheels are rocking a little. I hope that makes sense. I am wondering if this is normal since it is on both sides. So, anyone with experience on this? Thanks!!!

[Shifty]

OK, looks like the movement may be due to the washers needing to be replaced. I was able to tighten up one side, the other has a lot of movement though.

[metalstudman1]

It sounds like the bronze/brass bushings are wore or egg shaped @ the top of the A-arm bolt.There is a bushing at each end of the bolt and a sleeve in the middle. This is normal wear & tear. BMI.com sells them

[Shifty]

Metalstudman1,

I think you are right. I attempted to pull the a-arms off this morning and the bolts were completely seized onto the internal sleeve. I was unable to knock out the bolts, so I had to resort to cutting through the brass bushings and bolts. Guess there was no going back after that. Went to my local hardware supply and picked up some grade 8 1/2" x 10" bolts with new locking nuts. I also ordered the new sleeves and brass bushings for the other side as well from BMI. Paid for 3 day UPS but it seems that shipping takes forever coming from them. I will let everyone know how everything works out.

[metalstudman1]

Drilling & tapping a grease zerk through the tube and sleeve will give you a way to apply grease and hopefully eliminate this from happening again. If you can't install the grease zerk - grease the tube well before installing the sleeve & then grease the bolt -keep an eye on it for more lube in the future.

[satoys]

Shifty - BMI shipping tip... seems UPS ground always takes 7 calendar days, no matter what. I found if you change UPS Ground to USPS Priority Mail in the drop down box, you can get the smaller,lighter parts in 2 or 3 days (including Saturday!), and many times cheaper ! I always compare for every shipment now, and take USPS if cheaper or close in price.