Re: Suspension teminology clarification

[Aleksander Mierzwa <alex@matrix.pl>]

At 09:52 99-03-11 EST, DGraber460@aol.com wrote:

>Many on the list have referred to the "control arm" for front suspension
>repairs. What exactly are you referring to? I describe the front parts as 1)
>lower A-frame & bushings 2) lower ball joint

The 44 chassis cars don't have an "A-frame" (which most people prefer to
call an "A-arm", BTW) like 4Ks do. They have what we call the "track
control arm" or "control arm" or "lower arm" or whatever for short - it's a
single arm which mounts to the subframe in only one point via a rubber
bushing and has a balljoint at the other (strut) end.

>3) Strut spring & cartridge 

I find the term "cartridge" rather weird, I prefer to call it simply a
"shock absorber" for clarity.

>4) strut top bearing

This was confusing me for a long time. I prefer to call the rubber part the
shock piston mounts to a "strut mount" rather that "bearing". First, the
"bearing" suggest a moving part, secondly, there's a "spring bearing" - the
part the spring rides on, which (for example) in my native language is
called "McPherson bearing" or "strut bearing".

>5) steering tie rod & rod end joint 6) sway bar with 4
>mounts & bushings 7) sub frame bushings.

These are pretty much self-explanatory, I believe.

Aleksander Mierzwa
Warsaw, Poland
mailto:alex@matrix.pl
87 Audi 5000CS turbo (mine)
88 Renault Medallion wagon (mom's)
91 mountain bike (just in case both cars break at the same time :-)