HEADS UP on flaw with hardrace camber kit.
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Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2015
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HEADS UP on flaw with hardrace camber kit.
Whilst installing my camber kit...I noticed a pretty serious flaw with the hardware provided with my hardrace camber arms.
The castle nut that hardrace provides does NOT secure the arm's ball joint from seperating from the spindle. This could cause a serious accident.
Re-use the OEM castle nut. Photos below:
The ball joint of the camber arm is secured into the aluminum knuckle via this pressed in steel sleeve from the factory.
The OEM nut has a giant washer built into it. The hardrace one does not.
The reason for the big washer:
To properly secure the arm, the nut must fasten the sleeve to the aluminum spindle.
Here is a shot of the spindle. This is the BOTTOM side of the spindle. Note that the OEM nut surface interfaces with the black sleeve AND the aluminum spindle. The sleeve is held by the OEM nut's large washer surface to the spindle.
The red arrows point to where the OEM nut washer rides on the spindle.
Note that the hardrace nut doesn't have nearly enough area. It only secures to the black sleeve.
Remember...this sleeve is just pressed into the aluminum spindle. Using the hardrace provided nut, there is NOTHING holding the upper control arm from popping out of the spindle....except the press fit on the sleeve.
The OEM nut works just fine with the hardrace ball stud thread...and you can even use the OEM cotter pin if you'd like.
Someone may reply with, "Iv been using this nut 18 years zero problems". Which...is good for them, I suppose. There aren't normally forces that the suspension produces that would act to press or force the sleeve out. But if it vibrates loose...your upper control arm is coming out.
I'll email some info to Hardrace. But...heads up, people!
The castle nut that hardrace provides does NOT secure the arm's ball joint from seperating from the spindle. This could cause a serious accident.
Re-use the OEM castle nut. Photos below:
The ball joint of the camber arm is secured into the aluminum knuckle via this pressed in steel sleeve from the factory.
The OEM nut has a giant washer built into it. The hardrace one does not.
The reason for the big washer:
To properly secure the arm, the nut must fasten the sleeve to the aluminum spindle.
Here is a shot of the spindle. This is the BOTTOM side of the spindle. Note that the OEM nut surface interfaces with the black sleeve AND the aluminum spindle. The sleeve is held by the OEM nut's large washer surface to the spindle.
The red arrows point to where the OEM nut washer rides on the spindle.
Note that the hardrace nut doesn't have nearly enough area. It only secures to the black sleeve.
Remember...this sleeve is just pressed into the aluminum spindle. Using the hardrace provided nut, there is NOTHING holding the upper control arm from popping out of the spindle....except the press fit on the sleeve.
The OEM nut works just fine with the hardrace ball stud thread...and you can even use the OEM cotter pin if you'd like.
Someone may reply with, "Iv been using this nut 18 years zero problems". Which...is good for them, I suppose. There aren't normally forces that the suspension produces that would act to press or force the sleeve out. But if it vibrates loose...your upper control arm is coming out.
I'll email some info to Hardrace. But...heads up, people!
