Strut Rod Sleeve

[customsportsman]

Hey everyone,
So today I tore apart the whole front suspension on my 1969 fury. As expected, everything is toast. I can move the ball joints with my pinky finger, that's how wasted they are. Every bushing is toast. I have a complete kit for rebuilding that I received from Craig at mobile parts. Therefore I'm replacing everything with good Moog equipment.
That being said, when I pulled out the strut arms, I found that the metal sleeve that goes over the strut rod between the bushings is also wasted on both sides. The Moog bushing kits do not come with that metal Sleeve. Please see the attached photos. Has anybody ever been able to source a replacement sleeve? Or do I get that sleeve off, and run the new Moog kit without those sleeves?

 

[Darter6]

Don't laugh, you may find what you are looking for at True Value or Ace Hardware .
Worth a shot. You may have to do some trimming for correct length.

 

[halifaxhops]

Dam they are shot. @mobileparts prob has them. No idea why the new ones dont have them already. Not sure if they even use them.

 

[mobileparts]

^^^ NO-- Ray , I don't have them, they don't come with them ^^^ They are not " supposed " to go bad ......

I am following the progression of this thread, to see what the answer is , because Tim / customsportsman DID purchase the
Complete Front End Kit from me....

Craig.....

 

[mobileparts]

Hey Tim / customsportsman,
I just responded to your new P.M. also....

Maybe along the lines of Darter6 's response above --- a piece of pipe from the Plumbing Department at a Home Depot ?!?! ( Bring sample size )

Anybody else have any good thoughts ???

Craig......

 

[mobileparts]

Hey Tim,
I just came up with another thought.....
How about the sleeves of a stabilizer link ( for a 3/8 " bolt ).......
Or, are they too thin ?!?!

I can send some of them to you for FREE ........

Craig......

 

[MrMoparCHP]

This is the EXACT material and size needed.
McMaster-Carr


Alan

 

[CBODY67]

The sleeves probably serve two purposes. One is to keep the inner diameter of the bushings from contacting threads on the strut rod to maintain a smooth surface for them to interact with. The other is a "travel limiter" so the bushings do not get compressed too much, which can limit their durability and effectiveness.

Locally, Lowe's has a lot of little things in their nut/bolt assortment aisle. Needs to be steel rather than copper, though.

For the dimensions, might check in a Chrysler parts book to see if there is a particular part number for the sleeve. Then head over to the "Standard Parts" section of the parts book to look for that part number sleeve and its dimensions. Would need to fit a C-body, though.

Enjoy!
CBODY67

 

[MrMoparCHP]

The Mopar part number is 2535463.
I had access to an NOS kit that contained these sleeves, calipers in hand I was able to find material the exact size. When I got the tubing it was the same material as the NOS ones.
12" of it from McMaster, $10 and a couple days later problem solved.

NOS sleeve and McMaster tubing.

Alan

 

[customsportsman]

Thanks everyone for your replies! This is so helpful!
Note to Alan (Mr.MoparCHP) You wouldn't happen to have the LENGTH of that NOS piece shown in your photo, do you? Mine are so garbled, I cannot get an accurate length measurement.

 

[mobileparts]

^^^ Hey Alan / MrMopar CHP, ^^^
That sleeve looks very thin from the picture... Is that for a 3/8 " bolt ????

If so, Tim / customsportsman,
Let me know --- and I will send some to you for FREE !!!

Yours, Craig.....

 

[mobileparts]

Tim,
Our messages came in together ----
I can measure my sleeves --- for FREE --- off the top of my head, they are probably 2 1/2 " long or so.......

 

[MrMoparCHP]

Thanks everyone for your replies! This is so helpful!
Note to Alan (Mr.MoparCHP) You wouldn't happen to have the LENGTH of that NOS piece shown in your photo, do you? Mine are so garbled, I cannot get an accurate length measurement.

Give me a few days to borrow it from my friend.

^^^ Hey Alan / MrMopar CHP, ^^^
That sleeve looks very thin from the picture... Is that for a 3/8 " bolt ????

If so, Tim / customsportsman,
Let me know --- and I will send some to you for FREE !!!

Yours, Craig.....

The tubing I got from McMaster
OD 0.750
ID 0.694
Wall thickness 0.004


Alan

 

[mobileparts]

Just wheelchaired 2 rooms away --- where I have a big box of them --- they are exactly 2 3/4 " long.....
I suppose you could put them " back - to - back " ...

 

[customsportsman]

Thank you everyone. Tubing ordered from McMaster Carr 2 minutes ago.

 

[MoPar~Man]

I just happen to be taking apart a front subframe that I've just acquired on Sunday. This one has V-8 mounts, unlike the first stub I acquired with slant-6 mounts. This stub came with lower and upper arms, sway bar and torsion bars - I'll be asking more about those later. Supposedly this stub had disk brakes but they were already scavanged. This originally came from National Moparts (north of Toronto).

Here's what I can tell you about the strut rod: Length (tip-to-tip) 29 3/8 inches. Most of the diam is 3/4 inch but is thicker on the ends (13 / 16 inch).

That sleeve you're talking about is 1.5 inches long, It's split along it's length. I measure the OD at .75 to .76 inch, 0.05 inch wall thickness, 0.65 inch ID. The shaft where the sleeve sits is 0.63 - 0.64 inch diam.

All of this is after buffing with a wire wheel. The sleeve does fit somewhat loosely now. Was stuck on there pretty good before I started to work on it.

I see some erosion on the shaft under the sleeve, not as bad as yours, but I see some nasty erosion where the swaybar is attached.

This bar I have is not straight, I assume they should be. So it was hit pretty hard at some point in it's past life?

While talking about strut rods, I picked up some rod bushings from Mobilparts (MP) last year (when I bought a set of lower ball joints). I've also picked up some Mevotech supreme
MS254144, so you can see the originals, the MP and the Mevo parts here:

The Mevo's more closely match the originals, are half the weight of the MP version (62 vs 115 g). It's a tough call what I'd use. Maybe for a firmer feel, longer lasting, I'm thinking the MP version.

 

[mobileparts]

Mopar~Man,
As long as it fits nicely enough, I would do what I would like to hear from women --- " Bigger is better " ( L O L )
Craig......

 

[customsportsman]

wow. thanks for all your help Mopar man! that was some great information!
I got mine apart today. I came up with one and a half inches just like you. I ordered some tubular steel like MrMoparChp suggested. I had a split mine myself with a cutting wheel to get it off. as you can see up close there and very bad shape. I too will be using the Craig's Moog parts also.