General Pillars...

[petel]

See post 16 of this thread.

If you have been supplied with 4x2 pillars then presumably, you have also been supplied with 4x2 shock absorbers which, as you will see from post 16, are 10m/m shorter in standard length than the 4x4 units.

Surely,this must have a bearing on camber angle and therefore the relationship of tyre to road, with considerations for road holding, braking and tyre wear.

Its your call, but when looking at a 4x4 for sale, this is one of the first things I check.

Rgds.

 

[Von Trippenhof]

Cheers. I'll have a go at measuring the angles. As long as they fall between the factory values I'll let them be. If not, I'll have to have a think.

I expect the larger caster angle is to add a bit more stearing damping for off-road use - I should be able to adjust it with the radius arm spacing washers if need be. I doubt it would affect the tyre wear. Camber is more of a concern though - there's no way to adjust that without new parts.

I'll let you know what I find... (may take a bit though)

Thanks for your help,

Ralph

(I am right to say the 'pillars' are the Haynes manual's 'hub carriers', aren't I?)

 

[carlt]

Been swapping front suspension/brake parts around today , on to my trials car
I had some 4x4 suspension and brakes of of a breaker a couple of years ago [new disc/calipers etc]
I thought I would check out the differences in the 4x4 and 2x4 parts mentioned in this thread , and cross referencing against the fiat data book .

The hub carriers [pillars] are the same except for the diameter of the strutt mounting holes , the angles between bolt holes and hub carrier mounting face are the same . Presumably the difference in Camber angle [+1º20'Camber on 4x4] is set with the different strutt bracket to mount the carrier[ I don't have a 4x4 strutt to compare]
this is only on the parts i have , not saying all parts are like this

The Caster angle is set with different thickness washers on the end of the front /lower tie rod [ the first washer to be fitted to the tie rod before the large diam. washers and doughnut rubber bushes and nylock nut ]
Washer thickness :- 4x4 =2.5mm , 2x4 =5.0mm [ +1º Caster on 4x4 ]
Carl

Just had a thought that might make all the carrier/pillar , Camber measurements above wrong ! The carriers I got off the 4x4 were in v.good condition , probably replacements , chances are they were 2x4 ones with the strutt mtg. holes enlarged ?

 

[aribold]

The hub carriers [pillars] are the same except for the diameter of the strutt mounting holes , the angles between bolt holes and hub carrier mounting face are the same .

I can confirm this after minute measurements of both 4x2 and 4x4 hub carriers.

I have removed about 3mm of rust from the old carrier, which must have been the original one, and repainted it. Then, when reassembling everything the ball joint just snapped and I ordered the 4x4 version from my local parts-shop. The one they gave me had 10mm holes, and it turned out it's partnumber was listed for 4x4 and 4x2 as well. Because I wasn't convinced that hole diameter is the only difference, I measured and compared angles and distances. They really are the same. After enlarging the 10mm holes to 12mm I double-checked the angles by inserting some rods through the holes of the 4x4 carrier and the modified 4x2 carrier:

 

[aribold]

I got a PM from petel:

"I did the same as you earlier in the year, using the digital measuring equipment at my place of work. I found that there is a small but measurable difference in the angle through the center line of the two holes in relation to the bearing face of the pillar."

His measuring methods were probably more secure than mine. I am curious how small the difference actualy was.
So please bear this mind when you read my above message.....