Front End Upgrade

ncrr

Bob, My 2004 TXT could use a front end upgrade, there did you find the brass bushings? And how many will I need?

Other suggestions for the upgrade are welcomed...

Henri

BGW

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BobBoyce

Hey there Henri

My RXV required 4 of those flanged bushings. I had to take the front end apart to prepare for the installation of the Jakes hydraulic disc brake kit that I ordered. It's due in on the 18th.

I took the original bushings and all of the other parts with me to the parts department of a tractor dealership. I made measurements and had the counterman look up new brass bushings to match the specifications. Then I test fit the bushings right there on the spot to confirm that they fit. I also matched up new hardware to fit the bushings and kingpin/A-arm tubes to get rid of excess slop at every point. This required switching some metric hardware out for SAE hardware to tighten the bolt to bushing fit. The kingpin tubes were my biggest problem, because E-Z-GO took nearly 3 months to send the right parts to me. They repeatedly sent me the smaller A-arm ones. I had to take photos of an original kingpin tube next to a metric tape measure with the tubes they kept sending side by side to show the problem. They were questioning the part number I was providing, so I told them to look up the specifications of that part and compare the parts in the bin to the specification for that part. Then they asked me to provide them with precise measurements of both parts before they finally solved the problem and sent me the right ones. It turned out that someone had dumped the wrong sized tube in the parts bin. Who knows how many others were sent the wrong part during that time frame.

I worked out 2 different ways to modify the fixed suspension to add adjustability to camber. Clearly, all the adjustability in the world will do very little good without tightening up the tolerances of everything else in the front suspension.

I know it might be overkill for most, but I can't help it. I'm so used to designing electric vehicles from the ground up that when I look at something with an issue caused by a lesser design, I picture in my mind a better way that it could or should have been done. I imagine most engineers do the same thing.

Bob

ncrr

Bob,
Thanks, I'll keep tractor supply in mind....

I see your tristate location, Used to live in NC, just over the border from Ducktown, TN, and Copperhill, GA.... Left there 2 years ago to be closer to medical stuff. A chopper ride to Chattanooga convinced me - loved it there.....

henri

BobBoyce

Tractor supply does not have quite the parts inventory of a tractor dealership parts department.

I've had health issues here, a few heart attacks and strokes. Medical issues and remote living can certainly be a problem. My solution was to try to improve my health. Once I rid myself of the artery clogging calcified plaques, my health has improved. My most recent issue was medication induced. My Part D provider chose to stop carrying one of my meds that I had been taking for years without issue and forced me to try a couple of new meds. The first I had a severe allergic reaction, the second one put me in the hospital with paralysis on my left side. They thought I had a stroke. As it turned out, the second medication was identical to the first, under a different generic name. The idiots nearly killed me! The plus to this, I had a series of tests that showed that all of the calcified plaques that had caused me to get cardiac bypass surgery were all cleared out.

I guess my diet change worked. Real butter is much healthier than the so-called healthy vegetable oils used to make margerines. And modern wheat is bad for blood sugar and other things. Eggs and avacado are great sources of good cholesterol, which is essential for removing bad cholesterol. I learned a lot about what is being touted as a healthy diet, and what is actually a healthy diet.

sonnysmith

Nothing to do with carts, but sure glad your health has improved.
Keep up the good work.

Sonny

miajackson05@gmail.com

BobBoyce

The kingpins I bought for the RXV/Bandolero Road Car project were 4-5/16" long, so no reason to find my paperwork to look up the part number for you. The kingpin must be reamed slightly in order to bring it to size for the Grade 8 SAE kingpin bolts that I went to. It was the easiest way to get rid of the slop in the kingpin mounting holes in the struts. I did not feel like welding and redrilling those holes, as properly doing that and the required heat treating and painting or powdercoating afterwards is more work than I was willing to invest for such a simple problem to solve. They are SAE sized holes from the factory, yet the hardware that E-Z-GO uses is metric, which leaves about 3 thousandths slop at those mounting holes. I chose the easiest solution... Use hardware that the holes were already sized for and just ream the inner kingpin hole to match.

I have a pile of used struts now, since I have replaced them in both of my RXV chassis. I still have the original damaged frame from my 2012 RXV. I've thought about turning it into something, like a trailer or a 3 wheeler. I have an RXV axle without a motor that I could use.

dhartung02

Hey Bob - what were the specifications on the SAE Kingpin bolts you got? I am trying to find some replacements. I just got new Kingpin tubes and plan to get them bored out to fit.

Did you have any play up and down with the spindle in the strut assembly mount? I am wondering if a thicker thrust washer would do the trick. Not sure how to get rid of that slop.

BobBoyce

It's been so long that I forgot the size. I took the kingpin with me and chose the first bolt that was too tight to fit, in Grade 8. I then bought a precision reamer to match. I made sure it was the correct size for the kingpin, and the top and bottom holes of the mount. As for the thrust washer, I used machine bushings and shims designed for tightening up pins used for mounting hydraulic cylinders. I keep an assortment of those on hand in various sizes because I own a Ford 555B Tractor/Loader/Backhoe.

Bob