What the deal with 2g compression arms & bushings?

[Drift_SM]

Ok this really needs to be addressed. I am talking 2g AWD M/T only.

From 1/01/94 to 3/03/96 the compression arms were shorter.
(I believe the bolt holes on the bushing were offset towards the ball joint.)

From 3/03/96 to 3/04/99 the compression arms were longer.
(The bolt holes on the bushing were offset away from to ball joint)

Now I remember JTMcinder talking about 2g's having different caster on the driver side and passenger side.

I recently replaced both my compression arms, I ordered them both strait from mitsubishi under my Vin number.

Now both original arms I took off my 97 (8/23/96...build date) had the bolts offset away from the ball joint. Just as they should.

When my new arms arrived, the passenger side bushing bolt holes were offset in the correct orientation (away from the ball joint) as the original bushing on my 97.

ALTHOUGH!!!! on the driver side arm, the bushing bolt holes were offset towards the ball joint! ? The part number was correct! (I thought maybe it was a factory fluke.) So I re-orderd the driver side arm. When the second one arrived it was the same way! (bolt holes offset towards the ball joint.)

I got fed up trying to figure out why mitsubishi would be flipping the bushing around for 97-up control arms. So I popped out the bushing and flipped it 180* to match the original bolt hole orientation (bolt offset away from the ball joint) to match the old arm I pulled off my car.

Just recently I saw JTCcinders profile and a few posts about him flipping the 97 up compression arm bushing to get the caster to match on both passenger and driver side.


Any insight would be great.

_Alex.

 

[wret]

This thread may help.
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/handling-tech/176057-resolved-2g-caster-changing.html

 

[Drift_SM]

I think I got it figured out.

OK With some more carfull reading I have come to a new conclusion.

When mitsubishi decided to flip the Bushing it must have been after my build date of 8/23/96.....BECAUSE my original driver side compression arm bushing was oriented the correct way that would keep the caster equal on both sides.

That explains why both me and Tsunari got the driver arm with the bushing flipped 180* when compared to the passenger arm.....as it was mistubishi "FIX" to the "drifting on crowned roads" complaints.

This makes sense.