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Author Topic: BG knuckle swap  (Read 4427 times)

chrispoe

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    • 91 BP Capri GT
BG knuckle swap
« on: October 21, 2016, 02:43:01 PM »

After doing a thread about a comparison of the BF and BG steering Knuckle
http://teamcapri.com/forum/index.php/topic,3389.0.html
I decided to try and do the swap. I’ve been meaning to do a write up about this since I’ve done the knuckle swap last fall (2015). So I'm finally giving it a go.


Installing the knuckles wasn’t too hard. In fact the hardest part was doing the driver side axle…LOL

Since the Escort GT’s knuckle has the same size lower balljoint stud (15mm), I reused the Capri’s joints.
The next thing to address was the different location of the knuckle/stut mount from my comparison measurements from the posted link above.

I did look into swapping over to BG stuts, but then I would have to mess around with the upper stut mount and still slot one of the lower strut mounting holes fix the camber.  I decided to also reuse my Capri’s struts and mounts instead. The strut and mounts on my Capri were replaced less then 10K miles ago and the lowering springs I  have for my Capri won’t fit BG struts.

To reuse my BF struts, I had to modify the strut’s lower mount to accommodate the for the BG knuckle’s extra 5mm bolt spacing and mounting angle.  I took some 1 inch wide steel stock and cut 4 pieces 4 inches long. Then I drilled two 12mm holes, 60mm apart in each piece. 
I bolted one piece to each side of the strut mount with the lower bolt and rotated the top piece away from the strut’s body so the top holes were then offset 2mm. Then it was just a matter of clamping each side piece in place with a vice-grips, wrapping the strut body with a wet towel, welding the pieces in place, redrilling out the top hole, and painting it.

Do to the position of the BG’s steering arm, I determined the BF’s inner and outer tie rods needed to changed too due to the arm being 16mm lower and 14mm closer to the hub.
After doing some research, I found out that the late 80’s Chevy/Geo Spectrum inner tie rod (moog #ev202) had the same threads on each end as the Capri’s but they were 10mm longer. I also found the Escort ‘s outer tie rod end (MOOG  #ES3048RL)to have a 6mm longer flange too. So I ordered these parts for my swap.
I was initially worried about the steering arm’s 16mm lower position, but when I got the new ends, I was presently surprised to find the tie rod end was larger and also raised the pivot point 6mm higher compared to the BF ends.

The only thing left at this point was the axles. If my Capri was an XR2 with the 26 spline tranny, all you would need are the axles from a mid 80’s Mazda 626. Unfortunately my Capri is N/A and I have a 24 spline tranny instead, which makes the axle situation a little tougher. For the passenger side axle I used one from an early 90’s 323. It’s a tad longer then the Capri’s which was perfect for me due to the fact I shifted the engine/tranny slightly to the driver’s side when I did the BP swap.
The driver’s side axle wasn’t so easy. There are no axle shafts available to go from a 24 spline tranny to a 26 spline hub that’s the correct length. So I went through various CV joint manufacture catalogs and found the early 90’s Mazda 323 outer CV joint could be put on the Capri’s axle shaft cuz they use the same 22INT splined mid -shaft.

Trying to remove the old outer CV joint was by far the hardest part. I tried pulling, hammering, and even making a jig to hold the axle and using a hydraulic press to get the joint off. All of these attempts failed and I ended up having to use a cutoff wheel and cutting the outer CV into 3 pieces to get it off the darn mid-shaft. 
Thankfully installing the new CV was a breeze. Slide the new boot onto the mid-shaft, compress the outer retaining clip with a channel-lock, and push the new CV onto the shaft until it clicks.
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chrispoe

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Re: BG knuckle swap
« Reply #1 on: October 21, 2016, 02:45:07 PM »

Reserved for after thoughts when I get time to write em.
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WashiestSnake

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Re: BG knuckle swap
« Reply #2 on: October 22, 2016, 05:27:34 PM »

So what does this swap improve?
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1991 Mercury Capri 68,xxx Miles--Project(AWD)
1996 Lincoln Continental -- The Boat(Given to my Brother)

WashiestSnake

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Re: BG knuckle swap
« Reply #3 on: December 05, 2016, 07:45:06 PM »

So considering you can do this swap that means you could use the GTRs 5lug hub or would that require a GTX/GTR knuckle. I'm not sure if the knuckle is different I know its much different in regards to the hub, brakes etc.
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1991 Mercury Capri 68,xxx Miles--Project(AWD)
1996 Lincoln Continental -- The Boat(Given to my Brother)

chrispoe

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    • 91 BP Capri GT
Re: BG knuckle swap
« Reply #4 on: December 09, 2016, 11:28:18 PM »

BG hubs are 40mm OD with a bearing snout length of 40mm, the BF hubs are 38mm OD and the hubs snout is 38mm long.
The BG hubs will not fit into the bearings of a BF knuckle.
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WashiestSnake

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Re: BG knuckle swap
« Reply #5 on: December 10, 2016, 03:47:18 PM »

Gotcha I thought you used the BG knuckle to upgrade to the BG 4x100 hubs. The reason I was thinking this was that 4x100 is much easier to find. I also thought since you were redoing the suspension in your car you might have made a 26 spline halfshaft to use the BG hubs. I really need to start asking questions with more forethought.
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1991 Mercury Capri 68,xxx Miles--Project(AWD)
1996 Lincoln Continental -- The Boat(Given to my Brother)