Lower control arm bushings......oh what a PITA this is going to be.

Topic: Lower control arm bushings......oh what a PITA this is going to be. (Read 2999 times) previous topic - next topic

Lower control arm bushings......oh what a PITA this is going to be.

Reply #15 – June 30, 2009, 09:40:42 AM

Quote from: thunderjet302;280168

Oh I read your thread. That made me not want to do the bushings;). I know my problem is the arms as I can wiggle the arm and get it to make the pop noise. What did your noise end up being?

http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?t=16294&page=6

Lower control arm bushings......oh what a PITA this is going to be.

Reply #16 – June 30, 2009, 03:01:22 PM

I'll check the k member bolts too while I'm under there.

Lower control arm bushings......oh what a PITA this is going to be.

Reply #17 – July 01, 2009, 08:11:56 PM

Well I got the stuff. Should be tearing into it Monday the 6th at a friends garage. He has air tools and I do not. Getting the control arm bolts off with air tools looks to be much, much easier

So the last of the 21 year old parts in the front end will be changed. My list is:

FRPP 03-04 Cobra control arms
MOOG ball joints, since the ones in the Cobra arms don't work with the stock spindle
New Timken inner and outer wheel bearings to replace the 21 year old ones.

Sounds like it's going to be a fun Monday :D

Lower control arm bushings......oh what a PITA this is going to be.

Reply #18 – July 02, 2009, 10:41:14 AM

That car should drive like it's brand new when you're finished. I can't wait to hear the results.

Lower control arm bushings......oh what a PITA this is going to be.

Reply #19 – July 02, 2009, 04:38:29 PM

Wow when I did this. I just took the LCA's off took them to the shop them pressed the old bushings out and put the new ones in. $20 and about 30min all was good. If the local shop I went to can do it I can do it and so could you. They just used that C-clamp ball joint press with a spacer for the gap in between the two sides. After they were done. I was thinking WTF is wrong with me I could have done that! Sometimes its all about what you have it built up in your mind compared to what it really is

Stuckman

Lower control arm bushings......oh what a PITA this is going to be.

Reply #20 – July 03, 2009, 11:44:08 AM

Quote from: 88BlueBird;280600

That car should drive like it's brand new when you're finished. I can't wait to hear the results.

The car rides great right now so I can only guess how good it's going to ride with the new control arms:D. Hell it rides better than my friends brand new Civic.

Quote from: ipsd;280664

Wow when I did this. I just took the LCA's off took them to the shop them pressed the old bushings out and put the new ones in. $20 and about 30min all was good. If the local shop I went to can do it I can do it and so could you. They just used that C-clamp ball joint press with a spacer for the gap in between the two sides. After they were done. I was thinking WTF is wrong with me I could have done that! Sometimes its all about what you have it built up in your mind compared to what it really is

Stuckman

I know I could get the bushings pressed out but now I'll have nice, new, shiney black powdercoated control arms :D

Lower control arm bushings......oh what a PITA this is going to be.

Reply #21 – July 09, 2009, 05:23:19 PM

Ok I got the arms in (it was a PITA to get the springs back in:hick:) and the car rides about 100% better. Here's the kicker: I was able to use the 03-04 Cobra ball joints with the stock 10" brake spindles. I just put everything on for the hell of it and tightened down the lock nut. I got 1.5-2 threads over the top of the lock nut on each side and everything seated down fine. So I'm going to drive it around for a week or two and check the tightness of the ball joint nuts after every drive. If it stays tight I might not have to use the T-bird spec ball joints I bought. If not it's easy enough to swap out ball joints. The only thing that worries me is even though the lock nut is engaged I don't like the fact that these ball joints don't use cotter pins. Maybe I'm just crazy but the cotter pins seem like a good idea

Lower control arm bushings......oh what a PITA this is going to be.

Reply #22 – July 09, 2009, 05:50:11 PM

The Nylock nuts work good ;0) Keep an eye out on i bu you should be all set...

Lower control arm bushings......oh what a PITA this is going to be.

Reply #23 – July 11, 2009, 03:06:18 PM

After driving it for a few days the nuts are still as tight as they should be. I've even hit a few pot holes

(accidentally of course) and all is well.

You know being that these arms have 1/2" deeper spring pockets it looks like the front of my T-bird may have dropped a bit. I didn't do a before and after measurement but it looks like it sits 1/4"-1/2" lower in the front.

Lower control arm bushings......oh what a PITA this is going to be.

Reply #24 – July 11, 2009, 05:31:30 PM

1/2 inch deeper pocket *should* put you roughly an inch lower since the springs are roughly centered in the control arm....1/2 inch drop in the center equals 1 inch drop at the wheel if everything is centered.....

Lower control arm bushings......oh what a PITA this is going to be.

Reply #25 – July 13, 2009, 09:36:53 PM

The nylock nuts are still holding but they scare the bejesus out of me. They have 1-1.5 threads out over there top of the blue part but I'm still worried they are going to back out. Could I drill a hole through the nut and ball joint stud and insert a cotter pin "just in case"? If it had a pin there is no way it could back out. Or should I just swap out the ball joints (I still have the T-bird spec ones)? It's holding together fine but after doing some searching I think I've freaked myself out about having the thing fail......

Lower control arm bushings......oh what a PITA this is going to be.

Reply #26 – July 13, 2009, 09:42:32 PM

The SN-95 cars used the nyloc nuts. They're not going to loosen up on you as long as the threads are fully engaged in the nylon.

Lower control arm bushings......oh what a PITA this is going to be.

Reply #27 – July 13, 2009, 09:53:40 PM

How much of the thread has to be above the nylon for the nut to be fully engaged? I have about 1-1.5 threads above the blue nylon part and the nuts are pretty much even with the top of the ball joint stud. Is that enough?

Lower control arm bushings......oh what a PITA this is going to be.

Reply #28 – July 13, 2009, 11:31:14 PM

If you see any thread above the nylon, they ain't gonna move. Those are the same design used on aircraft. Ever fly anywhere worrying about whether every nut had a cotter pin in it?

Lower control arm bushings......oh what a PITA this is going to be.

Reply #29 – July 14, 2009, 08:59:32 AM

FAA std is to have 1 full thread (not including thread chamfer) above the top of the nut. Aviation Mil-std is to have 2 threads (including chamfer) above the top of the nut.