Re: Strut Rod Bushings

["Dr. Paul M. Pitcher" <pigdoc@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dennis,

Since you'll probably be separating the lower ball joints, think about 
whether it might be a good idea to just replace everything while you have 
the suspension apart.
I'd say, if you have ~100K miles on the car since the last suspension 
rebuild, you're on borrowed time.

I suppose it might be possible to wriggle the LCA back just far enough to 
get the front end of the strut rod out of the K member without separating 
ball joints, but that's iffy.  I've never tried to replace JUST the strut 
rod bushings...  What might help also is to loosen the nut on the back end 
of the strut rod, and unseat the rod from the LCA by whacking it forward 
(use a brass drift to pad the end of the strut rod).  That will let the 
strut rod wobble in the LCA, and might give you enough wiggle room.

One other idea - if you must separate the lower ball joints to get the 
strut rod out, think about unbolting them from the knuckle 
instead.  Because, separating a ball joint without wrecking the boot, or 
the threads on it, or both, can be a challenge.  Downside is that you'll 
have to take apart the brakes to get to those bolt heads.

When I get disk brake setups at the junkyard, if the donor car doesn't have 
a sway bar, I usually leave the lower control arms.  In that case, rather 
that take a worn out lower ball joint with the knuckle, I unbolt it from 
the knuckle and leave the ball joint attached to the LCA.  Even if I DO 
want to take the LCA, I first unbolt the ball joint from the knuckle and 
then it's out of the way.  Then, you can get a big swing with a hammer to 
separate the lower ball joint from the LCA.  It's extremely difficult to 
get an effective hammer swing on that ball joint if the knuckle is in the 
way.  I don't own a pickle fork - have never needed to use one.

As far as rubber vs poly, I don't think it makes a whit of difference on 
the strut rod bushings.  The advantage of poly is that it is stiffer, so 
there is less deflection in caster when you hit a pothole.  The 
disadvantages of poly are that the smaller deflection means you'll feel 
that bump more, and also, poly is more prone to squeaking than is rubber, 
particularly the strut rod bushings.

pigdoc

At 08:16 PM 11/1/2008, you wrote:

> I am getting my 63 SF on the road.  I have a suspension noise coming
> from the right front.  I have checked for the source of the noise and it
> looks like the control rod bushing may be the problem.
>
> It looks like it may not be fun but if I can drop the lower control arm
> I should be able to replace the bushings. I have a shop manual so I
> don't see any problems.
>
> So far I have found poly bushings but not rubber.
>
> Should I keep looking for rubber bushing?
>
> Is there any reason I should not use the poly bushings?
>
> Thanks
> Dennis C.
>
> 1996 Dodge Ram 3500 Van Conversion
> 1964 Plymouth Belvedere 318 Auto
> 1963 Plymouth Sport Fury 383 4-speed
> 1949 Dodge Pickup 289/C4 soon to be changed
> 1998 Honda Valkyrie Standard
>
>
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Please address private mail -- mail of interest to only one person -- directly to that person.  I.e., send parts/car transactions and negotiations as well as other personal messages only to the intended recipient, not to the Clubhouse public address. This practice will protect your privacy, reduce the total volume of mail and fine tune the content signal to Mopar topic.  Thanks!

'62 to '65 Mopar Clubhouse Discussion Guidelines:
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