I have removed all of the front suspension, control arms, springs etc. The original upper bushings still looked good, but were removed, (drilled the bushing and cut the sleeve to remove) I purchased the poly front end rebuild kit. I did not have a press, so I took these to a shop for installation. Big mistake. They did not clean up the ends of the cross shafts, installed the sleeves over light rust, without any supplied grease. The bushings themselves can be removed by hand, one cross shaft will turn with some effort, the other will not budge. I thought they were to rotate easily? Should I remove these bushings and start over? When I removed the lower arms I could not believe how "frozen" the cross shafts were in the arm. Again, shouldn't they rotate freely?
In this project I was surprised to see the good condition of these bushings, which was bad news. I wanted to "find" the culprit for the loss of feel on the road. Almost like a very light front end feel. The only items that I have found to be shot were the lower ball joints. Drilling out all of the rivots was a pain! Oh yea for the bushing install $70.00 Using the Eastwood system for restoration, the dry times are killing me.

 

the arms when in the original rubber wont move very easy. once you use poly there is no need to remove the original shells. just pop in the new bushings and torque to specs. they will be a bit stiff but will rotate with the help of some leverage. no where near as hard as the original rubber ones were because the actual bushing rotates in the shell itself. what may have happened is they pressed the upper shells in too far. you will notice on a factory bushing shell that there is about a 1/8 inch space between the end of the shell and the arm itself. the bottom ones (shells) press in flush.

 

paint a witness mark on the large washer, bolt head and frame....some times these bolts in the poly bushings will walk out.

 

I've never done poly bushings so I can't comment on how they function vs. rubber, but I can tell you both sets of bushings are an interference (press) fit, and both top and bottom are pressed in flush. The lips that form the bushing seats on the upper arms face outward, which makes the flange on the bushing appear to stand off when looking at the arms, but the bushings should be pressed flush to this lip. The lips on the lower arms face inward, and the bushing flanges sit flush against the outer surface of the arms.

IMHO your cross shafts need to be cleaned up (sandblasting works best) before reassembly. They should be firm but turn by hand BEFORE the cap bolts are torqued. The shafts, shells and bushings should be greased liberally before assembly. The rubber bushings are constructed in such a way that tightening the end caps locks the inner bushing sleeve to the cross shaft--there is no metal-to-metal movement, only rubber-to-metal. The poly bushings should function the same--they are not designed for metal-on-metal rotation. Therefore, having a bushing cup loose in the arm is a no-go; if you mean that the poly material can be pulled out of the bushing cup by hand, that is normal. As far as the sleeves, I have read of guys pressing them on the cross shafts, and also read that they are a slip fit on the cross shafts...? If they are serrated on the ends, they should slip on the shafts and be locked in place by the caps that bolt in the cross shaft ends--just like rubber bushings.

Sorry this got a little long! Good luck!

 

the serrated steel bushing inside the poly bushing has teeth on both sides that grab the shaft and the outside washer. the poly bushing then rotates around the inner sleeve and inside the flange itself unlike the rubber that was statonary.
If you look up the "how to" on control arm bushing replacement you will see a warning where they say to take a measuremnt of the sleeve first before knocking it out in order to keep the factory gap correct. (notice under the poly / rubber bushing the gap beteen the arm and the outter sleeve)



if its pressed in to far that will leave play, back and forth in the control arm shaft due to the washer and bolt not being able to be tightened correctly.
the above is a good idea one which i have done. take a blob of paint and mark the washer bolt and arm together. then if there is any movement you will see that it has come loose and can correct the problem.

i just finished this 4 day job and believe me i read up on everything i could find before beginning this task.

 

The bushings/cups cannot be pressed in too far. The gap you seem to be referring to (to the left of the pencil in the picture) is not a space or gap, but part of the arm--the outward facing lip into which the bushing is inserted and against which the bushing flange is pressed flush in the picture. If you mean that the the ears on the arm (ears on the arm? I need some terminology help!) can be bent by improper technique with a press, that is certainly true. The measurement between the ears must be maintained by bracing (with the correct length piece of angle iron, or a piece of pipe with a channel cut out) when pressing in the second bushing.

 

I was under the impression that the casing was inserted until it was seated tightly against the control arm flange. The existing casings were installed flush. I have not removed the lower bushings or casings and they are flush. My concern was the space between the ears on the control arm. Is it best to just leave the casing and insert the new poly bushings and the serrated sleeves? When I started this I thought the casing for the poly bushings might have a different interior diameter, so the old casing should go. I will probably redo what I paid to have done, just for piece of mind. Anyone know the proper measurement between the control arm ears? Thanks for all the help.

 

Rino, I do not have the measurements, but I am sure someone can provide. Just did a total rebuild on my front suspension. Replaced all with OEM rubber bushings. Feels a lot better when driving. Might want to take a look at yer steering box. I had that rebuilt as well. Here is my build thread.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...h-project.html

 

thanks Rob, I saw this thread before I started my project. Great info. You are right about the steering box. It will be coming out before I am finished. BTW, this all started with a leaky radiator!

 

If you're gonna replace CA bushings w/ polyurethane ... If Poly Only (not rubber) ... there's a really simple easy safe way to DIY using only a cheap hole saw and a penknife and REuses OE outer shells. I've posted on it here ... in detail & ad nauseum ... search.

 

The pen knife technique works i have the wounds to prove it!