Control arm bushings
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 48
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Control arm bushings
So...I just bought my first Corvette a couple of months ago. The gentleman I got it from said the control arm bushings were spent,I cbecked and yes they were spent. Leap forward to today. I checked around and just replacing tbe CAB were gonna cost $600 and some change. The car was all over the road. I found a shop the would rebuild the front end including the CAB and ball joints,replace all 4 shocks, and replace the starter(it was bad too). The SS header had to come off to get the starter off so labor shot up. I limped out of there $1500 light in the wallet.
The drive home was unremarkable and it felt like I was driving Ford ... the steering was touchy and every now and then it wanted to jump to the right abit. Since this is my first Corvette and I have never even been in one before , I am assuming this is the way a Corvette drives.
Any thoughts on this ?
The drive home was unremarkable and it felt like I was driving Ford ... the steering was touchy and every now and then it wanted to jump to the right abit. Since this is my first Corvette and I have never even been in one before , I am assuming this is the way a Corvette drives.
Any thoughts on this ?
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2000
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From: Southbound
Cruise-In II Veteran
You are mistaken. You don't mention alignment in your narrative. Did the shop do one?
Last edited by Easy Mike; Jun 30, 2018 at 07:37 AM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 3,161
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From: Southern CALIFORNIA
Could be slop in a linkage part i need of adjustment or replacement parts.
If no power assist maybe new dampener shock could help.
If it was power steering sounds like maybe the control valve is not adjusted to be in the neutral position.
Or maybe the PS pump or hoses is dirty/going bad and not getting steady pressure so its jumpy.
just some ideas. hard to know without seeing the car and driving it.
If no power assist maybe new dampener shock could help.
If it was power steering sounds like maybe the control valve is not adjusted to be in the neutral position.
Or maybe the PS pump or hoses is dirty/going bad and not getting steady pressure so its jumpy.
just some ideas. hard to know without seeing the car and driving it.
Had a 1976 L-82, 4-sp
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Royal Canadian Navy
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From: Western NY
Thread Starter
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The shop did do and alignment. It does have PS. The guy I bought it from did say something like he thought the steering box (?) Was bad but some shop he brought it to said it was ok and that some other thing that had to do with the PS was bad...does proportion dohicky sound right 
and that whatever it was , was replaced.
I live in Greenwood, South Carolina which is near Greenville, South Carolina.
and that whatever it was , was replaced.I live in Greenwood, South Carolina which is near Greenville, South Carolina.
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: May 2018
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I'd like to add something else although I'm a little embarrassed to say, asking questions like this. Years ago (30) I used to be ASE certified in steering and suspension. I worked on a lot of cars but never a corvette. I'm disabled now and doing work like this is out of the question. Some of the research I've been doing on Corvettes is pointing me to see that they're not quite like other cars when it comes to their suspension. If I could get under it, I'm sure I could at least narrow it down. That control valve thing is sounding foreign to me though.
Thanks for the help.
Thanks for the help.
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Drifting
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,697
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From: Syracuse NY
The shop did do and alignment. It does have PS. The guy I bought it from did say something like he thought the steering box (?) Was bad but some shop he brought it to said it was ok and that some other thing that had to do with the PS was bad...does proportion dohicky sound right and that whatever it was , was replaced.
I live in Greenwood, South Carolina which is near Greenville, South Carolina.
and that whatever it was , was replaced.I live in Greenwood, South Carolina which is near Greenville, South Carolina.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 829
Likes: 131
From: Spartanburg SC
Tom, there seems to be several cruise-ins/ car shows in Greenwood on a regular basis. Find guys with cars from your era and find out who they use for alignments. If you see someone with a C3 invite them to drive your car for their thoughts for comparison to theirs. Good luck.
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 4,786
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From: North Georgia, USA
The shop did do and alignment. It does have PS. The guy I bought it from did say something like he thought the steering box (?) Was bad but some shop he brought it to said it was ok and that some other thing that had to do with the PS was bad...does proportion dohicky sound right and that whatever it was , was replaced.
I live in Greenwood, South Carolina which is near Greenville, South Carolina.
and that whatever it was , was replaced.I live in Greenwood, South Carolina which is near Greenville, South Carolina.
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 1,765
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From: Catlett VA
"Since this is my first Corvette and I have never even been in one before , I am assuming this is the way a Corvette drives."
There should be no "jumping" to the right or left. If your mechanic replaced all of the ball joints and the control arm bushings properly, the car should drive like a new car. If it were my car I would verify that 1) all of the ball joints and control arm bushings were installed, 2) all of the fasteners are tight, including the bolts and nuts holding the front end alignment shims in place and 3) is the front end alignment set to specs? Toe out will make the car twitchy. If you rule these things out, check for excess looseness in wheel bearings, worn tie rod ends, worn idler arm. You can check for play in the steering box yourself with engine running to run the PS pump turn the steering wheel and see how much it turns before the tires actually start to move. Should not be more than 3/4 to 1 inch. I did a complete rebuild of the front suspension on my 68 and there is no slop or play in it and it does not jump to one side or the other. Hope you find what is wrong.
There should be no "jumping" to the right or left. If your mechanic replaced all of the ball joints and the control arm bushings properly, the car should drive like a new car. If it were my car I would verify that 1) all of the ball joints and control arm bushings were installed, 2) all of the fasteners are tight, including the bolts and nuts holding the front end alignment shims in place and 3) is the front end alignment set to specs? Toe out will make the car twitchy. If you rule these things out, check for excess looseness in wheel bearings, worn tie rod ends, worn idler arm. You can check for play in the steering box yourself with engine running to run the PS pump turn the steering wheel and see how much it turns before the tires actually start to move. Should not be more than 3/4 to 1 inch. I did a complete rebuild of the front suspension on my 68 and there is no slop or play in it and it does not jump to one side or the other. Hope you find what is wrong.
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2017
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From: Virginia
If you have a few jackstands and some string, you can check your front toe-in pretty easily (lots of threads on this, and Youtube videos). If you have 1/8" or so toe-in, and your car is still doing this, you may have a problem in your rear end (strut rods, rear toe-out, etc.), or loose steering components.
I bet they replaced all of the parts and did a half-assed alignment, but that's easy enough to check.
With new parts, a proper alignment, and a Borgeson steering box, a C3 will drive like a modern car, if that is what you are after.
I bet they replaced all of the parts and did a half-assed alignment, but that's easy enough to check.
With new parts, a proper alignment, and a Borgeson steering box, a C3 will drive like a modern car, if that is what you are after.
Thread Starter
Intermediate
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I'd like to post a recap. I had a little Holiday right after I had the work done and only got to drive it home after the work was done. The roads were crappy...pot holes and such. I took it out today on some nice roads to buy some touch up paint cause they put a nice chip in it doing the work. It drove great, straight, wheel centered and no drift . I do think something is up in the rear because when you hit bumps in the road or stomp on it ... the rear seems to get squirly. I see if I can get it on a lift and look at it myself.
Le Mans Master
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From: mount holly NC
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Hi again.
Happy for you that the front end is now all good.
Could be the shop only aligned the front.
Rear shims are Corvette only and alignment shops don't carry them.
Having the print out would tell you if the rear was done (by seeing if the before and after are the same).
Worn front bushings on the trailing arms can give you that looseness when accelerating.
Could be the shop only aligned the front.
Rear shims are Corvette only and alignment shops don't carry them.
Having the print out would tell you if the rear was done (by seeing if the before and after are the same).
Worn front bushings on the trailing arms can give you that looseness when accelerating.
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 87,367
Likes: 1,593
From: Western NY
Happy for you that the front end is now all good.
Could be the shop only aligned the front.
Rear shims are Corvette only and alignment shops don't carry them.
Having the print out would tell you if the rear was done (by seeing if the before and after are the same).
Worn front bushings on the trailing arms can give you that looseness when accelerating.
Could be the shop only aligned the front.
Rear shims are Corvette only and alignment shops don't carry them.
Having the print out would tell you if the rear was done (by seeing if the before and after are the same).
Worn front bushings on the trailing arms can give you that looseness when accelerating.
