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Found the driver's side upper control arm bolt on my driveway last week and found this when I opened the hood of my '72. I'm pretty sure I need to remove the upper A-arm to fix this. Wanted to see if anyone has had this happen before. Any chance I can compress these bushings while they're still in the car? Thought I'd ask before I begin the project. Any insight would be much appreciated. Pictures show each side of the rod.
Thanks, Andy
I had this same incident happen a few years ago on one of the upper poly control arm bushings on my 78. Yes, you should be able to get it back together on the car...I did with a new washer bolt kit from rockauto!
3 tips:
Make sure you tighten/TQ every upper and lower control arm bolt with the car sitting on the ground, not in the air with weight off the wheels.
YOU MUST USE BLUE LOCKTITE on all the poly control arms bolts. Do not use red locktite which will make your life very difficult if you ever have to remove the bolts in the future.
Use a bright colored permanent marker to mark the bolt and washer position so you can quickly visually inspect the control arm bushing bolts periodically to make sure the bolts are not loosening. I have never had a blue locktite control arm bolt loosen once tightened with locktite
It's been a LONG time since I worked on a C-3, but I did install poly bushings in the one that my wife used to own. IIRC, the OE rubber bushings have an inner sleeve that has "teeth", so when you tighten the retaining bolt, the teeth bite into the washer, and keep everything tight. The sleeve for the poly bushings doesn't have the teeth, so you need to hit the bolt with some Loctite, as "jb78L-82" mentioned.
Thanks for the info, guys. Not going to be able to swing a hammer since the headers and radiator will be in the way. Jb78, curious how you used a washer bolt kit to pull everything back together. I was thinking I’d need some kind of clamp/vise device that ran the length of the rod. Great tip on using blue Locktite.
Thanks, Andy
I was able to use the new bolt to grab the poly bushing still in the arm on the car but up in the air. I think I used a small crowbar to move the upper control arm to position the cross shaft in the correct position to make the connection.
I was able to use the new bolt to grab the poly bushing still in the arm on the car but up in the air. I think I used a small crowbar to move the upper control arm to position the cross shaft in the correct position to make the connection.
Thanks! I need to get the wheel off the floor tonight and see what my options are.
Turned out to be a quick fix. Used a longer 3/8 bolt (1-1/2 or 2 inches) that would reach past the bushing to the threads and cranked on it until the bushing came together enough to put the original bolt on (with Locktite). Cranked on that bolt until everything came back together on both sides of the rod. Only thing left to do is put Locktite on the other bolts! Thanks for everyone’s help.
Andy
Turned out to be a quick fix. Used a longer 3/8 bolt (1-1/2 or 2 inches) that would reach past the bushing to the threads and cranked on it until the bushing came together enough to put the original bolt on (with Locktite). Cranked on that bolt until everything came back together on both sides of the rod. Only thing left to do is put Locktite on the other bolts! Thanks for everyone’s help.
Andy
Turned out to be a quick fix. Used a longer 3/8 bolt (1-1/2 or 2 inches) that would reach past the bushing to the threads and cranked on it until the bushing came together enough to put the original bolt on (with Locktite). Cranked on that bolt until everything came back together on both sides of the rod. Only thing left to do is put Locktite on the other bolts! Thanks for everyone’s help.
Andy
Upper Control Arm Bushing Fell Out
