73 front end time, questions

[flyinlow]

My 73 has 85,000 miles on it. I replaced the idler arm . Ball joints appear tight. Tie rods are tight. Bushing still look ok. but showing some cracks.

Car drives ok. Put larger diameter front and rear sway bars on . That helped alot. KYB gas charged shocks. MOPAR HD rear springs.

I was going to replace upper bushings.

Do the lower one go bad offen?

Strut rod bushings look good, should they be changed?

I have .920 t bars, would the .960 bar be much of an improvement?

The stub frame isolator bushings are showing cracks/settling. Who sells them?

I was going to use Moog parts. Are there better choices?

Thanks

[FLG]

Firmfeel.com has the subframe bushings though there metal so you might feel a bit more but it should tighten up things.

Hostly if its all old stuff down there change it all.

rockauto.com has everything you need, either moog or spicer. Spicer has there preformance line of parts but i do believe its mainly all poly not rubber.

How are the torsion bars now? Sloppy? You shoul feel a difference, what engine do you have in the car?

[bordin34]

Which front sway bar did you put on? If it was the Just Suspension/Addco one can you take some pictures for me?

[Mike DC]

 


The LCA inner rubber bushing is about the most critical one on the front end.  Takes a lot of bumps, keeps a lot of control, etc.  It's about the last bushing on the front end that I would let go bad. 

It's also the last one I would consider switching away from the stock rubber material for the bushing.  Poly just doesn't eat bumps as well as rubber, and this bushing has to eat a whole lot of them over its lifetime.  In fact, the K-frame mounting tube for this LCA inner pivot point is a common spot for metal-fatigue problems. The factory welds holding the tube in the K-frame walls can tear out over time.  Gusseting is good here, and always better to do it BEFORE it breaks. 


(And don't forget about the front bushing on the strut bar out front, by the swaybar mounts.  Letting this go bad will start directing more loads onto the LCA bushing again.)


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The upper control arm bushings aren't always as toasted as the LCA ones from age.  But they have a lot to do with wheel alignment settings, and also with the wheel holding some good camber during a turn. 

These inner bushings on the UCA are good place to try switching to a stiffer material like polyurethane IMHO.  The handling gains of tightening up this pivot point can be disproportionately high, compared to the amount of extra harshness that it incurs.