Front Suspension Questions

[pb24]

I'm getting ready to do the front suspension on my 68 charger and having a tuff time deciding which rubber to go with, Graphite polyurethane or just plain rubber. I need some input from you guys that have done this job and which type of rubber you used. Also if anybody has any of the special tools that make this job easier and you don't want them anymore and like to sell them let me know.

[4402tuff4u]

I finished mine a month ago or so on my 68 Charger R/T. The only tool you will really need is normal wrenches, a fork for the tie rod ends and the upper ball joint socket. The socket might cost you a bit more than you think. I know "snap-on" tools carries them. You might be better off doing what I did. I went to a local repair shop that constantly has muscle cars Cheby's, Fords, Pontiac's, etc...occasionally a Mopar. I started talking car stuff with the top mechanic there while I was gassing up and asked him if he could change the upper ball joints on the upper "A" frames for me. Told him I had everything, but the tool. He said drop them off and I'll see if I can do to help you out. Two days later and $20 they were done. I got it done and made a friend in the muscle hobby. He said to makesure you bring the Charger by when it's done.

So if I was you I would take the upper "A" frames off, you have too anyways if you are replacing everything, and find a local shop to do them. The threads are very fine and shallow on the upper ball joints, so if you don't get them right, you'll will foul them up and possibly the arm. Don't let anyone talk you into tack welding them in. That means they have screwed up a set and they really don't know how to install them. I steered away from another guy who said "press them in and tack weld them", my reply to that suggestion was "oooh, I get it, okay, I'll just do that..thanks"

I used all poly on my front end. I normally try to go with latest technology on everything, but also trying to keep the stock/original look. Was not hard at all. I can't really tell how it rides with the poly cause the Charger is still not completed or on the road. Good luck.

[tan top]

i used ploy bushes front and rear, purchased from PST
bought the tools from  Magnum HP ,you can get by with out buying the proper tools(make your own) with the exception of the upper ball joint socket may be ,but once you have bought them it makes for easier work in the future.
 you can now buy every thing at one place called (Just suspension) check out the back cover of the current mopar action magazine .

[pb24]

Ive heard that the poly bushings can squeak has anybody had any problems with them squeaking.

[Dans 68]

Ive heard that the poly bushings can squeak has anybody had any problems with them squeaking.

Using the search feature is kind of like using your directionals...we all know how to do it but some of us don''t want to take the time.  See http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,9917.0.html.

Dan

[deputycrawford]

There is and endless debate on the topic but I used all rubber. I then used thicker .960 torsion bars and KYB shocks. I am extremely happy with the ride quality and no maintenance to speak of. I have heard people say that potholes or other un- expected suspension jars transfer a frightening amount of shock to the passenger compartment. The rubber ones might have just enough give to prevent that but the newer materials might keep them from giving up so early. I believe the handling is from the torsions and shock tuning. If you are on a road course then run the polys. For the street my car has the rubber bushings.

[Mike DC]

Just a preventative thing:

Look hard at the mounting tubes for the lower control arm (in the K-frame itself).  The metal can tear out from stress over time at that point.  It's not a bad idea to add a few extra welds that area where the tubes are attached to the walls of the K-frame.

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"Poly or rubber?"

It's an endless debate in the old-car hobby.

Some say poly squeaks.  Others say it doesn't. 
Some say it only squeaks when it's cheap & doesn't have graphite.  Others say any brand eventually squeaks.
Some say you just have to grease the bushings.  Others say that any amount of grease & graphite will just squeeze out once you've driven several thousand miles.


Either way, I personally think that poly's long-lasting qualities are overrated.  It's true, but what does it really matter?  How many people are actually gonna drive their freshly-restored cars 150,000 miles on rough roads, and then grumble about having to disassemble the front end once during that whole time?  Not likely. 
(Seriously . . . Engines can theoretically last 150,00 miles, right?  But do you know anyone who has ever run a rebuilt musclecar engine in a project hot-rod for 50,000 miles without yanking it out at least once?)

And even if you did run the car long enough & hard enough to actually need to replace the rubber bushings, the poly bushings will probably cause their own troubles by then:  Poly will transfer more shock loads to the suspension components & unibody than rubber, and that doesn't happen without stressing some parts more than stock.  So even if you ran the car long enough to take advantage of Poly's lifespan, you might just be trading bushing problems for metal-fatigue problems at that point. 

I think I'd rather definitely be knocking out some worn rubber bushings in 2015 than risk potentially discovering stress-cracked control arms in 2015. 

     

[8WHEELER]

Yep never ending discussion. I have rubber in one of my Chargers and Poly Graphite in the other two.

The car we drive the most with Poly Graphite is my wife's Charger, she says ''in her word's'' the ride is a
little more stiff than the original rubber, but she loves the way it drives. Will she drive it enough to
where it out? NO. Will it damage the car with the few miles she will drive it NO. We have had it
in the car for 6yrs now, no squeaks or noises. No I did not need to use it on her car, but I was told
it was the only way to go by an expert mechanic, who knows who is right sometimes.

The car I drive the most has rubber, I did it in 1988, the car still drives fine with no problems. I do have
Poly sway bar bushings front and rear, and also Gas Magnum Shocks, so that probably helps.
I don't remember seeing Poly Graphite back then, so I could not tell you if I would have used it or not.

So that is what I have experienced, everybody has a different story it seems.

Dan

[Charger_Fan]

The way I've understood the main reasoning behind using poly bushings is this;
During the various driving conditions a car's suspension will experience a variety of different situations. Say you're taking a hard left, with a bump in the middle of the turn, rubber bushings can deflect to a point where the car's handling seems mushy...whereas poly bushings will hold the suspension's geometry in place & give a better feel of the road.
However, it stands to reason that rubber would help keep road noise from being transferred to the passenger area, better than poly...IMO.

For an average street driven musclecar, I'd say that using rubber bushings on the control arms & radius rods, will help keep road noise down...and using poly on just the sway bar pieces, will help keep the mushy feeling to a minimum in the turns.
Sorta the best of both worlds, I guess...or at least it makes sense to me.

[Blakcharger440]

What are alot of the newer modern performance cars using say from 1988 until now?