Complete Suspension & Steering Rebuild

[resq302]

I just rebuilt my entire front suspension and put rubber back in with the exception of the sway bar mount bushing, that was the only part that was not made in rubber anymore.  My ride is perfect and it is exactly as it was designed it was supposed to be back in 1969.

Brian,

Where did you purchase your sway bar bushings?
Do they look the same as the factory bushings?

Did they fit with no problem into the original sway bar bushing / mounting bracket?

I see that Mancini has some listed on their web site but with no photos.  I see that Year One has some that look like the originals.

The attached photo is for the YO # MR393 - 7/8" sway bar bushings but they do not have a photo of the YO # MR364 - 15/16" sway bar bushings, the ones I need.

What did you buy?

Thanks.

I got my poly sway bar bushings from PST (Performance Suspension Technology) who advertises on the last page of either Mopar Collectors Guide or Mopar Muscle.  They were a bear to get in and I ended up tearing one and having to order another set.  The second set went in much easier as I put a ton of that grease that comes with it.  Once they were in, they fit great.  Basically, I had to use the channel lock method of getting them in with pulling the triangular welded mounting bracket on around the actual bushing.  The main reason the bushings went in so hard is that they were never originally designed to be replaced individually, or so I have heard.  From what I was told, if you had to replace the bushings, you had to order the entire sway bar itself from Mopar.  Once they bushings were installed, I was told by PST that the black color would fade overtime with use and exposure to the elements and would dull down to look like original rubber.  I currently have them in mine and unless you get right on top of them, it is hard to tell the difference now.

As for the photo, that is exactly what mine looked like.

Hope this helps,

Brian

[Shakey]

Thanks Brian.

[Mopar Crazy]

I came up with ES 440 S for the sleeves. The others are what I came up with also.

I have not tried them yet.

I plan on using my standard idler arm.

It will be a few weeks yet.

Thanks Shakey, Please let us know how you made out...

[Wakko]

Did you get any special tools to remove and replace the bushings and joints or did you have a shop do it?

[Shakey]

Did you get any special tools to remove and replace the bushings and joints or did you have a shop do it?

My Father-in-Law has a press at the farm for when he works on his tractors.  He made some replicas of some of the other tools American Muscle (http://www.americanmuscle.biz/) show on their site by looking at the photos and reading the "how to use them" guide.  The only tool I purchased was the upper ball joint tool.

[Mopar Crazy]

Shakey,
What do you think about the (stock) Idler Arm # K7041 oppsosed to the C-Body Idler Arm K-7073 ?
Would the C-Body fit my 68 Charger???
Thanks
Pete

[Mike DC]

 
I'm not 100% sure, but I think the spline # is different between the B/E-bodies and the C-bodies.

 

[resq302]

Did you get any special tools to remove and replace the bushings and joints or did you have a shop do it?

Wakko,

I had to borrow a shops press to install the new lower control arm bushings.  As for the sway bar bushings, I had to pry them in with a pair of vice grips.  Major PITA.  Persistance did pay off after a bunch of cursing and cuts and impalements.

[Mopar Crazy]

Cuts, Impalements,  Great, can't wait to do mine !!!!!!!!!

[resq302]

Let me clarify.... this was only for trying to get the bushings in for the sway bar.  Everything else was easy.

[Wakko]

Got my steering box today for $66!  A Lares part, from Advance Auto Parts.  Went to get the pitman arm and it was $180!!!  WTF?  Where to get one cheaper?  I've heard about using later model boxes and therefore later model pitman arms for cheaper...anyone know anything about that?

[myk]

Are the later model year boxes the fast ratio ones?  That would be a cool swap...

[Shakey]

Shakey,
What do you think about the (stock) Idler Arm # K7041 oppsosed to the C-Body Idler Arm K-7073 ?
Would the C-Body fit my 68 Charger???
Thanks
Pete

Not sure Pete.

I plan on using my stock idler arm.

Still a few weeks away from assembly.

[Wakko]

Shakey, whose pitman arm did you get and what did it set you back?

[Shakey]

Shakey, whose pitman arm did you get and what did it set you back?

The pitman arm on my steering box feels fine.  We had the box off last summer and sent it out to get resealed.  A coat of Eastwood's Spray Gray and it looks as good as new.

It will be some time before we do any real road tests.

[Wakko]

Where did you end up getting your bushings and steering parts from?  I'm about ready to go.

[Shakey]

Where did you end up getting your bushings and steering parts from?  I'm about ready to go.

The only items I have purchased up to this point would be the Upper Ball Joints, Upper Control Arm Bushings and the Lower Control Arm Bushings.  I bought all MOOG products from my local CarQuest dealer.  My Lower Ball Joints are new (came with car), as is the case with my Idler Arm.  I simply cleaned them up and painted them.  My Pitman Arm looks to be OK also and it got a coat of paint when we had the Steering Box out last Summer when it was re-sealed.

Things have been a bit busy around my house in the past few weeks and have not spent much time at the farm.  The time that I did spend there working on the car has been devoted to restoring the suspension pieces, preparing them for the installation.

I have yet to purchase my Tie Rod Ends, Adjusting Sleeves (MOOG - Car Quest), Sway Bar Link Kit (Undecided)and the Sway Bar Frame Mount Bushings (Year One).  I will round up those items in the next couple of weeks so we can complete the suspension and allow the car to touch the ground again as it has been on the stands since October.

Attached are a few before and after photos of the suspension as well as the items I purchased from Car Quest.

[pb24]

Your front end parts look great. What kind of paint did you use on the LCA and link bars? Are you going to reuse your torsion bars?

[Shakey]

Your front end parts look great. What kind of paint did you use on the LCA and link bars? Are you going to reuse your torsion bars?

Thanks.

I used Eastwood's products.
The LCA's got self etching primer and then two coats of Gold Cad.
The sway bar, centre link, strut rods, spindles, lower ball joints all got self etching primer and then two coats of Spray Gray.
The upper arms and the torsion bars got Extreme Chassis Black.

And yes, I will be using the torsion bars that came out of the car.  I see nothing wrong with them.

[runningman]

I have been thinking of using the carb renew from eastwood on the lca's.  looks close to same color as the cosmoline........any thoughts??

[pb24]

How do you tell if the torsion bars lose their spring after being in the car all those years? Their not that expensIve and ive heard that upgrading to a thicker bar helps. What do you think?

[Wakko]

Considering my car is 36 years old I figure the torsion bars HAVE to be worn, it's simple physics.  While you can raise the height of the car to compensate, the spring rate will be decreased, I figure.  For $120 I'm going to replace my bars with .96 RT bars, which is an upgrade over my standard 383 bars anyway.

[Chryco Psycho]

Shakey,
What do you think about the (stock) Idler Arm # K7041 oppsosed to the C-Body Idler Arm K-7073 ?
Would the C-Body fit my 68 Charger???
Thanks
Pete

I would like to know if the C body idler will bolt in , the idler is not splined BTW , just the pitman

[Mopar Crazy]

Shakey:: Question::  I started to put my front end in my 68 Charger.
I was looking at the illustration in the 68 Charger Service Manual (Page 2-9 Fig. 14) 
They show a sleeve between the bushing on the strut.   It's Retainer, Bushing, Sleeve thru K-Frame, Bushing, Retainer Nut.
It also says (Coronet).
I don't recall if mine had a sleeve, I took it a-part 3 years ago. and I thought the Charger and Coronet were the same.
Can you shed any lite to this???
Thanks Pete

[Chryco Psycho]

ther are the saem & both had the sleeve which often becomes rusted in place on the strut