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Lower Control Arm Bushings


Conn47D24

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How can I tell if my Lower Control Arm is still useable ?

 

The non-threaded bushings on the wider end " cut " into the metal in these holes?

 

Is that what I have seen / heard ?

 

If that is the case, how can I tell if mine are too worn, and have enough meat left to hold the bushing ?

 

What is the measurement or standard here?

 

Thanks in advance .

 

Clay

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Clay.......those threaded holes seem o/k to me, although I'd get hold of a new lower outer pin and bush and thread the pin by itself thru from one side to the other and check for any wear, slop, movement etc.........it should be a fairly tight fit, I would think it unusual to have any wear in the lower outer A arm threaded holes as the pin screws thru the lower outer bush and is tightened onto the lower arm thru these threaded holes and then has a castle nut tightened again on the other side, like seriously tight........lol.............the only way the pin/arm area would wear would be if the pin/arm/nut is not tightened sufficiently and a small amount of movement becomes bigger and allows the pin to create wear on the A arm threaded hole........the actual bushing is 15/16th I think from either inner side of the outer A arm...........dunno if all this helps.......also suggest reading ALL the threads on here that mention anything to do with the front suspension/steering etc, as the mopar front ends from 1939 to 1956 are essentially all the same design with slight variations and it possible to pick up tips, hints and info even if its not your model being discussed..........osmosis is good............lol.......I've been playing with 1940 Dodges since 1969 and I still pickup tips etc........Clay, checkout Capt Freds "rebuilding a P10 Frontend thread.........lots of good info.........regards, from Oz........andyd   

Edited by Andydodge
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Thanks OZ!  Yes I've been scrolling through the relate threads here too.

 

The ones I'm concerned about are on the wider end of the "A"  . Is that what you mean here?

 

The narrow end threads are clean.  Those wider ones are pretty smooth. and the new bushings in the kit I bought

are as described on the forum kind of flat threaded. I'm sure you know what I am trying to describe.

 

So if I can screw in these new bushings by hand they are too worn?  Manual and forum seem to indicate that I need to really work a wrench to fit these correctly.

 

 

Someone once told me this was all " just nuts and bolts"  Ha !!

 

Thanks gain OZ

 

Clay

 

Ya know this forum and guys like you are a real asset to me.

 

Gear  head in my teens and 20's. Then 30+ years of sales and no grease.  My 47 club coupe was my driver in 81-83.

 

It sat in Dad's garage till last year and I brought it here under my nose everyday. That pushed me to work on something daily.

 

My Mom and Son both passed without seeing this project done. Disappointed both of them big time.

 

I'm on a mission, but I need the help.

 

Thanks for listening.

C

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Clay, the lower inner bushes use a very flat style "thread" on their outside where they screw into the A arm and have the deep, coarse thread inside to screw into the pin itself.......generally these bushes are extremely tight onto the pin/arm and the only wear is on the inside of them, unless they have not been torqued sufficiently and then they might show wear on the outside......if you have new bushes and there isn't any apparent wear on the coarse pin thread then you should be o/k.......andyd

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Yep...  NOS MoPar or new old stock replacement american made bushings should thread tight into your threaded A-arms. Final torque on the inner shaft bushings is something like 150LBS or so.

Modern Chinese replacement pivot shaft and bushing parts sold now days... well I doubt they will fit/thread properly.

Most likely are not made to proper standards either.

Bob

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The part that screws into the A arm as said above should not move in the A arm. When I checked for wear it was done with a big screw driver or pry bar with all parts assembled. Pressure was applied to check for slop or movement at right angle to the shaft. Found one that had movement so it was replaced. If you had new bushings and shafts you could with micrometer compare old and new for ware.

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Thanks to all !  I do have a kit from Andy Bernbuam.  It's not NOS so I except that they are china made.   When installed and torqueing down these bushings I will be on the look out for how snug they are.  Any " slop " I will go to plan B, new control arms.

 

Working on the driver side now. Parts cleaned , POR 15, & painted.  Kings pins in this week at the shop ( interesting threads here on reaming vs honing , will consult my shop ). Once done we will assemble the unit and mount it with the new coil spring.

 

All goes well I will go on to the passenger side.

 

Clay

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Clay, unless the inner bushes have not been correctly torqued against the arm and the pin itself the arms generally do not "wear"....the wear is between the pin and bush.......as far as NOS is concerned I'd be surprised if these parts are made in China etc as I couldn't imagine a big enough market for them.........certainly try and get NOS Chrysler/Mopar brand NOS but there would have been a number of US made aftermarket brands, such as MOOG, TRW, Federal Mogul that come to mind and would be and are quality items...........Bob have you seen China branded early Mopar bits?.......andyd

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"...........Bob have you seen China branded early Mopar bits?.......andyd "

 

Yes I have.... Here is one example of several off Ebay ...

These import parts have a very shiny black finish to them as do the poor quality/fit of the nuts and rubber seals. The rubber seals split open and fell off of a 1956 300 I worked on a couple years ago. Another restoration shop installed these new low quality import front end parts.

Machine Tolerances are not nearly as good as the NOSR or NOS Mopar pieces.        

Edited by Dodgeb4ya
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Bob....well I stand corrected....you learn something every day.........I am surprised that they tooled up to do these, although I would assume that these whilst listed for a 300B would also fit all other 1956 Chryslers such as Windsors, Saratogas, maybe even Imperials.......interesting...........andyd

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