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  1. #1

    Default Why you want to check and probably change your bushings

    I'm in the middle of a pretty big project of re-rebuilding the suspension in my car (I did a quick R&R of some piece to get the car road-worthy), including a full rear-end job, etc. A lot of people don't pay much attention to the bushing in the back of a Mustang, but they take quite a beating, I had mentioned in one thread I would post some photos, but that was awhile ago and I don't remember which thread, so here we go;

    Out of an 86 GT that has lived a hard life, probably close to 200k miles on the car;
    Rear Upper Control arm - body side - old one next to a new MOOG bushing (the other side of the bushing was just as bad);


    Rear Upper Control arm - Axle side - old and new;


    And the flip side of the same;


    The rear lowers look just as bad, I can literally grab the inner metal housing and deflect it a shocking amount with just my fingers, throw pry bar in there with the bushing supported and I can get a huge amount of movement out of them. Now imagine what happens when you are applying thousands of pounds of force on them.

    So if you ever wondered why your Fox Mustang still handles like poo despite new shocks/springs, I'll bet dollars to donuts that you have similar looking bushings.

    What a rear upper control arm looks like with 28yrs and 200k miles of crud looks like before and after cleaning;


    And just a reminder to RTFM before you do the job - MM says to apply anti-seize on the bushing removal bolts, and for good reason;

    (although both axle side bushings were VERY stubborn - so I may have had issues regardless)

  2. #2
    FEP Power Member Saturn V's Avatar
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    Wow, I've never seen bushings that bad. That upper looks almost brand new ... how did you clean it? I love the MM tool ... that and an air wrench made quick work of my old/new axle bushings. I used anti-seize, but seem to recall that I still managed to damage one of the nuts and bolts.
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  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by DrewM View Post
    And just a reminder to RTFM before you do the job - MM says to apply anti-seize on the bushing removal bolts, and for good reason;

    (although both axle side bushings were VERY stubborn - so I may have had issues regardless)
    I had the same thing happen to me. I think I actually bottomed one nut at the end of the thread and had the problems when I removed the nut and tore the threads up. Good thing I had a replacement at home which worked even through it wasn't fine thread like the ones that come with the tool.

    Good choice on the Moog replacements. Those are the ones I put on my '82 last year and I honestly feel the difference from the poly ones the PO had put in.

  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by Saturn V View Post
    Wow, I've never seen bushings that bad. That upper looks almost brand new ... how did you clean it?
    I've been using 2 degreasers, the ZEP brand from Home Depot, both the purple and orange (citrus) types, the purple stuff has cut through everything I've thrown at it with some 'easy' scrubbing with various brushes (usually the small metal bristle brushes). I usually follow it up with the orange stuff to finish it up and to get the nasty purple stuff off of whatever I'm working on. Both control arms looked basically the same, and it probably took about 5 minutes to clean one up.

    Quote Originally Posted by 82GTforME
    I had the same thing happen to me. I think I actually bottomed one nut at the end of the thread and had the problems when I removed the nut and tore the threads up. Good thing I had a replacement at home which worked even through it wasn't fine thread like the ones that come with the tool.
    Yep, I just ran to the store and picked up a couple of replacement nuts/bolts for a couple/few bucks, not a big deal, lots of things on this car have fought me tooth and nail, so rusty out of shape bushings was no surprise. I wouldn't touch this job without the MM tool.

    Quote Originally Posted by 82GTforME
    Good choice on the Moog replacements. Those are the ones I put on my '82 last year and I honestly feel the difference from the poly ones the PO had put in.
    Oh I believe that, poly has no place in the uppers, first the usual NVH addition with a harder bushing is always going to be around, plus the spooky more than usual non-linear spring rate you end up with leads to some whacky handling. No thanks.

  5. #5
    FEP Power Member Saturn V's Avatar
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    DrewM, thanks for the tip on the purple ZEP ... I've been using Simple Green, but will give the ZEP a try.

    82GTforME, your comment reminds me of how I damaged my original MM tool bolt and nut ... I held the air wrench trigger a little loo long.
    Present: '84.5 Mustang GT T-top, '06 Mazdaspeed6
    Past: '79 5.0 Capri, '86 Buick GN, '90 Mustang GT, '92 SHO, '95 SHO
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  6. #6

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    What are you using to remove the old bushings and pressing the new ones in the stamped assembly's?

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Calidude View Post
    What are you using to remove the old bushings and pressing the new ones in the stamped assembly's?
    I got creative and did them myself this way. The important thing was to prevent distortion. I may have just bought replacements arms if they were still available and cheapish.

    http://vb.foureyedpride.com/showthre...=1#post1573891

    The Moog kits come as a pair for each side though so might as well have. This and RLCA's took away all of the wheel hop issues I previously had with the poly bushings.

    http://www.moog-suspension-parts.com...rod=MOOG-K8637

  8. #8

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    I picked up a 20-ton press from the local Harbor Freight, I did support the ends similar to how 82GTforME did, I had 3 or 4 nut/bolts surrounding the bushing, and out they popped. Both arms were done in about 5 minutes, 4 of which were spent setting up the nut/bolt deal. Installation of the new stuff was basically the same, except the bushings lived in the freezer for a bit of time, and I threw the arms in the oven at 200 degrees for about 30 minutes. The body side bushings are tapered, so they can only go in one way, and makes the job considerably easier and less daunting than it initially appears.

  9. #9

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    Replacing mine are on my list. Thanks for the info

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