mistaben

I did the a arms on my C3 by myself (no machine press was needed just a BFH!!) and both the sway bars. anyone know how hard it is to do this in relation to a C3?? Is it worth the cost of the $200 set to do it?

ToniH

It is basicly the same job. Luckily you don't need spring compressors with a C4. The suspension parts are aluminium though so you cannot burn the old bushings off and you need to be more carefull so you wont damage the parts. You have better chance to success if you have access to a press though. Otherwise it is just a bolt stuff off and bolt them back -kind of a job. It just takes time.

ToniH

mistaben

is it worth it?

BobMachus

I did mine and it made a HUGE, no......HUGE difference. I like it much better. The A-arms were the toughest, I used an arbor press on those. The actual bushing replacement was pretty easy, on most I drilled the rubber out and then used a torch. I did a lowering kit install at the same time and the spring removal was a @&@#&$ nightmare. The bushings sure tightened everything up. I had a buddy in town last week who drives an Avalanche, and he thinks my car is pretty harsh. I didn't feel that it harshed up my ride that much, and mine is a daily driver. If your car has alot of miles or less hard miles that have worked your rubber bushings you will love. If your bushings are still fine, it will be better, but not as night and day as mine was, IMO. Good Luck!

Bob

JrRifleCoach

Is that @&@#&$ or @&@#&$ ? :D

Seriously, the rear spring or just the front. There has been a lot of discussion regarding the front spring and the hassles of releasing the lower control arms. Yet little has been said about the rear. Any tips to share?

TIA :cheers:

mistaben

hmm. i have the engine out (or at least in pieces in the process of) so i am thinking about polyeurothane - not rubber - the hard stuff. how hard is the rearend to do? how did you lower the ride? how much? how much $$$?

thanx.

BobMachus

I put poly in after the old rubber was drilled/burned out. I went to a local boat shop and got the nastiest, greasiest, waterproof grease they had. It was an icky green color, and VERY persistent. I wore latex gloves and would take a handful of grease. pick up a bushing and make sure there was lots on all surfaces as poly can squeak pretty badly.

The front spring sucked, sucked, sucked. My car spent the first 12 or 13 years in Michigan before moving to Sunny Colorado with me. As a result there is plenty of salt-induced corrosion. The bolts that hold the spring on were pretty stuck and you can't get at the top to hold the bolt while you loosen the bolt on some of the passenger side ones. What I ended up doing was filing some flats on the end of the bolt so I could hold the bolt with one wrench while I turned the nut with the other. After I filed the flats I ran a die up to the nut a few times to clean the lower threads of corrosion and filing marks. Once I got to the flats I used a vise-grip :eek: on the threads above the nut to turn it the rest of the way off. I came to this solution after truly HOURS of frustration. Getting the spring from off the A-arm was cake after the nightmare. When I got all the nuts off the spring mount bolts I ran a die over them to clean them up. I do that and put anti-sieze on almost every bolt I reinstall on this car. I am going to R&R the intake base soon, not really looking forward to that. I am sure if you do a search you can find my post right after the lower and bushing install. It was about two years ago.

To lower the rear you simply use longer bolts. Some folks just go buy grade 8 bolts and nylock nuts, others buy the kit from Corvette Forum Vendors. I got mine from MAD. To lower the front you have to remove the spring, cut off some rubber blocks that are on top of the spring, and then re-install the spring with some small slivers of poly to protect the spring from the frame. The front and rear lowering kit is around $40 I think.


Bob

MyBlueC5

No Bob, please don't hold back, tell us how you really feel about it...lol.

Seriously, after you greased the bushings, did they ever squeak afterwards? How long have you had them on the car? I ask because I did poly bushings years ago on a camaro and the stupid thing squeaked more than my bed. (if ya know what I mean... ;)

Thanks,

Mark

ToniH

I did the polyurethane bushing upgrade to my C3 and later also to my C4. They never squeaked at all. I think silicone grease is best stuff for their lubrication.

But if you are worried you can choose polygraphite bushings. They have graphite in them so they need no additional lubrication. http://www.p-s-t.com/polybu2.html

ToniH

PS. I recommend you do not burn the rubber bushings out of aluminium parts! Aluminium cannot take the heat like steel and can become brittle if overheated. So you need to be carefull there.


[Modified by ToniH, 2:26 PM 12/2/2003]

QuikZilver

I did a lot of research on replacing the bushings with poly. One thing you will find is that you cannot buy just the rubber bushings (or at least I could not find them). This past weekend I was replacing the upper ball joints on my 93. I looked all over and found that it was going to be easier to buy the whole upper control arm from Corvette Central for $99 per side. The new ball joint was already rivetted in place (no need to worry about the rims hitting the bolts when replaced). It also came with new rubber bushings installed. After talking to a couple of people on the forum how had gone through replacing all the bushings to poly, they recommended that if I was not going to be racing my Vette (which I don't), it would be a waste of time and energy to install those bushings in the front. I stll have the rear to do, and most of the rear will receive the poly bushings (again, as I could not find rubber). The sway bay was very easy on the front to do (those are poly). As for a place to buy the kit, check out Summit Racing. I got the whole kit for around $150 or so. Summit is cheaper than the Corvette catalogs. Good luck!
:cheers:

fiddleplayer

A couple of years ago, I replaced the bushings, front and rear, with the polygraphite, I didn't use any lubricant and it has started squeeking when it gets cold. I would use some lubricant next time. It took me friday night, saturday, sunday, and monday night. I replaced all bushings, wheel bearings, upper and lower ball joints, tie rod ends, u-joints, and shocks. I had a hard time with the sway bar bushings. They appeared to be for a later model and not for my 86. I ended up using the originals on the sway bar ends. An arbor press and a ball joint press from harbor freight made the job alot easier.

fiddleplayer

BobMachus

Mine have been on for nearly two years, not a peep. I still hold a grudge against that *@#$& passenger side front spring retainer. Every time I am under my car I give a good glare :mad

mistaben

HAHAHAA! I nearly spilt my drink on me when i read that. I understand that feeling.

Ok question if it is only replacing $10 worth of bolts to lower rearend an inch, does it soften up the suspension or tighten it up?

i am looking to tighten this thing up but stay under 250$. It does not handle for crap in my opinion and when the new motor is done i will probably have problems hold rearend to road especially in any low speed turn....