2MCHPWR

just had the pfadt poly's installed. they are look fine except this one on the front drivers side upper:



and got aligned. is it ok if the left/right results aren't perfectly equal?

http://www.ponycars.net/images/z06/z06_align_pfadt.pdf

car was corner balanced first and alignment and corner balance was done with my weight in the car. Full tank of gas

JDIllon

Everything looks fine, except the bushing looks like it is not in correct? Hard to tell from that picture. It looks like some of the bushing is out of the A-arm. I have to check the instructions? is that a split bushing? is the snap ring in place? All of the other stuff looks OK to me. Just my .02 JD

2MCHPWR

hi - i didn't do the install (ECS did) but on the left side of that bushing, the lip is thin and doesn't fill in the gap like the others do. I'm wondering if its just backwards.

el es tu

No it doesnt look right
the sides of the bushings should be touching the arm

with the way it has been done, it will eventually pop off the retaining ring and the assembly will come loose

heres the install guide - http://www.pfadtracing.com/blog/wp-c...ev-1.23.12.pdf
check out the photos of the upper bushing

Note: It would be a good idea to check the others as well. It looks like your installer didnt take the time to properly fit the bushings to the bores of the arms

If you email pfadt with the pictures, they can get their engineer to look at them as well, but this issue looks pretty obvious.

good luck and hope this helps

2MCHPWR

yeah thats what i thought.
main question is can i race with it this way this weekend? i have no time to get it fixed by ECS (they are 2.5 hours away)

el es tu

That gap is huge; I definitely would avoid driving on it. If the thing comes loose while on track/at speed you could end up with a tricky situation.

DOUG @ ECS

That does not look right, coincidentally I looked that install over when it was on the lift and all the bushings were pressed in correctly at that time.
Are you running at NJMP this weekend?

2MCHPWR

hi doug- yes going to NJMP. will call you at shop now.

DOUG @ ECS

Good speaking with you, see you tomorrow!

C5ZEE06

looks like the snap ring is out-of-place and bushing is backing out. I would get that fixed before track use.
The pfadt split bushings for that location are too long and need to be cut-down. If that wasn't done, they will have to be removed and cut.

Pfadt Racing

Well it looks like that 2 piece front upper bushing in pushing out a little bit. What we've noticed is that some control arm bores are a little bit tighter than others, and when the 2 poly pieces are touching each other in the middle of the control arm bore it causes a situation where there is no room for the poly to "squish", which will deflect the poly pieces and cause the snap ring to pop out of the front upper pin. Some front upper control arms will exhibit this behavior and some wont, it really depends whether it's on the tight or loose side of the bore tolerance. As a manufacturer we have to build a poly piece that will work not only in the smallest of bores, but the largest as well.

The fix is pretty easy and will not impact performance at all. We have now documented it in the instructions link above... remove some material from the inside face of both bushings so that there is a small gap between the 2 poly pieces, and be sure that the snap ring is completely seated in the snap ring groove. Taking those two measures will fix the issue!

It's good you called ECS, they do fantastic work and I'm sure they will take care of you. Let us know if we can help at all!

sperkins

I ran my car that way (unknowingly) for an event last year at my best track and got beat badly. The car was aweful and would dart violently under braking. I though I was having brake issues so I never checked the bushings. Be sure to check the pin to make sure the snap ring slot isn't damaged. If it is, the snap ring will never stay in. I had to buy 50 of those snap rings just to get one so I can send you one if needed.

froggy47

The left side of the bushing is cocked on an angle, it's wrong, bring it back for do over.

C5ZEE06

Better fix all 4 locations while you're at it..they could all fail eventually.


Question for Pfadt..why you don't make these front uppers a bit shorter ?

Pfadt Racing

Because the issue isn't the length of the bushing but the Diameter of the control arm your pushing the bushing into. We need to manufacture a poly bushing that will work in all types of control arm bores, from the loose to the tight end of the spectrum. Depending on the control arm that the bushings are being inserted into they may not actually require any trimming.

Just test fit the bushings into the control arm before everything gets bolted back together. If they're touching remove some material, bolt it up and away you go!

Zenak

i had a ton of problems with the upper fronts on the pfadt polys, and eventually after popping the retaining rings a few times (and trust me i installed them right and zerk fit them) sent them to pfadt (my whole arms) and they put them in.

the control opening (ID - internal diameter) has "tolerances" in them. They arent all exactly the same. some of the kits come as two pieces so a small channel is down the middle between teh two pieces, this also allows in a zerk fitting set up to get goo up in the bushing at the level of the pin. If you cant keep them from popping, its not pretty in a corner and the bushing will push out of the control arm.. trust me.. I have pics of mine :P

C5ZEE06

This issue keeps happening - even with experienced installers - and it can be a costly fix in some cases. I don't understand why the bushings can't be made a bit shorter - so that they wouldn't require trimming by the installer - whether the diameter is large or small ?

froggy47

Are you saying that if the diameter of the control arm hole is on the big side, that the bushing pushes in easier & touches in the middle?

Likewise if the diameter of the control arm is on the small side, the bushing does not push in as far?

I am missing something here.

I would think the diameter of the bushing would be what needs trimming , not the butt ends (inside faces)?

sperkins

Because some fit fine as made. It's the control arms with a smaller inside diameter that are the causing the problems. That issue lies with GM's tolerances - not Pfadt. The smaller the ID, the more elongated the bushing(s) becomes as it goes in the arm thus making it longer which stresses the snap ring more. Make sense?

C5ZEE06

No. If the bushings were made a bit shorter, they would work in any / all situations and people wouldn't have this same problem again and again.