I'm getting ready to do new ball joints, tie-rod ends and struts on my Formula. The car has 28K miles on it and was wondering if the rubber bushings should be done too? I have been planning on upgrading to poly all along but the more I think about it the more I really dont' want to "dig" that deep. I had poly on my last Formula and loved it but I guess I'm getting lazy in my old age. So the real question is..... with only 28K miles would I really benefit from poly? I like a tight suspension, but lets face it doing poly will more than double the work.
Rubber degrades over time, regardless of how many miles the car has actually been driven. So your rubber bushings may need to be replaced anyway, and you might not know it.
What he said is true but here is what i have found. Top front upper a arm bushings - small and deteriorate - replace Lower front - big rubber bushing - inspect, if they look good take a pry bar and see if they are reasonably tight which I suspect they will be. Leave as is. Rear a arm bushings - large but under the torque of accel and brake - replace!
My 2 cents.
------------------ 84/87 NB, 3800SC, E-85, VS Cam, 2.8 Pulley, 4T65E-HD, HP Tuners, AEM Wideband, Regal GS Gauges, S-10 Brake Booster. 1/4 mile -11.906 at 111.93mph
Check the motor mount bushings, cradle mount bushings, etc… as well.
Or if you really prefer poly that much, then Just Do It. It might double the work you have to do now, but if you're already going to be in there, then it's worth it to do now, than it is to do it down the road piecemeal when things start failing. Just do everything now, and you'll just enjoy the car that much more when you get it back on the ground.
Check the motor mount bushings, cradle mount bushings, etc… as well.
Or if you really prefer poly that much, then Just Do It. It might double the work you have to do now, but if you're already going to be in there, then it's worth it to do now, than it is to do it down the road piecemeal when things start failing. Just do everything now, and you'll just enjoy the car that much more when you get it back on the ground.
Yes by all means do the cradle mounts in poly. I did the dog bone mount in poly for about an hour. I could not believe the amount of vibration I heard & felt with it so I went back to a rubber dogbone.
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
Agreed, but that is why I suggested using a pry bar on the large front lower A-arm bushings to test their condition. The ones in MN that I have owned and tested have been really good. I suspect this is so because they are quite large for what stresses are on them AND the ozone/UV rays/road chemicals/etc can only penetrate so deep into a fairly large bushing. Pressing in new bushings can sometimes cause problems too - that is the only reason I would check the lower front a arms out before just swapping in new ones.
[This message has been edited by DimeMachine (edited 10-07-2013).]
Originally posted by DimeMachine: Agreed, but that is why I suggested using a pry bar on the large front lower A-arm bushings to test their condition. The ones in MN that I have owned and tested have been really good. I suspect this is so because they are quite large for what stresses are on them AND the ozone/UV rays/road chemicals/etc can only penetrate so deep into a fairly large bushing. Pressing in new bushings can sometimes cause problems too - that is the only reason I would check the lower front a arms out before just swapping in new ones.
If tight on $ then maybe... Not just a old age problem. New Moog and maybe others lower bushings controls brake reaction better then OE. Brake reaction is when LCA is push backward when braking. That's the reason rear lower bushing rubber is thicker on Moog part. See my Cave, Suspension Parts
Also I seen rubber look ok at rest on a jack and outside metal sell have fail for rust hidden by CA/frame. My car had one like that.
"Pressing in new bushings can sometimes cause problems too" If so... in many cases: CA is bad, likely from rusting. Get another one fast. You need to support both "ears" when press a bushing in or out. see www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/125401.html#p1
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