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Old 02-20-2003, 11:12 PM
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bbeckwith bbeckwith is offline
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Default Lower Control arm bushing problem

Im having difficulty with the lower control arm bushing on the right side of my 72 Duster 340. I have rebuilt the entire front suspension from beginning to end...sandblasting, painting, new everything, poly bushings etc. I installed the left side lower control arm and strut, etc, no problems, Then I go to the right side, install the bushings in the k for the strut rod and slide the lower and strut in place. The strut is completely seated in the control arm and bolted tightly to the k. Now the problem, when I go to tighten down the nut for the control arm stud in the K, the bushing on the stud slowly pulls off the stud approximately 1/4" as the stud slides the rest of the way into the k. At first I thought maybe the strut was too long and pulled it out to compare with the left side, they are identical and straight as an arrow. The stud is straight also. Could the control arm be bent imperceptively and I just dont see it? Or is the right side strut supposed to be 1/4" shorter? I think maybe I have something bent but just dont know what else it could be. The frame shows no signs of repairs or obvious bends. Think I'll put a straightedge to the frame just to be sure. Anyone have any ideas? I thought maybe I could just use a washer to take up the space so the bushing wont pull off the stud sleeve. Would that throw off the steering geometry? When I took it all apart the right side bolt for the stud was loose! and the bushing was severly trashed on one side making the whole setup look crooked. Any advice appreciated.

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Old 03-06-2003, 06:39 AM
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Default Mine too!

http://www.moparchat.com/forums/show...threadid=50887

Check out this thread I posted almost a year ago. I ran into the same problem on my 72 Dart. I replaced the front bushing with a polygraphite PST rebuild and new .920 MP T-bars. The strut rod kept the LCA from fully pulling forward with the stud and instead the stud pulled out of the LCA and bushing. My fix: I clamped the LCA forward with a big C-clamp until I got the T-bar installed and the snap ring behind it and then loaded the suspension before removing the clamp. It did the trick and the gap isn't nearly as big. That was almost a year ago and I've put that suspension to the test many times in the past year... no problems. In fact, the thing handles better than an import! Good luck!

-Steve
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Old 03-06-2003, 11:28 AM
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bbeckwith bbeckwith is offline
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Default

Hi Steve,

The fix I used was suggested to me from the tech guy at Just Suspension. After mounting the tbar to see if that would help locate the lca, it didnt, I ground about 1/2" off the strut rod bushing where it contacts the strut rod going into the k-member. Seems the newer bushings locate the strut a little bit farther back which causes the problem. I had to do it in small amounts till I got the lca to remain in place without grinding away too much of the bushing. Now I wonder if your method may not have been a better choice.
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