Markmartinfordfan

My 2003 Mach 1 has 47k on it, only mods I've done on it so far are I installed a K&N intake and new shocks. I decided to upgrade uppers as an ongoing quest to eliminate a slight creaking in the rear quarter panel on bumps. I bought J and M uppers and new bushings. I will say the least difficult part of this install was taking the old bushings out, I did use a bushing tool. Used a torch to heat outer shell(not long enough on the first try) to coax the bushing out. Ended up drilling the hell out of it and scraping residual rubber out of shell. The challenge was getting new upper lined up with holes to bolt it in. Had a 30-45 minute jack war between the axle and body of car. Until I finally figured out how to line it up. Left side was much easier for the removal of old upper, this time I decided to torch the shell longer and low and behold, once the bushing started smoking, about a minute passed and it shot out of the outer shell like a cannon. Again, even after the last lesson, figuring out to bolt the top of the upper first then manuever the axle with my jack got the job finished. Happy with improved tightness in rear end and better launch. Lessened the quarter panel noise, but I'm still searching for the cause. Hear some guys saying maybe a bracket loose in the rear seat.

Z28KLR

I would also investigate the possibility of it being LCA bushings (best answer there is new LCA's) and/or spring isolators.

Markmartinfordfan

Z28KLR- I'll check it out, I appreciate the advice...

Markmartinfordfan

Was planning on doing those next, plus the bushing set I bought came with the bushings for the LCAs. I did notice it is a little more complicated than doing the uppers though.

UPRSharad

Replacing the bushings in the factory arms is a tedious and relatively fruitless endeavor. I'd recommend these UPR control arms as a superior alternative.