mwoods269

OK, so I got my new 50 resto control arms from Latemodelrestoration and I am not happy in the least. One of the zerk fittings wasn't even threaded so I hav pick one up.

The issue I am having is that once I crank down the a-arm/control arm bolts to to 120-150lbs the damn bushings are binding so bad that I can't even move the control arm. I know this can't be good for the bushings twisting and such. Even if I back off the nuts a bit to allow movement the metal bushing inserts just grind away at the mounting points. It seems the bushings are too big/close to the end of the metal insert?

Any help would be greatly appreciated because the amount of cussing I just did should last me the rest of this year.....

Thanks!

mwoods269

Now that I've calmed down and researched some more it seems as the front control arms are supposed to be really hard to move once installed and torqued as the rubber bushings are supposed to twisted like a twizzler inside?

mwoods269

If that is correct my next question and assumption is that I should have load on the control arm as in the car in a normal resting position before cranking these down?

petrock

When you tightened down the bolts did you do it with the suspension hanging off the ground or with the suspension at “normal” ride height? It should be the latter. If you don’t have a lift, jack the car up and let the car rest on jack stands under the control arms, or put the wheels down on some ramps. This will give you clearance to reach the bolts and still turn a wrench, while keeping the suspension loaded and at it’s normal ride height. Otherwise the bushings will bind up how you described. When the car is at rest the bushing should not be twisted at all. Otherwise they won’t last very long. Good luck...

mwoods269

Thanks guys. I better understand how the rubber bushings work and now that I've torqued them with the weight of the car on them all is well. Thanks!