I was driving around last weekend when I came to a slow stop. KLICK, I heared, and something metal falling to the ground. Checked it out and found a ring on the floor. Couldn't quite see where it came from, untill today. Seems like it came off the frond end of my right control arm bushing, as seen in these pics.

Seems as if the bolt broke off right?

I'm wondering whether the piece of clean metal shows the amount of movement of the arm. If so, it might come off at the forst bump in the road!

Also, all the rubbers of the front suspension need to be replaced and the bearings as well. So I will probably take the entire front suspension apart this comming winter... Sounds like a good weekend job, or more...?

Any thoughts? It's falling apart!

You are very lucky that did not happen on a highway at speed.

It is definitely time to start replacing the bushings and other wear parts on your front suspension. Once you get into it, don’t be surprised to find that you need to replace all the original rubber parts along with the ball joints, tie rod ends, and pitman/idler arms.

There is a lot of information here about doing this work and the important safety precautions about compressing and decompressing front coil springs.

I'd say it's more than a weekend job. You will need to pull wheels, brakes, spindles, your front springs to get at the controll arms and will need a press to remove and replace your bushings. You might want to replace your upper and lower ball joints while your at it (if they need it) as well as tie rods and sway bar bushings.

Any steering/mounting parts that you did not replace should be replaced. This is one area that I do not make any exceptions when I do my cars. If it hasn't broken yet, it's only a matter of time, and you can't pick the time. Yours is already broken and cannot be driven until it is repaired.

It's not easy, it's not all that cheap, but it makes for a much safer driving experience. I've been through a ball joint failure at speed, and it's not fun.

Thanx, pretty much what i figured.. That was it for the summer! I put her in the garage for a nice winter project. Hmm, busy winter comming up. I hope I get to the front suspension before the twins get born!

Check out PST. I bought my front end kit from them. Pretty straight forward but alot of work. The hardest part was removing the coil springs. If you have any questions let me know. I'll try to help the best I can.

Pete

Thanx. PST? What is that?

You mean a similar set as this one:

PST

Yes, sorry for the confusion. Thanks for posting the link Jim..

...and Vikki is right, don't take a chance...while it is apart, replace it...I had a tie rod go at 70 around a corner..rolled the car down an embankment 10 times according to the cops n medics who hauled me up...lucky to be alive.

Ditto! I did own a 69 Chevy Biscayne with a outer tie rod failure. Thankfully it let go after turning through an intersection.

And after everything is replaced you'll be amazed how tight the car handles. Plan your upgrades if you care to go that route.

Thanx for all advice. I'll go for an entire front suspension resto, including all ball joints, bearings, bushings etc, probably inclusing springs as well. springs were a bit soft I noticed lately. Make it nice winter project! Summer sucks here anyway....

Any ideas on new springs?

Eaton springs are great for a stock stance. I would replace the sway bar as well, huge improvement for handling.

I found this:

http://www.highperformancepontiac.com/te...rade/index.html

The PST products are what I used for both of my 'birds. The only PST product I didn't use were their springs. My convertible received Hotchkis 2" drop springs and the coupe got stock hight from NAPA.

Doing the complete front end is the way to go. That way you're assured everything is in spec. The other thing that will be needed after replacing the front end components is having an alignment.

Yes, it's a great winter project.

Already looking forward to take it apart now! I'll have to look into ordering the whole bunch of parts soon...

Then do the assembly somewhere in the end of november I think...

I'm very satisfied with the QA1 springs/shocks.

Let's you raise or lower rideheight, plus has 12 different settings for shocks from soft to FIRM.


http://eatonsprings.com/QA1.htm


Easy install


Plenty of space

I'd replace those A-arm mounting rods (not sure what exactly they are called) too. The new ones have a stud coming out each end and you tighten a nut/washer. Your old ones have the bolts.

I Bought one to replace one of my stripped ones around 8 years ago. Then I recently got another one and am in the process of redoing all my front end. Noticed the one I bought before and the one I just bought are different. Seems they all have the male threads on the ends now. Just FYI in case you get them and they look different. Good luck.

Thanx

I agree that you should replace the A-arm shafts. Their is nothing worse then doing a job twice. Ask me how I know.

How do you know...?

Okay, so when I order at PST THIS SET , I must do the following :



I gues this is quite easily measured right? But will this super kit contain everything I need for a proper front end redo, besides springs, or should I order more things? Or should I get a swaybar as well? It's quite a distance to Europe, so wanna get everything I need before i start, to prevent frustration...

And, as I understand correctly, it is $ 419,- for each side, so $ 838 for both sides, plus shipping. They sure as hell don't give them away I gues...

Will this extra money be worth it, handling and endurance wise?

I believe the kit is the ball joints and bushings for the entire front end. At least that is what the description reads. Price is not all that bad if you compare over the counter prices of the same parts for Moog or Spicer ball joints and tie rod ends and sleeves, Energy Suspension bushings, etc.

Wouter, the stated price is for both sides of the front end.

Ah, okay, I looked over that, thanx.

So this, and a set of springs, is all I need for a proper rebuilt?

Does anyone have a link for how to remove the a-arm shafts and bushings? I can see how you press out the lowers but how do the upper bushings come out with those shafts in there?

Hi, a bit late, but HERE is a link to some advice, and HERE they let somebody with a press do it...

I finally got to the dissambly of my Front end. Well, at least one side. Taking it apart was one thing. Still have to remove some ball joints and bushings.

I also noticed that with the front suspension out, it might be easier to get to the motor mounts. I have to replace those too. Anybody know which motor mounts are best? I the Classics Catalogue I can't seem to find which type is good for 67 326 engine; any suggestions?

Also, would adding a bigger swaybar make the car more stable? I have to measure the diameter before ordering the bushings set..

Okay, I'm hoping to get some advice about what would be the best set to order to upgrade my front end.

I've been reading a bit on the internet about different kinds of bushings and their pro's and con's... I will not be doing any drag racing or anything with my Firebird, I'm just looking for a good set of bushings for a cruiser. Off course, any handling upgrade would be nice though.

Several options:

1) My first choice, order THIS entire set. The Polygraphite graphite impregnated polyurethane high performance bushings from PST.



These are supposed to be really good for handling. However, I've read somewhere that bacause of the stiffness, the squeeking noise increases as well, while driving. Also, you shouldn't get any WD-40 or oil or anything on them or they will be damaged. And the lifetime was supposed to be shorter as well. Any experience with that? Are they louder? PST's Polygraphite bushings are graphite-impregnated and are claimed to be less prone to squeak when cold. In the FAQ it reads:

between 30 and 40 MPH, VERY low-frequency road noise is amazingly loud inside the car. Until now I'd never had this problem. Does anyone know what this is? Are the new mounting pads to blame, or perhaps removing the spring mounting plates? Will the sound lessen over time? It's really loud, and very low frequency. I'd appreciate any input.

A: Did you use/replace the rubber isolators on the new rear springs? Mounting them solidly is OK for road racing or drag racing but not good for street cruising. Also what kind of spring and a-arm bushings were used /replaced? forget the urethane for the same reasons. Stick with the GM stuff for the nicest package.

Any thoughts, Tom and Pete?

2) the standard front end redo set from Classics:



Looks pretty complete, is a bit cheaper. Question is whether the handling with PST set is much better or not. And if it squeeks less perhaps?


3) The A-shaft arms, several suggested to replace them. I presume because the bolt is out? When I inspect them, it seems as if it fell out and did not break off. Is there any other reason to replace them, handling or security-wise...?


4) then there is the issue which springs to install. I like the QA1 springs Claus suggested. Are they easy to adjust? I don't want to go too low, and want to kep a little bit of a stock appearance. Adjustable sounds great for that.


5) Swaybars.. A bigger swaybar gets some better handling I presume. I will probably order the set from PST to replace my standard front swaybar.

Any suggestions are welcome!


Thanx.

You do not need a press to remove the bushings.
I rebuilt my 65 El camino's frontend in a weekend.
You need a big hammer and a sleeve, for the sleeve
it need to be a bit larger then the bushing. I used
a pipe nipple, but you can go to a muffler shop and
have them cut a piece of tail pipe about 4 inchs.
Place the a-frame and bushing over the sleeve and
drive the bushing into the sleeve from the back side.
For the top a-frame the first bushing you'll need
to use a large punch, drive the bushing out using
the cross shift and the punch through the other bushing.
I also found that if you crush the inside of the bushing
with a punch Its easier to get out.

hope this helps bob

I took my upper A-arms to a suspension shop. The installed the bushings for free under the impression I was going to return to have the front end aligned there.

Too bad I moved since then

I used some all-thread and pipe nipples as sleaves to do mine at home. It's a good work out for sure.

Any ideas on the polyurethane vs rubber bushings? And the diameter of the swaybar?

Here's a reference site from a guy who races 1st Gen Camaro's:
Pozzi's 1st Gen Suspensions

Pretty informative and he tackles the rubber vs poly bushing issue

Thanx. The more I read, the more I think that rubber bushings are fine for a cruiser, and that the poly urethane ones are fine for racers, but have some draw-backs. They tend to squeek, they're stiffer, they HAVE to be properly aligned, they should not come into contact with oil or WD-40, and they are more expensive.

I think I will go for the rubber bushing set from Classics, and a bit bigger swaybar.

Tips are still welcome!

The squeaking issue has pretty much been overcome with the addition of graphite into poly bushings.

Also remember there is another layer between you and the suspension if you are concerned about ride quality. You could go my route - poly on the suspension, but retain the rubber subframe bushings.

Wouter, I decided to stay with rubber on the subframe as well, but went poly everywhere else....all seems good.

One of these days I need another member here to ride in my car.

Solid aluminum bushings on the subframe, delrin bushings on the control arms and even with 17" rims and a monster sway bar, it rides really smooth. No squeeks either. Before my recent move, I was living where there were more potholes than street and I couldn't leave the town without hitting at least one set of railroad tracks, so ride quality was important.

Finally got to replacing the front suspension bushings this week. Did it at home, without a press, just to try and to save some $$$. Removed the old ones with a drill, a hammer and some patience. Put the new ones in with a threaded wire, some lub, a hammer and a ... what is it called in English... bench vice. Only need to compress the spring with the threaded wire now and then hope to put the passenger side suspension back in on sunday. Then turn the car (it is parked close to the wall) and take the drivers side apart to repeat the process...

Is the new sway bar best installed while it is apart? probably...

And what about the engine mounts, come to think of it; are they better accessable while the suspension is out..? Should look into that...

Wouter, you have graduated to become a true shade tree mechanic! That's quite an ambitious project you have going. I took my A arms to a shop to have done. Even with a press they were a PITA.

As to the anti-sway bar installation, I recall having to have one side of the front suspension partly disassembled, to get the bar ends where they need to be.

The motor mounts are accessible with the front suspension components assembled or dissembled.

Thanx Tom. Unless you're referring to the last sentence in THIS Wikipedia link off course...