POLYURETHANE BUSHINGS CONTROL ARMS REPLACEMENT

[JORAMA57]

Working on installing lower and upper ball joints, tie rod ends and installing eibach lowering springs. I was wondering how difficult it is to replace the control arm bushings using polyurethane ?

I have read that you have to burn the old ones?? burn how??

Thanks for all the input.

[TopNotch]

You have to remove the old bushings. Burning is one method (with a blow torch). I think you have to preserve the metal part of the old bushings. I've heard that they give a harsh ride, and squeak unless lubricated.

[Fierofool]

I have poly in some areas of my 86 suspension, and they are noisy.  They do stiffen and improve the suspension for performance driving, but may not be what you really want for the average driver.  Personally I wouldn't install poly in any application that moved.  Dogbone and cradle bushings would give a little more solid ride without noise, but control arms and sway bar pivot points could get squeaky.  My sway bar pivots don't have lube fittings and they are very noisy at driveway and parking lot speeds, but I don't notice them on the highway.  Poly end link bushings don't seem to present a problem and are of benefit to the sway bar. 

[cogfierogt]

The most difficult part I had when replacing the control arm bushings was loosening the lower arm bolts. I snapped one. Take your time,  use pb blaster and walk away if necessary. I did not burn the old ones out and the kit I used had a replacement spacer for each bushing. Clean the control well, lube the heck out of the new bushing and spacer to make assembly easier.

Yeah, poly is most definitely noisey. I have poly everywhere except the motor mounts and cradle mounts.

[MetalBlue85GT]

I have poly - they are noisy but I like them.

I used a Credit Card and borrowed a Ball joint/bushing kit from advanced Auto that popped all of the old rubber out and pressed the poly in.

used a lot of PB days before I started so the Bolts wouldn't break. That worked well. Getting the last one - its always the last one - in took a lot of patients and patience. I couldn't get it lined up. I hope you have better luck.

I also borrowed a spring depressor from advanced auto at the same time.

Pre- grease all the Poly it helps but doesn't eliminate the noise.

[Roger]

There are graphite impregnated bushings that don't squeak. They also had a chamfered groove in the middle and you drill and tap the housing for a Zirk fitting so they can be greased. I have them on my '73 Firebird and have never had a problem.
That has been a looooong time ago and I don't recall who made them at this time.

[LostNotForgotton]

I’m sure I’m a bit late in throwing in my 2 cents. I have an 87 GT with a full polly install from control arms, sway bars, sway bar links, engine cradle, engine mounts and transmission mounts. I even have the polly covers over the ball joints. I love the firmer ride and noticed the difference immediately after installing them. It can be a bit creaky going over speed bumps and backing out of my driveway but I think it’s a good way to go. I did have to burn all of my bushings out. Burning them out isn’t too bad. You would pretty much need a blow torch, flathead screwdriver and a hammer. The hardest part about the whole project for me was getting the front springs back on. There really isn’t a lot of space to work with using the spring compression tool and the tool always seemed to be in the way of something when fitting the spring back in. I did a video on replacing bushings but it’s sitting on my computer waiting to be put together along with a bunch of other videos. However I found the video below does a great job at showing how it’s done.