Front Upper control arm bushing help please!

stir_fry_boy

stir_fry_boy

New member
Replacing my control arm bushings today. Got the rubber out with the smallest metal sleeve. Do I need to remove the outer sleeve that is pressed into the control arm itself? I'm using Energy Suspension bushings
 
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The energy suspension bushings should fit with the outer sleeve in place. test fit them and they should be snug. Oem and whiteline need that sleeve pressed out.
 
Just so people know, the directions say to leave the outer sleeve intact, in the control arm. So that's what I did. The bushings fit snugly doing it that way.
 
stir_fry_boy said:
Energy Suspension with lots of grease supplied with them.

This job is not for the faint hearted. It's a big, hard job to do the UCA and the LCA bushings. The upper ball joint is a cake walk.
Click to expand...

What type of improvement have you felt since the new bushings and UBJ? Was there there a specific symptom you were looking to take care of?
 
sggaz said:
What type of improvement have you felt since the new bushings and UBJ? Was there there a specific symptom you were looking to take care of?
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It's still apart right now, new bushings are pressed in and ready to go in the truck. I'll update later.

For me, the symptom I was trying to fix was worsening wandering with shifts in the road.
 
I have all the parts to do mine just need the time now. I can't wait to feel the difference. My lower A arm bushings squeak bad!
 
you leave the outer shell in, make sure to use a lot of grease. the grease supplied is the best you can buy.
 
ajonesnv said:
Have you been taking photos? Ive heard the steering rack has to be dropped...can you confirm?
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Nope, I didn't. For LCA bushings, yes the rack has to be loose, but not all the way out. I left the steering input and the hoses on.

This guide helped me a TON: Upper and lower control arm bushing replacement

For the upper control arms, I used a 1/2" threaded rod with a nut and washers on each end, through BOTH bushings. The washers and nuts were on the outside of the bushings (furthest from the front and furthest from the rear sides of the bushings). The last post HEREhas a useful picture. One end had washers BIGGER than the bushing. The other end had washers just smaller than the outer sleeve. Put the UCA in a vise, heat the outer shell of the control arm bushing, when rubber is separated from the sleeve, hit it with a impact gun. It comes right out.

I especially liked using the press for the ball joints to remove lower control arm bushings, and installing them. The washers and sleeve in the LCA bushing was a PITA to get out, and very difficult to not bend. If I did this job again, I would use ES bushings for the UCA and OEM bushings for the LCA.
 
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So everyone knows, after completing the job, the truck was pretty much undriveable. The tires squealed at 10 MPH. I wish I would have known this prior to starting so it could have been better planned. You may ask "Did you mark the camber adjustments?". YES; They are so difficult to get back in where you had them before due to multiple axes of movement that it is near impossible to achieve even a close alignment.

Here are my before numbers:
IMG_0059.jpeg~original


After:
IMG_4447.jpeg~original
 
Now that the alignment is good and everything is done how does the steering feel compared to before Stir Fry? Did you get the results you expected?
 
sggaz said:
Now that the alignment is good and everything is done how does the steering feel compared to before Stir Fry? Did you get the results you expected?
Click to expand...

It does. Feels like a brand new truck as [MENTION=79826]absalom[/MENTION] mentioned.

No more wandering at all.
 
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