New A-Arm Bushings Binding

[vesnyder]

I installed new A-arm bushings this past Winter and my front suspension is very stiff? I suspect my bushings are binding and are not letting the arm move freely. I thought I was pretty careful when I put them together. How much play should I allow when assembling the A-arm's?

[Dixie]

What kind of bushings?

[vesnyder]

They are the hard black plastic ones from our host.

[PorscheGuy79]

Where they milled down to fit the assembly or did you just install them as is?

[CarreraS2]

Did you mill down the OD?
Did you mill down the ID?
If so, what method, and how did you determine how much to mill?
Did you grease them?
With what?
Did you groove them?
If so, how?
Did you install Zerks?
Did they have free movement when you first installed them?

[PorscheGuy79]

SoCal has got where I am going with this...

[vesnyder]

Yes
Yes
'til they fit
Yes
No
No
Yes

[Wil Ferch]

You have to mill the ID with the "clamps" that hold them onto the car applied....otherwise the ID takes on a different diameter/shape after you "cinch" everything down.....

Do a search on Chuck Moreland ( aka "Clark Griswald") and some key word terms like bushings...it's all there...

Wil

[vesnyder]

Will - Good input. I milled it down then put the OD mounting bracket on and entirely different fit! I've read hundres of posts regarding these bushings! I am putting the grease fittings on so I do not have to go through this again! Cheap insurance - but time consuming.

[Zeke]

The last tightening of the bolts can bind the bushing as well since the holder can become out of alignment with the arm. Chuck explains how to tap with a hammer as you tighen to relieve any binding. He also sells an self aligning kit that eliminates the problem. These can be used with or w/o his polybronze bushings.

[CarreraS2]

Did another search, wow, there is a lot of great stuff on this subject!

Although I never did find any info about Chuck's self aligning kit - can it be used with polygraphite, and how does it work??

This was a very interesting post that I found, though - someone who apparently installed the Smart Racing rubber bushings at home, using a pipe clamp! Wow, some $40 stock stule rubber bushings from Smart Racing and a pipe clamp, is that the holy grail?:

"I just replaced my a-arm bushings with stock rubber ones. I used a method similar to Clarks(great pics!), using pipe clamps to squeeze on the bushings. I wanted to keep the stock ride and quiet, since I was told anything else would be somewhat noisy and harsh. Smart Racing (www.smartracing.com) sells stock bushings, and can also rebuild your a-arms if you don't want to tackle that. It was also mentioned elsewhere that the front bushings for a 914 are similar."

(Lost the link, but do a search for some of the words in the quote, and it should come up).