Upper control arm rebuild question

[Rex'69]

He guys I'm in the middle of rebuilding the front end and converting to disks but I've hit a snag. After I replaced my upper control arm shafts and bushings and get them back on the frame one of the arms is stiff moving up and down and the other is very loose. The stiff one will hold itself sticking stiaght out (I don't have anything connecting the upper and lower control arms yet) and the other falls down. Both the lower control arms feel stiff like the one upper one. I don't want to move on if I mess something up. Anyone have any ideas what could be wrong? I would image they should move up and down with the same force but they're not even close. The large greasable nuts are all torqued the same on both upper shafts. Any advice would be must appreciated.

[Toms67]

Don't quote me on this. But I don't think you're supposed to tighten them up. Until you have all the weight on them. Maybe someone else will chime in. Or you can do a search on the forms. You can usually find what you're looking for.

[rowdy350]

Sounds like you have the nuts holding the bushings much tighter on one side than the other. Everyone always says you need them "tight" not "over tight". They should move freely by hand.

[demian5]

Snug the nuts, but always put the vehicle on the ground and jounce the vehicle before tightening any suspension bushings. If not you can actually rip the bushing as soon as you lower the floor jack or go through your first dip in the road.


This is a big issue when people work on their European cars and try to save money, same applies to encapsulated bushings on any car. Aftermarket bushings are usually many pieces and this does not apply, but it is still a good rule of thumb..

[davepl]

Originally Posted by rowdy350

Sounds like you have the nuts holding the bushings much tighter on one side than the other. Everyone always says you need them "tight" not "over tight". They should move freely by hand.

Isn't the torque spec some insane amount like 190 lb/ft? I don't want to send people off overtightenting them, but I remember the torque spec being more than just a little "tight". But check the book, not my memory. I remember it being a lot more on the HD trucks than the C10s though.

I do know I was religious about making sure each end cap had the EXACT same number of turns on. That kept everything centered.

[demian5]

Originally Posted by demian5

Snug the nuts, but always put the vehicle on the ground and jounce the vehicle before tightening any suspension bushings. If not you can actually rip the bushing as soon as you lower the floor jack or go through your first dip in the road.


This is a big issue when people work on their European cars and try to save money, same applies to encapsulated bushings on any car. Aftermarket bushings are usually many pieces and this does not apply, but it is still a good rule of thumb..

Ah yeah these have the metal last forever ones, I totally forgot. Cancel what I said

[Rex'69]

I'm going to take the loose side off, put it back in the vise and reassemble it. I torqued the nuts to 175lbs on both sides. Maybe I missed something putting it together. It boggles my mind.