Suspension Rebuild Recommendations
September 24th, 2018, 09:43 AM
#1
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Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 291
Suspension Rebuild Recommendations
My ‘68 442 sounds like a creaky bed when I go over bumps and is in desperate need of attention in the suspension department. A visual inspection shows dry ball joints with torn boot, springs sitting on bare metal, and dry rotted shock bushings. Looking to do a full rebuild of the front first, then figure out the knocking sound coming from the rear. A few questions:
1) is it generally recommended to go with more modern suspensions (QA1, Hotchkiss, poly bushings, etc) or stick with OEM style parts? I’d love a better ride but want to maintain my car’s value in the process.
2) are there any recommended soup-to-nuts kits available that cover everything I will need? Control arms seem ok and I am willing to press in bushings if right kit only has bushings. Appreciate any input.
1) is it generally recommended to go with more modern suspensions (QA1, Hotchkiss, poly bushings, etc) or stick with OEM style parts? I’d love a better ride but want to maintain my car’s value in the process.
2) are there any recommended soup-to-nuts kits available that cover everything I will need? Control arms seem ok and I am willing to press in bushings if right kit only has bushings. Appreciate any input.
September 24th, 2018, 09:59 AM
#2
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Edmond, OK
Posts: 15,890
OEM parts should be just fine. You can usually source an entire kit to rebuild the steering and suspension components. I bought a kit of rubber bushings from this company 20 years ago when I rebuilt the suspension on my 64 98. As I recall the price was good and they had great customer service:
https://p-s-t.com/'
The only problem with ordering a kit is that the parts would probably be 100% Chinese. You might not have a problem with that though, I didn't. Here's another supplier:
https://www.kanter.com/index.aspx
https://p-s-t.com/'
The only problem with ordering a kit is that the parts would probably be 100% Chinese. You might not have a problem with that though, I didn't. Here's another supplier:
https://www.kanter.com/index.aspx
September 24th, 2018, 11:51 AM
#3
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Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Phoenix, AZ
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When I redid the front/rear suspension on my car I used ball joints, tie rode ends, bushings, etc from the local auto parts store. The local store had quality components (Moog, TRW, McQuay Norris, etc) whereas most kits have unknown manufacturer parts of suspect quality, usually from China.
September 24th, 2018, 11:57 AM
#4
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Location: Poteau, Ok
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How you rebuild the front end is based on the intended purpose of the car. Do you plan on road racing, slalom tracks, drag racing, or just plain old cruising? In most cases the stock setups work very well and last a long time. Rockauto and the discount code is your friend if you go the stock route. In addition, the cost of the aftermarket handling kits are really painful on the wallet and some are not simple bolt ins.
September 24th, 2018, 06:13 PM
#5
CH3NO2 LEARN IT BURN IT
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Land of Taxes
Posts: 4,844
Do the OEM rubber on everything except the front sway bar brackets and end links. Do greasable poly there. I put early non greasable Poly in my rear end. Its a little harsh and squeaks but transfers more power to the ground with a little less flex. I will put OEM rubber back there with better upper control arms when I swap out the 308 limited to something else...
And I agree buy the best quality parts you can find. chineasium junk has no place on a Muscle car or any car chassis system. Always ask country of origin. Sure wish Spicer made U joints for our cars. They make the best ball joints and u joints.
And I agree buy the best quality parts you can find. chineasium junk has no place on a Muscle car or any car chassis system. Always ask country of origin. Sure wish Spicer made U joints for our cars. They make the best ball joints and u joints.
September 24th, 2018, 06:44 PM
#6
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Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 157
Did this a couple years ago.......Moog, IMO, is the way to go. The kit is complete and everything fits. Everyone that I've known that has bought a Chinesium rebuild kit has had some sort of issues....
Personally, being the lazy sort and not being a sadist..... I'd have a shop with a press do the control arm bushings....
Under the heading of MAW, replacing the body bushings probably not a bad idea either.....but that list gets pretty long quickly.
Cheers,
Troy
Personally, being the lazy sort and not being a sadist..... I'd have a shop with a press do the control arm bushings....
Under the heading of MAW, replacing the body bushings probably not a bad idea either.....but that list gets pretty long quickly.
Cheers,
Troy
September 24th, 2018, 07:57 PM
#7
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Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 291
Thanks for all the input. I have always had good luck with Moog parts so I'll stick with their kit. I've never done an entire rebuild, just ball joints here and control arms there. Looks like there is some redundancy in the Moog kit with the master bushing kits out there (ie. control arm bushings, sway bar links, etc.) so I'll start with the Moog kit and go from there. And yes, subbing out the control arm bushings to a local shop is a no-brainer.
September 24th, 2018, 08:35 PM
#8
Old(s) Fart
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Northern VA
Posts: 47,300
I've never seen a Moog "kit". I just buy the parts individually from RockAuto. Note that most of the listings for Olds sway bar bushings are wrong, so measure your front bar and just order the right size bushings.
October 3rd, 2018, 09:19 PM
#9
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Join Date: Jun 2018
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Getting all the parts together now and thinking of replacing all bushings including body bushings. I want to make sure I don’t get over my head as I’ve never had to replace body bushings. Is that something that can be done without a lift?
October 6th, 2018, 05:24 PM
#10
Phantom Phixer
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Apopka, FL
Posts: 4,668
Replacing the body bushings will contribute to a better ride quality . And it's a "no brainer" with body-off restorations . However I would think long and hard before doing it on an assembled car . A broken bolt or a spinning caged nut will quickly turn this job into a nightmare .
Last edited by Charlie Jones; October 6th, 2018 at 05:28 PM.
October 6th, 2018, 05:38 PM
#11
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Poteau, Ok
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Bought the body bushings from Yearone and reused the old bolts. I changed mine on a lift with a pair of screw jack to raise the rear body a bit. Used an impact and the bolts just spun out with no issues. My car has no rot or major undercarriage rust.
October 7th, 2018, 07:00 AM
#12
Old(s) Fart
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Northern VA
Posts: 47,300
Eric was lucky. The reality is that unless your car is completely dry and rust-free, you WILL spin at least one of the cage nuts trying to get the body bolts out. Of course, once that happens you have to cut holes in the floor pan to repair that. One possible way around this is to drill small holes in the floor pan above each body bolt and liberally soak the threads with penetrating oil before trying to change the bushings.
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