Hey guys. I have a 67 Cutlass. My control arm bushings are shot and I need to replace them. I'm on the fence about whether to use stock rubber style or polyurethane bushings. This car is just a cruiser and I don't need an "upgrade" to my handling, so I'm leaning towards rubber. Also, I heard that the polyurethane bushings tend to creak and squeak more. However, if there are other advantages to the polyurethane bushings, I'd love to hear about them. I just wanted to poll the crowd for your thoughts. Thanks for your time.

 

If its just a cruiser use rubber, I did mine last year w moog rubber parts and I have no complaints

 

The poly bushings will stiffen up your ride a bit. I think it boils down to personal preference. The last time I rebuilt my front end I used the Moog rubber parts.

 

Hello:
Just did a complete suspension rebuild front to rear and used rubber as well, if it used a bushing it got replaced,the OEM units held up pretty good since 1966 so I figured might as well use them again.
Thanks Ron

 

Thanks guys. You confirmed my hunch. I'm going with rubber bushings. I ordered Moog upper and lower control arm bushings as well as sway bar bushings. I bought them through advance auto and used a coupon code which saved me a bunch of money.

Now my only worry is that my drivers upper control arm is ruined. The bushing is still in place, but it's so trashed that I'm getting metal-to-metal knocking when I hit bumps. I guess I'll know when I get it ripped apart.

Thanks again guys.

 

Sounds good

FYI do not look at rockauto you will be disappointed w advanceautos prices

I buy from both and aa can run 2x ra prices before shipping and discounts....you can usually get 10-20% from aa and 5% from ra. Aa discounts listed on their web site ra discount listed on here search for rockauto discount

 

This a good time to change ball joints and front sway bar links as your right there. You should be fine on the cross shafts as there are an inner and outer sleeve on the bushings.

A propane torch and a vise are your best friends for this job.

 

Hey guys. Here's a quick update: I pulled the upper and lower control arms and replaced the bushings (one of the bushings was completely GONE, and another was about half gone). I also bought new stablizer links and bushings. Interestingly, the ones NAPA sold me were 8.5 inches long, but the ones that came out of the car were only 7 inches. I bought an extra set of 7 inch links, but was wondering if the 8.5 inch links would stiffen up the front end a bit?

While I had the front end ripped apart, I pressure washed it and sprayed a coat of semi-flat black on the frame and hard parts. It looks much better now. I have not put it back together yet, but I did buy some brand new grade 8 hardware from Fastenal to replace the old corroded bolts that came out.

My front tires were worn out on the inside edge pretty badly due to the messed up bushings and lack of alignment. I tried to have it aligned a few months ago, but with the bushings as chewed up as they were, they couldn't really get it aligned. So I bought two new front tires also. Once I get it back together, I'll try to align it again.

When I'm done, I'll take some pics and post them. Thanks for the help.

 

it will make a big difference in the handling and smoothness of your car....not to mention the satisfactionof the job done correctly

 

Only if the rubber bushings included in the kits are stiffer than stock. The length of the bolt and bushing is irrelevant (well, until it gets so long that you are shortening the effective length of the sway bar arm). The real reason for the difference is probably to cover more models with less inventory.

 

How long a bolt can you install without conflicts with other parts? Right now my steering rubs on the sway bar, but to me it looks like the sway bar will rub on the side of the frame (around the spring pocket) when the suspension is under pressure.

To add to the topic, I can say that I had excessive negative camber as well due to worn out LCA bushings, and it wore my front tires in the same way.