Front suspension

[Barry Wolk]

I took the car out for a ride yesterday to impress my new friend Phil. He was astounded that we could be pushing 80 mph and having a conversation at normal volume. I took him on a stretch of well laid asphalt astounded again that it floated right along. He claims to have driven thousands of cars, but never got the rock-steady ride like he got.

I let him drive on the return leg of the trip. He got going a little fast for the curve of the road but then smoothed right out. He said, "It ain't no Corvette, but it'll do!", as he wiped the silly grin off his face.

We talked about how the ride was achieved, and he mentioned that he's never driven anything like it. I tried to explain about the lower A-arm bushings. This is the way that I understand it works. The lower control arms are not on swing bushings, but on torsion fittings that return the suspension to a neutral position of "curb-height". There's no bounce in the suspension as it always wants to return to neutral height.

The info below shows that you are not supposed to oil or grease these fittings. The end of the fitting has a barbed tooth perimeter designed to dig into the metal of the frame. Set at a neutral height, the lead fitting is tightened against the frame, biting into the metal, locking the fitting in place. The gap on the other side is filled with appropriate washers, and then snugged up. Then the lead bushing is loosened, snugged up again and then evenly torqued, both front and rear. This effectively locks the A-arm to the frame through solid rubber.

When I got my car there were no washers and both bolts were loose. The A-arm was just pivoting on the bolts. It made a lot of noise going around turns. It was very bouncy as there was nothing to counteract the movement of that much mass.

If yours isn't set up properly, it drives like an old car. Set up properly it drives like a dream.

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg18/barry2952/1%20Mark%20II%20docs/Scan6.jpg

[SLK]

It's funny that you post this as I was looking at it from under the car on Monday. I noticed over the weekend that the carriage bolts at the bottom of the shock had come undone from the A arm. That sent me on my mission yesterday to find replacements and trying to decide which grade bolts I needed. They were 5/16ths x 1". Any ideas? I didn't think the typical grade 2 would be good enough. The abused one that was still intact had no markings on the top.

[Barry Wolk]

That wouldn't take much strength as the fluid in the shock absorbs the impact. I use nylocks on everything. My trailers take a beating and I've never had a nylock back off.

[depmike38]

I'd use a grade 5 just because they're really not much more costwise than the mild steel. An 8 on the lower shock bolts would probably be overkill. Best thing is the 5's are at Lowe's/Home Dept etc. I bet it was a bit noisy.

[Chuck Lutz]

Only problem is the grade 2 is probably plated and the 5 would be black. The other thing I find with bolts on this car is that they seem to be SAE threads (finer) I had some 5/16" stud on the hood hinge assembly that turned out to be 5/16- 24

[depmike38]

I don't know Chuck I've seen the black ones but everything I've ever bought has always been plated. The black would have been a special order item.

[SLK]

Home Depot & Lowes are over an hour away. I did fine some Stainless Steel ones, but don't know what grade they are.:confused:

[Barry Wolk]

Stainless is typically a grade 5. However, you must be careful with stainless. You must always oil the threads during assembly as any friction will gall the threads and you won't get proper torque values.

[SLK]

Thanks Barry.

[Barry Wolk]

Bump.

Any of you feel any movement in the front end when turning or going over curb cuts?

Most mechanics have no idea how to set up the front end on the Mark II. Improperly secured the front suspension loses the float designed into it. If you hear any noise, or feel something moving, print out the pages above and give them to your mechanic.

[Bill Noach]

Bump.

Any of you feel any movement in the front end when turning or going over curb cuts?

Most mechanics have no idea how to set up the front end on the Mark II. Improperly secured the front suspension loses the float designed into it. If you hear any noise, or feel something moving, print out the pages above and give them to your mechanic.

I recogonise these f/ends are same as 55 56 fords, customlines, fairlanes , and arm set up is same, i.e, the car must be in on the ground load before tightening the control arm bolts and nuts inc the top ones
which therefore can move equally up and down. I have been servicing those model cars for over 30 yrs including parts sales and know most common mistake is to tighten these bushs while arms are hanging down while car is jacked up. once lowered to ground the bushs are preloaded in upward position and 1st downward movement will overload the small amount of rubber within the bush and not last long. Due to the different depths the lower bushs are pushed into the A arms, it is necessary to ensure packing washers make up any gaps between front lower bush and crossmember, this stops stretching the arm and bush again causing bush failure. This is only my view of the matter and sure i,ll be corrected but may help someone. regards bill.:)

[Barry Wolk]

Thank you for verifying what I've been saying. I've found that most cars I've looked at have been installed improperly and have ruined the torque fittings, turning them into simple, but lousy, swing arm bushings.

[Continentalfan]

So realizing that most of us have cars with bushings that have been spoiled is it possible to get new ones for the cars so that we can get a fresh start..if so please say what they are called in the parts book so can order the correct stuff. If they are commonly used perhaps can still order from Ford or jobber??

[Barry Wolk]

I believe I got mine as new Moog parts from NAPA. I'll look up the original part number when I get home.

[Barry Wolk]

It appears that the T-bird of the era used the same bushings. They are only $6.25 each in this catalogue. They even share the same part number with the Mark II. The drawing in the catalogue is the same as the one in the Mark II parts manual, #3069 on page 17. From what I can see, all the parts are interchangable with the Mark II.

http://www.tbirdhq.com/catalog/2009-55-57-catalog.pdf

[Bill Noach]

It appears that the T-bird of the era used the same bushings. They are only $6.25 each in this catalogue. They even share the same part number with the Mark II. The drawing in the catalogue is the same as the one in the Mark II parts manual, #3069 on page 17. From what I can see, all the parts are interchangable with the Mark II.

http://www.tbirdhq.com/catalog/2009-55-57-catalog.pdf
Barry, job lot automotive in NY, Carpenter ind in NC, Concours parts in NV all sell these bushs, they are same as 55 56 ford pass cars and Tbirds. regards bill.

[Barry Wolk]

Sounds like a pretty cheap fix to restore proper float.

[rfm45]

Gentlemen,

This thread has my curiosity. I can mentally walk through the steps of doing this job. The main steps are: car lifted up by the chassis, apply spring compressor, release ball joint, remove spring, remove lower A frame, install bushings, install spring and ball joint, release spring compressor, lower car onto ground. My question is given the car’s ground clearance, how does one get access to the new lower bushings to apply the proper torque when the car is resting on the ground?........(Please, no one say “carefully”.)


Ralph

[Barry Wolk]

Using a storage lift. The weight of the car is on the suspension.
Actually, I'd install everything loosely, drive the car around the block and back onto a lift for final tightening. Cars never seem to sit properly until they've been driven a little.

Or, you could use ramps, but you wouldn't have exact weight distribution.

Edit: I don't know that that would have a negative effect, so ramps it is.

[Bill Noach]

Gentlemen,

This thread has my curiosity. I can mentally walk through the steps of doing this job. The main steps are: car lifted up by the chassis, apply spring compressor, release ball joint, remove spring, remove lower A frame, install bushings, install spring and ball joint, release spring compressor, lower car onto ground. My question is given the car’s ground clearance, how does one get access to the new lower bushings to apply the proper torque when the car is resting on the ground?........(Please, no one say “carefully”.)


Ralph
You could also lower car onto jackstands below each lower ball joint, carefully, then the car is basically sitting in driving position, or ramps or on 2 spare wheel rims, to enable reaching the lower bolts etc. I might add that many times the front pins have rust buildup inside front cross member and pounding on threaded end of bolt wrecks it, if tight , try and rotate pin while tapping it. The rear pins are usually free due to oil residue from engine over the years. It all works for me. regards bill.;)

[Bob Barger]

Barry is correct as usual about tightening the lower bushings at ride height, I just rebuilt my front suspension and got all the parts (upper and lower bushings, upper and lower ball joints, and tie-rod ends) from Rosen. He has all the stuff if you want to go there. I would not use grade 2 or stainless on suspension parts. I only used grade 8 bolts with lock nuts on my car. By the way, I found rear shocks for my car at the local Car Quest store. The Car Quest part number is 1924090 and I paid 35 bucks each for them.