Suspension-Lower Control Bushings

[Barry Wolk]

While my car was very nicely restored, it was poorly sorted out. One of the first thing one noticed was a slight clunking sound when rounding corners and coming to a stop. It turned out that whoever reassembled the car didn't understand the lower bushings.

The lower bushings are a combination vibration isolator and a torsion device that's sole job is to return the suspension to it's "curbside" position.

The bushings are pressed into the A-arms with the teeth of the bushing facing outward. The teeth are on the inner steel bushing. This inner sleeve is designed to bite into the steel of the front mount of the frame while at curb height. The gap that remains at the other mount is filled with appropriate size washers. That bolt would go in finger tight. The front mount bolt is loosened and both bolts tightened incrementally to 75 foot pounds. This compresses the rubber so that the A-arm always returns to the proper position.

Without the washers the suspension was freely swinging on the bolts giving a bouncy ride, and a lot of noise.

Properly set up your Mark II should glide down the road with no noticeable body movement. I've had the pleasure now of experiencing what a new Mark II feels like.

[depmike38]

Barry,
One thing I've noticed that mechanics will do is to tighten up the lower control arms with the front suspension unloaded and "hanging". This doesn't allow the control arm bushings to center properly because once the teeth have bitten in(no pun) it causes the rubber part of the bushing to twist too far when the weight of the car is back on it. If you have a noisy control arm you can back off the bolts and loosen them up, bounce the car up and down a time or too to center everything and then re-torque. This also helps with premature wear because as you said it's also a torsion device.

[Barry Wolk]

If they were installed with the suspension unloaded they are probably wrecked as there's only so much stress you can put on rubber.

Driving the Mark II is unlike any other car I've ever owned. If you hit a substantial dip in the road it stops bobbing far before a normal car does. I believe its the positive return to curb height that makes it feel that way.

[depmike38]

You're right, unloaded they're badly twisted but it suprises me how many experienced mechanics will get in a hurry and do it because they don't want to drop the weight on to torque them correctly.