Front end bushings, they are all rotten! Need Advice

Originally posted by JoeCool:
The alternative is to use polyurethane bushings everywhere; however the strut bushings probably aren't available in poly

An option for this if you're not wanting to go to C/C plates is to get an aftermarket set of upper strut mounts from a parts house. TRW and MOOG both make a replacement upper mount that uses the "cup" style mount like the Mustangs from 83-04. With those you can use the poly bushings for a Mustang at that location. I've used those on a couple cars.

Another note. Poly bushings in the front control arms can be harsh for most folks. YOu will feel EVERY crack/bump/pebble/hair in the road. I've got them on both the 83 'Bird and the 84 XR-7.

Another option for this would be to use the 94+ arms and install the Fox ball-joints.



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83 TC Clone, 84 XR7, 80 XR7, 80 Zephyr Z-7, 86 XR4 AND 88 Scorpio
NATO Member

well i have considered actually keeping the factory ride height and factory wheel combo due to the collectibility of my 84, and some other people saying "restore the 84, race a 88" and factory parts would be cheaper, but would it be actuallly bad if poly made it "too tight" and hard to drive? anything has to be better than now, i cant even hold it on the road... its bad

[This message has been edited by svo_thunderchicken (edited 09-19-2005).]

For the 1983-86 cars I have been recommending the Ford Racing (FRPP) M-3075-A control arm kit. It is for a Fox Mustang but is the identical A-arm used in our cars. The bushings are improved over stock...I have them on the convertible and don't really consider them to be harsh (although I don't think they are urethane but rather a slightly harder rubber that will last longer than stock). The A-arms in the kit also have the new-style sealed ball joints that, according to Ford, showed no significant wear after 250,000 miles of use. Unfortunately I had to pop them out in exchange for a pair of Steeda X2's so I cannot tell you how they perform firsthand, but I'm sure they're excellent. CJ Pony Parts (http://www.emustang.com) has about the best price I found on the kit and shipping together.

Essentially this is the closest you'll ever get to a stock replacement A-arm kit for your car. It just so happens that the bushings and ball joints are much better than stock. It's a win-win situation and also a good value at around US $170 shipped. You really can't beat the deal.

For the other components, urethane bushings make a HUGE difference with the sway bar and end links. Also, urethane spring isolators will last a lot longer than stock; I've never noticed a harsher ride from them. If you carefully mix rubber and urethane, you can have a harmonious balance of performance and ride quality for a street car.

First i have to say EricCoolCats knows what he's talking about and thats an understatement... he helped me thru emails with good info and i used that and thru doing other research and part finding i put together what i think is an AWESOME handling car. A few times i have posted what exact parts i used/price/vendor...do a search on it. I used the 94+ ford mustang control arms but bought them thru maximum motorsport (in vendors page) also their c/c plates and so on..i didnt use polyurathane which may have been a mistake but with all the other components in my setup i didnt want it any harsher..its perfect now and not noisey/loose at all. I also have 18" wheels and 40 series tires and have plenty feel of the road. Search it should help down to what venders to use.

Well, since I couldn't read your mind about what car you were working on ('84 or 88) [Image: tongue.gif] I had to guess about what car you had. Always a good idea to let folks know first instead of assuming they know.

As Eric stated, for the early (83-86) cars, the Fox Mustang arms work well (I've used them on a couple cars). The 94-98 control arm reference was more for the 87-88's (which most folks here have).
The only place where poly is "bad" or questionable is in the ears on the rear axle, as you can't run full poly in a stock splayed 4-link set-up and expect the car to be able to safely negotiate corners at anything over a crawl. Full poly in the back will result in bind..which will result in skittering.....

Use of poly in the front control arms is up to owner's tolerance... [Image: wink.gif]

Thanks for the info, if i understand coolcat corectly, i need to ditch the factory a arms? what if i use the factory a arms with new rubber ball joints, then get poly end links and swaw bar bushings? Just clarifying some things.... what about shocks? go with some cheap monroe replacments? or get the kyb gas-a-just?

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84 TC Stock. Planned mods... PC1 and #35 injectors, Kiban AFPR, K&N Cone, 3" DP, 3" Single exhaust w/ ultraflow, Big FMIC, BPV.

Originally posted by svo_thunderchicken:
Thanks for the info, if i understand coolcat corectly, i need to ditch the factory a arms? what if i use the factory a arms with new rubber ball joints, then get poly end links and swaw bar bushings? Just clarifying some things.... what about shocks? go with some cheap monroe replacments? or get the kyb gas-a-just?

Well you don't want to use "rubber" ball-joints [Image: tongue.gif] But you can refurbish them if you like, but if you're just looking to do stock, you'll be in them about the same as if you bought the 79-93 Mustang Motorsport arms Eric mentioned. The set in my 83 Tbird are refurbished stockers (but with poly bushings) that I had repowdercoated. I went that route instead of buying the Motorsport ones since I was just going to knock the rubber bushings out and install poly anyway.

so i should just skip using part house stuff, and go ahead and order a complete poly front in set from pst? hehe 195 bucks for them all including ball joints.

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84 TC Stock. Planned mods... PC1 and #35 injectors, Kiban AFPR, K&N Cone, 3" DP, 3" Single exhaust w/ ultraflow, Big FMIC, BPV.

Just wanted to say Chuck W helped me alot also... the help was much appreciated so i didn't want to leave it unsaid. Good luck, i used koni struts/shocks and love them but the rears are scarce and for the 87-88 tbirds mustang shocks cannot be used in the rear...dont know about 83-86 tbirds do a search..i believe kyb's are a good option but i dont know first hand.

Changing A-arm bushings can be a pain...Chuck has infinitely more patience to do that than most people, I think. [Image: smile.gif] That's why I mentioned the kit. If you're going to remove the A-arms anyway, using the kit you won't have to change any bushings and the ball joints and bushings are already installed. It just saves a lot of time and hassle. Plus they are geniune Ford-designed bushings which helps with the ride characteristics. I feel for under $200 shipped that you get a great deal. It's worth paying to not put up with the hassle IMO.

I've had great luck with Monroe shocks/struts for a street ride. It all depends on the style of driving though. They really are a personal matter. I'm running Bilsteins on the convertible (Y2K Cobra R's in the front, stock valving, and the discontinued T-Bird/Cougar shocks in back). They are wicked. And expensive. And discontinued. I think Koni or KYB still makes them for 1983-86 cars.