Front Upper Control Arm Bushing Job Cost?

[HighMileage]

What would you guys think is a fair price to replace the upper control arm bushings? This is not a job I would attempt myself. There are two places near me that do this kind of work. They have been in business for 100yrs and do trucks,too. Big old brick buildings. Springs,tires,brakes,suspensions.....that's it.


Of course,it will have to be aligned,too. Heat and age has taken it's toll on the pass-side ones. It's not metal-to-metal. I might as well have both sides done,otherwise it's alignment time again when the other side is due.

I just really don't like leaving this car with anyone. I don't want that dreaded phone call.

What's a good price? What should I expect?


Thanks.

 

[earlbrown]

If you pull the arms off yourself it shouldn't cost that much.

FWIW I did all my bushings in the parking lot of my old apartment with a framing hammer. Granted, a press does make it a little easier.




Now that I think about it, I believe the fast food parts houses have threaded bushing tools in the loan-a-tool program.

 

[John Larkin]

If you do the uppers you might as well do the lowers too. And check for slop in the steering rods as well, all of them contribute to alignment as well as ball joints.

But do all four a-arms if you think the uppers are worn. And after 27 years I am sure they are.

It's a time consuming job to do it the way I did it - disassemble - remove bushings - have arms sandblasted - paint with Rustoleum - reinstall bushings - reinstall ball joints - reassemble.

A fair price for simple replacement with no frills I would guess $100 per side.

 

[HighMileage]

If you pull the arms off yourself it shouldn't cost that much.

FWIW I did all my bushings in the parking lot of my old apartment with a framing hammer. Granted, a press does make it a little easier.




Now that I think about it, I believe the fast food parts houses have threaded bushing tools in the loan-a-tool program.

But don't I need a spring compressor for this,to take out the spring? I actually just need the passengers side. As with many TR's,the heat from the DP has cooked the bushings on that side over time.

I really don't want to tackle this one in my ice cold garage. Getting down to single digits at night all week. My list is long. I'm waving the white flag on this one,Earl.

Your story reminds me of when I was 17 and changed a Powerglide in the '69 BelAir I had in a restaurant parking lot with basic tools and logs. Put a Vega torque converter (high stall) in it and burned it up in a week. (no cooler)

The white flag is waving on this repair. What should this cost? 3-400?

 

[John Larkin]

You can just put a jackstand under the lower control arm and break the upper ball joint loose. Then remove the nuts on the upper a-arm shaft (keep up with the shims - number used behind each nut) and pull the arm out. Then take it somewhere to be pressed out and in and then reinstall. The weight of the car will hold the spring in place.

 

[HighMileage]

If you do the uppers you might as well do the lowers too. And check for slop in the steering rods as well, all of them contribute to alignment as well as ball joints.

But do all four a-arms if you think the uppers are worn. And after 27 years I am sure they are.

It's a time consuming job to do it the way I did it - disassemble - remove bushings - have arms sandblasted - paint with Rustoleum - reinstall bushings - reinstall ball joints - reassemble.

A fair price for simple replacement with no frills I would guess $100 per side.

Thanks for the input,John.

I just had a NYS Inspection done a few months ago,and everything seemed really tight. ...but those pass-side upper bushings..! It's a Mobil station. i know the guys well and asked to put the car up to check.

They weren't bad enough to fail inspection,but they did have that squeak to them like the bushing is hardened and moving in the arm.

My car sounds like a million mile taxi when going over dips in the road. It's coming from that upper arm.

I guess we'll see...

 

[HighMileage]

You can just put a jackstand under the lower control arm and break the upper ball joint loose. Then remove the nuts on the upper a-arm shaft (keep up with the shims - number used behind each nut) and pull the arm out. Then take it somewhere to be pressed out and in and then reinstall. The weight of the car will hold the spring in place.

Ok,now you are convincing me to do this myself.

One thing that's swaying me is that I don't like leaving my car with anyone. Something bad always happens. ...a nasty scratch,a dent... To me,my paint is near perfect. Blocked,wet sanded,buffed,...etc. Even throwing a towel on the trunk makes marks. A shop will be rough.

I thought the spring went up into the upper arm. I might as well replace that ball joint since it will be out of the knuckle. I'll have to take a look at all of this tomorrow and make a decision. Maybe I'll just bring them the arm,then take it there for the alignment.

Just trying to get my list caught up.

Thanks!

 

[earlbrown]

It's very common for that rear PS upper bushing to get smoked. The radiant heat from the downpipe really wails on it. If all you're doing is the uppers it would be a pretty easy job. Put jackstands or blocks under the lower, pop the wheels off, pickle fork the upper ball joint and remove the arm. All the brake hardware and whatnot can stay in place. The only trick that might mess you up is if the knurled bolts decide to spin. Otherwise it's just one wheel and three nuts per side.

Then either pay someone to R&R the bushings or just do it in your living room. Toss the new bushings in the freezer before you start... and if you heat up the arms in the oven make sure to degrease the hell out of them first. Otherwise you're pot pies will taste a little 'gamey' for a while

 

[John Larkin]

The spring goes up inside the frame. It will be fine. In fact the shock will hold it in worst case. R&R-ing bushings requires spacers to keep from collapsing the ends of the arms when pressing. I made some out of exhaust tubing.

 

[pmoore4321]

If your going to do one bushing, you might as well do them all. If your going to do the bushings, might as well do the ball joints. etc, etc, etc. Someone on here called it the "Midas Touch." I did all that plus all the suspension parts before Power Tour last year. The bushings and ball joints are an absolute PIA to do. Don't even think about it without a hydraulic press.

 

[charlief1]

As everyone is telling you, this isn't a hard job. There's a write up in the how to section on doing the suspension rebuild and it does use after market arms, which might be the better way to go. Tubular arms are about $50 each side plus shipping and then install the new ball joints. It's all fairly simple and if you don't drive it all the time it might be a good winter project for you to do.

 

[HighMileage]

If I can get arms for $50 each,it might be worth it to go that way. I just can't use Chinese junk. The roads up here in Upstate NY are horrible,so no cheap shortcuts on front end parts.

It looks like I have some shopping to do.

 

[boosted-para]

I guess I am not the only one who can't sleep? Instead of counting sheep I am surfing the forum, lol.
Charlie - can you tell me where to look at the tubular arms?

Thanks

Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app

 

[HighMileage]

Found some here at gbody:

http://www.gbodyparts.com/product_info.php?products_id=134

Someone sent me a pm about another place. Gotta check on that.

I don't want Chinese.

I work nights,so no sleeping here.

 

[longball]

[quote="HighMileage, The roads up here in Upstate NY are horrible,so no cheap shortcuts on front end parts. [/quote


Steve, remember you can always use my heated garage......for a phenomenal fee, of course...

 

[bad V6]

Upper control arm bushings are fairly easy to replace. I replaced the passenger side in about 2 hours with a few wrenches, a hammer, and an air chisel.

 

[charlief1]

G body has them as well as speedway motors. They're designed for rough use on a circle/dirt track and I doubt that even screwed up Yankee roads would break them. The nice thing is they use a grease-able bronze bushing so you don't have to worry about the down pipe cooking them.

 

[HighMileage]

[quote="HighMileage, The roads up here in Upstate NY are horrible,so no cheap shortcuts on front end parts. [/quote


Steve, remember you can always use my heated garage......for a phenomenal fee, of course...

Thanks,but I'd get lost trying to find your place by myself. I do have one of those salamander/forced-air heaters. Propane powered,too. So,it doesn't stink like Kero. After spending all night in a warehouse that had 7'F wind blowing in constantly,the last thing on my mind is a cold garage.

Your place is not easy to find. But,your place doesn't even compare to Intercooled88's place. Drive for miles thru the woods....park,get in a rowboat and row North for a mile till you see a horse tied up on the shore....ride the horse another 5 miles down a path till you see a GN centercap on a mailbox in the middle of nowhere... It's like Survivor.

 

[we4Mateo]

What should all be done to the lowers in front? Just ball joints? I haven't heard anyone mention much about that yet.

Thanks!

 

[GNONYX]

One of the reason why I replaced the upper control arm bushing was the heat from the DP melted the upper bushing.
After replacement I install one of Kirban control arm bushing heat shield
http://www.kirbanperformance.com/product/334/CONTROL+ARM+BUSHING+HEAT+SHIELD+#6852.html