Name : Brian Cohen Joined : 2019-01-07Post Count : 808 Merit : 8
Subject: Time for bushings. Fri Jan 17, 2020 7:24 pm
My lower control arms and the rest of the rubber on my front end is rotted. My car shakes at highway speed. I am thinking of doing Moog lca's, front and rear sway bar bushings and outer tie rod ends. The motor mounts are new except for the trans mount which I will replace.
I saw these parts on Rock Auto, are they the cradle bushings? Should I bother checking the dealer at this point and am I missing anything? Thanks in advance for the advice.
Subframe bushing DORMAN 924044 {#25674565, 25757174} Subframe mount SKP SKM4052
Rickw Guru
Name : Rick Location : Lancaster, MA Joined : 2008-09-13Post Count : 6282 Merit : 119
Subject: Re: Time for bushings. Sat Jan 18, 2020 1:25 am
Don't bother spending the big bucks for the cradle bushings from GM.
I used all Dorman bushing assembly's even though the part number for the Dormans said they only fit the rear of the front cradle on my 98. They fit in all six positions and worked great. Got them on Amazon with free shipping for not a lot of money. Especially compared to the GM parts. The Dormans came complete with bolts IIRC.
I also got complete Lower Control Arms with poly bushings and new balljoints installed from Dorman on Amazon for about $50.00 each at the time. Well worth the money I spent. This was about 5 years ago. You'll need to check pricing and availability.
carguy8888 Junkie
Name : Brian Cohen Joined : 2019-01-07Post Count : 808 Merit : 8
Subject: Re: Time for bushings. Sat Jan 18, 2020 6:04 am
Beautiful, are there upper body mounts to or do we bother with them? I thought my guy counted 11 or 12 of them. Thanks for the quick reply, I guess you work nights or don't sleep LOL.
redbaron Amateur
Name : Joseph Contardi Location : North East PA Joined : 2021-05-21Post Count : 38 Merit : 2
Subject: Re: Time for bushings. Fri May 21, 2021 8:54 pm
Hi everyone, I'm brand new to this site. My 96 has a pop in the steering at times when I turn the wheel. 136K Tie rods ends are new. Could the problem be control arm bushings?
redbaron Amateur
Name : Joseph Contardi Location : North East PA Joined : 2021-05-21Post Count : 38 Merit : 2
Subject: Re: Time for bushings. Fri May 21, 2021 8:58 pm
Ball joints are also tight.
intosilence1 Rookie
Name : RivNewEra Joined : 2020-11-04Post Count : 18 Merit : 1
Subject: Re: Time for bushings. Sat May 22, 2021 2:38 am
redbaron wrote:
Hi everyone, I'm brand new to this site. My 96 has a pop in the steering at times when I turn the wheel. 136K Tie rods ends are new. Could the problem be control arm bushings?
If you hear the pop while turning it could be your strut mount bearings. It's the plate that sits between your strut and the car. To do a quick test, put the key in the ignition and turn it forward without turning on the car. Have someone slightly turn the wheel left and right, while you get right next to the tire. Reach up above the tire and place your fingers on the coil spring. If the mount bearing is bad, you should be able to hear and/or feel the pop as they turn the wheel.
If the control arm bushings were bad, you would have movement on the tire while the car was on the ground. Check out this video and see what would happen if your control arm bushings were bad.
https://youtu.be/YT8Wld2FYZY
carguy8888 Junkie
Name : Brian Cohen Joined : 2019-01-07Post Count : 808 Merit : 8
Subject: Re: Time for bushings. Sat May 22, 2021 8:27 am
Agreeing with an adding to what intosilence1 says, if you're strut bearings are bad make sure you buy GM ones. I bought a couple of set of aftermarket units and they were defective. Now I have a GM set and the car drives like I a new car. I was also able to see my strut mounts moving from the top of the mount under the hood.
redbaron Amateur
Name : Joseph Contardi Location : North East PA Joined : 2021-05-21Post Count : 38 Merit : 2
Subject: Re: Time for bushings. Sun May 23, 2021 8:01 am
Thank you Guys!
I have a vibration too 65 -75mph. I think I need strut bearings and control arm bushings.
I just picked up a 95 SC for my daughter. it vibrates between 60 and 70.
good video.
carguy8888 Junkie
Name : Brian Cohen Joined : 2019-01-07Post Count : 808 Merit : 8
Subject: Re: Time for bushings. Sun May 23, 2021 5:29 pm
That could be a lot of things from balancing to hubs. You have to take it apart and see what's loose.
redbaron Amateur
Name : Joseph Contardi Location : North East PA Joined : 2021-05-21Post Count : 38 Merit : 2
Subject: Re: Time for bushings. Sun May 23, 2021 6:36 pm
OK, Thank you Brian.
Joe
carguy8888 Junkie
Name : Brian Cohen Joined : 2019-01-07Post Count : 808 Merit : 8
Subject: Re: Time for bushings. Sun May 23, 2021 6:42 pm
There are certainly people on here with more knowledge than me but I would start by getting the front wheels balanced and whoever takes the wheels off can certainly take a look, or have somebody at the place take a look.
redbaron Amateur
Name : Joseph Contardi Location : North East PA Joined : 2021-05-21Post Count : 38 Merit : 2
Subject: Re: Time for bushings. Mon May 24, 2021 8:35 pm
The tires are new and were balanced. Ill double check them though.
Thank you
carguy8888 Junkie
Name : Brian Cohen Joined : 2019-01-07Post Count : 808 Merit : 8
Subject: Re: Time for bushings. Tue May 25, 2021 9:16 am
See if you can get them road force balanced and have them check for an out of round rim or tire.
redbaron Amateur
Name : Joseph Contardi Location : North East PA Joined : 2021-05-21Post Count : 38 Merit : 2
Subject: Re: Time for bushings. Tue May 25, 2021 7:35 pm
Wow.
Never new.
I just looked up road force balancing.
Sounds like a great place to start.
Thank you
carguy8888 Junkie
Name : Brian Cohen Joined : 2019-01-07Post Count : 808 Merit : 8
Subject: Re: Time for bushings. Thu May 27, 2021 5:55 pm
That's what it's all about, people on this board gave me a ton of knowledge as well.
Spacecowboy067 Enthusiast
Name : Luis Joined : 2021-06-12Post Count : 105 Merit : 4
Subject: Re: Time for bushings. Fri Jun 18, 2021 4:05 am
Damn looks like everyone has highway speed shakes...
I think I need new control arms. Or something, idk. I have a 97 so there's zero control arm parts out there and since those bushings are fried and my tires just got balanced, I'm pretty sure the arms need replaced.
Is there any other GM control arm like a Caddy or Lacrosse (they look similar) that could fit? Or maybe should I try getting new bushings to fit in the current control arms?
DeepFrozen Fanatic
Name : Dmitry Joined : 2016-08-28Post Count : 252 Merit : 11
Subject: Re: Time for bushings. Fri Jun 18, 2021 9:35 am
There is a thread about 97 LCA, look it up. I ended up replacing my bushings, but no, it wasn't an easy and straight-forward solution, I had to suffer ) I feel I have to share my experience and update that 97 LCA thread... Another option is to fabricate adapter rings/sleeves to use widely available bushings from 95-96, which are a little bit smaller in diameter.
Spacecowboy067 Enthusiast
Name : Luis Joined : 2021-06-12Post Count : 105 Merit : 4
Subject: Re: Time for bushings. Fri Jun 18, 2021 1:23 pm
Hmm. Would it be easier to just weld brackets to accept 98+ control arms? At least then I could find shit in stock
Jack the R Master
Joined : 2007-01-16Post Count : 8074 Merit : 105
Subject: Re: Time for bushings. Fri Jun 18, 2021 1:44 pm
Spacecowboy067 wrote:
Damn looks like everyone has highway speed shakes...
My 97 doesn't, knock on wood . . . I'm sure my time for bushings will come as well.
9ty7rivi Enthusiast
Name : terrance Age : 37 Location : San Antonio, Texas Joined : 2015-04-17Post Count : 138 Merit : 2
Subject: Re: Time for bushings. Tue Aug 10, 2021 6:53 pm
[quote="Spacecowboy067"]Damn looks like everyone has highway speed shakes...
Mine does not as I have replaced the dreaded rear bushings and lower ball joint. I can punch it full throttle(1/2 ) and the fucker pulls like a demon!
I see a lot of issue with the special LCA issue on the 97. I had an engineer spec me out a readily available bushing that I just had pressed out and back in, easy. I will find that PN# because I still have to have my driver side done. I will post in the control arm section once I locate everything.
Spacecowboy067 Enthusiast
Name : Luis Joined : 2021-06-12Post Count : 105 Merit : 4
Subject: Re: Time for bushings. Sat Aug 21, 2021 4:31 am
9ty7rivi wrote:
Spacecowboy067 wrote:
Damn looks like everyone has highway speed shakes...
Mine does not as I have replaced the dreaded rear bushings and lower ball joint. I can punch it full throttle(1/2 ) and the fucker pulls like a demon!
I see a lot of issue with the special LCA issue on the 97. I had an engineer spec me out a readily available bushing that I just had pressed out and back in, easy. I will find that PN# because I still have to have my driver side done. I will post in the control arm section once I locate everything.
Did you ever get the part number on that bushing? If not I might just bolt up W body arms to it... My car being able to finally drive straight would be worth messing with wheel geometry
DeepFrozen Fanatic
Name : Dmitry Joined : 2016-08-28Post Count : 252 Merit : 11
Subject: Re: Time for bushings. Sat Aug 21, 2021 7:01 am
It might be MOOG K201813, LCA bushing for the 2001-2005 Toyota RAV4. Currently I have RAV4s bushings from different brand in my 97 LCA.