The bushings in the front suspension of your muscle car have two main purposes. One is allowing the pivot points to move and the other is to isolate and dampen vibrations transferred from the road. GM uses rubber because it does a great job at dampening and yes it allows the pivots to move.
There are two main problems with rubber bushings. First, they are relatively soft and will fall apart over time. Second, when you turn a corner the bushing is subjected to an increased load and if the bushing deflects, then a lot of things can change like caster, camber and toe settings. Over time this increased load can also permanently compress rubber affecting the alignment. Since most of the cars we talk about here in Super Chevy are 30-plus years old, the factory rubber bushings are probably on their way out anyway.
Here is the Super Kit (PN...
Here is the Super Kit (PN SPFEK00106) from PST with a few added pieces. The kit includes upper and lower ball joints, inner and outer tie rods, tie rod adjusting sleeves, upper and lower bump stops, sway bar links, idler arm, upper…
So what is the cure for the rubber bushing woes? An upgrade in the way of polygraphite bushings from Performance Suspension Technologies is a definite solution. Unless you have been trapped in your garage for way too long, then you already know the benefits of polygraphite, but just in case we will go over it. PST explains it this way: "Polygraphite is a graphite-impregnated polyurethane high performance bushing designed for street, strip or track driven cars. The bushings feature a higher durometer (firmness) that will last longer and provide a solid base for your suspension. Now your ride can have the road handling characteristics of polyurethane bushings with virtually no deflection and the lubricating qualities of graphite."
There is a big urban legend running around that all polyurethane bushings squeak, but this is not entirely true. Any bushing will squeak if you install it wrong or don't lube it enough. Your best weapon against the squeak beside a proper install is the supplied grease. It forms a tough, durable, chemical resistant film of lubricant to prevent metal-to-metal contact even under severe shock loads. Only a small amount is required to properly lubricate bushings and metal components and to prevent corrosion.
…control arm shafts, and of...
…control arm shafts, and of course eight polygraphite control arm bushings. Since this was going to be a full rebuild, everything had to be new in the front end so a centerlink and a set of KYB shocks was added to the order.
When ordering a front end kit from PST, there are going to be a few thing you will need to know about your vehicle and a full list can be found on the company website, but here is what you need to know when purchasing a Chevelle kit. If you have a '64 you need to know the diameter of center link (13/16- or 7/8-inch). On the '66 like the one covered in this story, you'll need to know the diameter of lower rear control arm bushing (1.67- or 1.90-inch). In our case the car had 1.90 bushings. For the '70-72 vintage, look at the lower rear control arm bushing and see of they are round or oval.
If you add more components to your order like a center link or a set of shocks PST will give you a little discount. All the stuff you see in this story set us back $621.00 and was installed over a weekend. There are two tools that made this job a little less time consuming, an air hammer and a ball joint press. The air hammer isn't really a must as you can still use a traditional hammer and a punch or chisel. The ball joint press can be rented from some automotive stores like AutoZone or can be purchased from tool suppliers like Harbor Freight (PN 4065-1VGA, $49.99). The tool uses a big C-frame, special spacers and collars to drive the bushings and ball joints in.
 After securing the car on...  After securing the car on a lift, the wheels were ripped off and all the cotter pins pulled out. Then it was time to start pulling the steering components. The tie rods feature an interference fit so loosening the nut a little bit and whacking it with a hammer is usually all it takes to free the parts. Leaving the nut on does two things: It prevents the part from falling off the car once free and it protects the threads if you are reusing the part. If this procedure doesn't work for you, then you will need to pick up or borrow a pickle fork to separate the components. |  Before trying to remove the...  Before trying to remove the ball joints make sure to have a jack placed under the lower control arm. The springs are under a considerable amount of pressure and can fly out when you pop the ball joint. The ball joints have the same interference fit as the tie rods. A few good hammer blows to the side of the spindle should send a healthy shock wave through the part to free the ball joint. Once free the jack was lowered slowly to safely remove the spring. |  With the spindle out of the...  With the spindle out of the way the hardware holding the control arms on the frame was removed. The lower arms were taken to the vise so the ball joints and bushing could be removed. There are a few ways to remove the components, but an air hammer is what we had on hand. Using a blunt tip, it only took a few raps with the tool to drive the lower ball joint out. |
 The bushings took a chisel...  The bushings took a chisel bit and a little more persuasion. Starting at a 90-degree angle, first dig the bit in and then rotate it to a 45-degree angle and push it out. The other way to get these out if you don't have an air hammer will be using a vice or press and some tubing. You will need to find a piece of tube that fits around the big end of the bushing and a piece that fits up against the small side. Put that contraption in the vise/press and start cranking down. The smaller piece will drive the bushing out of the arm and into the larger piece on the big side. |  The upper arms are a little...  The upper arms are a little easier to deal with as the ball joint is either riveted in (stock) or bolted in (has been changed before) and the bushings are a little more accessible. To get out stock ball joints, just grind off the head of the rivets and watch the joint fall out. If they have been changed before then undo the hardware. The air hammer was used again to drive out the bushings, since there is a small amount of the metal shell sticking out the bit can grab right away making the job a snap. |  With everything removed, the...  With everything removed, the arms were scrubbed clean and all the parts, including the new tie rod and other components, were painted satin black. While the paint was drying, the new bushings were completely disassembled and coated in the supplied grease and reassembled before being installed. This will prevent any creaks or squeaks. A ball joint press was used to push the new bushings into the lower arms. A chunk of lead is used to keep the arm from collapsing during the process. If you don't have lead, find something that will fit in the area like a socket or a piece of wood. |