[T3] T3 Front end bushings

[timothy kuehn]

Thanks, Jim, for helping figure this out, and Keith for offering beam-bits.  

> My squareback's control arm bushings - am I calling them the right name? - are shot.  
> These are the bushings that go around the ends of the torsion bars, just inboard of the lower control arms.  


...Just inside the torsion arms are needle bearings. About 8" further in are bushings...

Yes, there's a seal & bearing, and then these bushings sit a little further in.  Thanks Jim for cleaning up my imprecise explanation. 

... pretty unusual for the lowers to get destroyed... Have you been greasing the 4 fittings on your beam? 

Every other oil change/valve adjust, I hit all 4 grease fittings 'til the seals start to swell.  
 
...Before you get started, what symptoms led you to believe your bearings have disintegrated?... 

I'd been noticing some steering wander/wobble for a while, which I'd been attributing to worn old tires, and probably ball joints 
because I bet it's been 20K miles since I replaced them.
So during recent oil/valve service, I lifted the front end to see what I could see.  Passenger side wheel moves around way more than you'd want it to.  
1st thought wheel bearing - but no, they're tight and wonderful.  What's moving is the lower arm.  In fact, what's moving is the torsion bar whose 
splined end sticks out throught the lower arm.  So, pop the arm off.  Seal looks okay, bearing looks okay.  But behind that, the bushing's in pieces.  
Big piece about 2/3 of the original item, smaller piece about 1/4 of it, jagged break btw the 2, and a chunk missing completely.  Flushed the area, 
didn't see any 'quicksilver' remnants of the rest of that bushing.
Didn't seem like the bushing had been fully seated down into the the beam.  Reached large chunk with my finger, smaller chunk w/ forcep.  
Torsion bar has some scrapes, but they're real shallow... is this enough to worry about?.

So I wonder how long the bushing had been busted in there, or how the thing went together at all with bushing mis-placed?
Zealously regreased everything, put it back together without the bushing.  Torsion arm now fits down over the end of the splined bar about 1/4"
further than it used to. (Why would this be?)  The bar-end wiggles way less, steering wobble virtually disappeared. 
Driving very little / very carefully 'til I know more and get this better sorted out. 

I'd really rather just replace what's missing, take care of the parts I have.  Swapping beams sounds like a 'swallow the spider' kinda proposition, 
y'know?  Replace a huge heavy part, disturb that whole area where the beam and body have been mated for 40 years, just for want of a little bushing?

Convince me that's necessary.

--timmy
'72 square
Venice, CA


  		 	   		  
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