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| 1988 Upper Control Arm Pivot Shaft (Page 1/1) |
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KennyG
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NOV 02, 04:55 PM
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I'm going to challenge the old saying that there are no stupid questions.
To take my suspension apart, I had to cut the pivot shafts, so I have new ones to install. I've burned out the old rubber bushings and have a Fiero Store ProThane set to install. It appears I have to remove the sleeves from the control arm to get the new shaft installed, but they are so firmly in place, it seems they are spot welded or staked. Am I on the right track here?
My new bushing set has 8 poly sleeves (4 large, 4 small) with steel inner liners and 4 pieces that seem to be end cups. The small ones will fit any of the upper and lower control arm pivots, but I don't see where the large ones go. Do I need to remove the original steel outer sleeves on one set of control arms to use the large ones? I know this should be simple, but I can't get my head around it.
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Raydar
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NOV 02, 08:48 PM
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The sleeves stay in the control arms, but you will need to remove ALL of the remaining rubber residue, using some sort of an abrasive bit or a flap wheel, in order for the bushings to fit into the sleeves.
The small bushings go in the upper arms, and the large bushings go in the lower arms. The end caps go over the narrow ends of the large bushings.
The shaft... You will need to hold it in position in the upper arm, and push the bushings in from the sides, around the shaft.
It's been a while since I did these, but I believe you have to press the bushings into the outer sleeves, and then push the inner sleeves into the bushings.
If you don't have extra silicone lube, you will need to buy some. They don't give you enough, in the kit.
Ideally, the bushings are "rigid" with the outer sleeves, but rotate on the inner sleeves. The silicone makes a mess, but use it liberally. If there is some on the ends of the bushings, where they are squeezed into the frame brackets, it won't hurt anything. It'll help to prevent squeaking. (I have done three of these cars, and none of them squeaked.)
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KennyG
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NOV 04, 09:21 PM
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Well, it's making more sense now. I have to take a metal sleeve out of each upper control arm to get the shaft in. With a lot of heating and careful pounding I've been able to get one sleeve out. I'm still working on the other control arm. I'm trying not to damage the arms but I'll have to do some repair on the sleeves before I reinstall them. It seems pretty clear that Pontiac didn't expect people to be replacing the pivot shafts.
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Raydar
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NOV 05, 10:09 AM
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| quote | Originally posted by KennyG:
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It seems pretty clear that Pontiac didn't expect people to be replacing the pivot shafts. |
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They probably wanted to sell you a whole control arm. With the shaft. (There's a joke or a song in there, someplace.  )
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Raydar
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NOV 06, 07:33 AM
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KennyG
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NOV 06, 09:51 AM
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Oh, I wish that were true. I have the replacement shafts from Fiero Store and they definitely will not go through the old sleeves. I toyed with the idea of ginding them down a little and then decided to go the sleeve removal route.
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KennyG
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NOV 11, 09:18 PM
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After lots of frustration, I went another route. I was able to remove a sleeve from one control arm, but the other control arm defied me. I was concerned about damaging the control arm after much effort, so I decided to grind the pivot shaft down. It only requires about 1/16 removed from each side of the enlarged section of the shaft. If I ever get this thing back on the road and the front end falls apart, I'll let everyone know.
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