I have an 86SE and the front upper control arms need bushings. I have a new set coming but are they hard to replace and how would I go about doing this?

Here are instructions and a tool list for Fiero upper A-arm bushing replacement. (using plastic offset bushings, poly ones would be similar)

8Shark Fiero ‘84-’87 front Upper A-arm Instructions:

TOOLS NEEDED:
1 Floor jack
4 adjustable jack stands (need range of aprox. 10-16”)
1 7/16” box or open end wrench (for new brake line clamp bolts)
1 7/16” 3/8” drive socket (for new brake line clamp bolts)
1 13mm. box or open-end wrench
1 13mm. 3/8” drive socket
1 15mm. box or open-end wrench
1 15mm. 3/8” drive socket
1 18mm. box or open-end wrench
1 18mm. 6-point ½” drive socket
1 19mm. (or Ύ”) ½” drive socket (for removing lug nuts, or you can use lug wrench)
1 3/8” drive ratchet
1 3/8” drive 6” extension
1 ½” drive ratchet
1 ½” breaker-bar
1 ½” drive 6” extension
1 Ό” drill bit
1 1/8” drill bit
1 Ό” or 3/8” drill
1 phillips screwdriver
1 1” wire wheel with Ό” shaft
1 wire brush wheel (6-8” diameter, mounted on stationary grinder)
1 ball-joint pickle fork
1 needle nose pliers
1 hammer (at least 20 oz., 3 pound sledge would be better)
1 pair 12” adjustable (channel lock) pliers
2 new cotter pins (for the ball joint nuts)
1 wire coathanger or some tie wire
1 work light
1 box to hold all hardware (so you don’t lose any of it)
1 or 2 friends to help (several more to give advice)

STEP 1: REMOVING A-arms
SPECIAL NOTE: Remember, do NOT push too hard sideways in any direction on the car, you could cause the jack stands to tip and crush one of your friends, and you may need them to help finish.
1: Jack up front of car about 8-12” and put jack stands under each side of the front suspension frame cross member, then lower floor jack till car is firmly on jack stands. (we are doing this in stages to minimize the chance of tipping the car off the jack stands )
2: Jack up rear of car about 16-18” and put jack stands under each side of rear sub frame near back edge where emergency brake cable passes through, then lower jack till car is firmly on jack stands.
3: jack front rest of the way up to 16-18” and extend front jack stands, then lower jack till car is firmly on jack stands.
4: Remove lug nuts from front wheels and remove front wheels. (One of the friends can sit in car and hold brake while you loosen lug nuts with breaker bar and/or ratchet.)
5: Place floor jack under one A-arm with wood block crossways to the A-arm (helps keep the A-arm from sliding off of jack) and jack it up just till you see the upper A-arm lift up a little, then use 15mm. and 13mm. tools to remove bottom and top bolts from shock absorber. Remove shock, then repeat for other side.
6: Remove nuts from both upper A-arm inner pivot bolts, do NOT remove bolts at this time.
7. Use small drill bit to start a hole in the center of the rivet that holds the brake line clamp to the A-Arm, then use the Ό” bit to drill out rivet. (You can use a screwdriver or small chisel to knock clamp loose if the rivet doesn’t drill completely out)
8: Next turn steering wheel to get clearance on the side you are working on, then remove cotter pin from upper ball joint on that side, (use needle nose pliers and/or awl/nail to get it out)
9: Loosen upper ball-joint nut ONLY about 2 turns so it is still fully on threads but has about 1/16” gap under it.
10: Drive pickle fork in between rubber boot and upper knuckle (below rubber) with hammer until it pops tapered stud loose. Remove castle nut and pull stud out of knuckle. (Be careful not to kink or stress brake line) You can use a piece of tie-wire from spring to hold knuckle roughly in place.
11: Tap on end of long bolt to push it forward and out of inner A-Arm pivot bushings. (There should be a thick washer on the inside edge of each bushing, and one or two thin washers on the outside of each bushing) Once the long bolt clears the tube in the frame, the A-Arm should come free and can be removed. Then slowly lower floor jack until free.
12: Repeat steps 5 through 11 for other side of car.

STEP 2: REMOVING Rubber and bolt tubes from A-arms
1: If you have access to a hydraulic press, you can press the center tubes out of the A-arms first, (be careful not to deform the A-arm sheet metal where it has the sleeve pressed through it) otherwise, the rubber can be drilled out or burned out with a torch (butane or acetylene) These center tubes will be re-used for your new bushings, so clean any rust or rubber left on them with a stationary wire brush wheel.
2: If the center tubes were pressed out, you can then use water pump pliers to grab the rubber grommet and pry it out of the outer steel sleeves. NOTE: Sometimes the rubber is vulcanized (stuck) to the outer sleeve and/or to the center tube., in which case it may have to be burnt or cut out. The remaining bits of rubber stuck in the sleeve can be cleaned out by using a 1” diameter wire wheel attached to a small drill.
3: At this point, consider replacing the ball-joints on the A-arms. (They probably have 15 years of wear, and the grease boots may be split open) You can unbolt them and obtain new Moog ball-joints from a Napa store. These will then be bolted in. (These top ball joints are slightly offset, and you can flip them around 180 degrees to change camber adjustment about 1 degree. Make sure you take this into account when you decide how much camber you are trying to get, so you don’t have to do it over later. They can be unbolted and revolved without removing anything else, however.)
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STEP 3: INSTALLING Poly bushings in A-arms
NOTE: If you intend to use offset bushings on the lower A-arms also, and/or turn the top ball joints around which adds about 1 degree of negative camber, you may not need the full 1/2 degree of negative camber available with these upper bushings, and can then change the installation to add about 1 degree more caster from the upper bushings. The way to do this is to install the FRONT bushing in your upper A-arms as stated below, with the center hole AWAY from the ball-joint, but install the REAR bushings with the center hole rotated 180 degrees CLOSEST to the ball joint. Since the two bushings and ball-joint form a triangle, if the Front bushing is pushed out, and the rear bushing is pushed in, you will push the ball joint rearward instead of outward, which would result in approximately zero change in camber, but close to 1 degree of caster added. It is important to decide what total camber you are trying to arrive at, and set the upper and lower A-Arm bushings and the offset upper ball joints so that you will obtain that goal. (Refer to the alignment section to see out recommendations for camber on the Fiero)
SECOND NOTE: DO NOT press the bushings in by pressing on one end against other end of A-arm, you will BEND the A-arms doing this. Instead, set only the one Bushing sleeve over a surface like a table top with the other end of the A-arm extending under the table top. You can duplicate this on a press by having a strong flat bar held up by blocks at each side to leave room for the other half of the A-arm to hang below.
1. Check the small end of each steel sleeve where it goes through the A-arm to make sure the edge of the hol;e in the A-arm doesn’t stick out past the sleeve. If it does, file or grind off the excess so it doesn’t interfere with the flange on the poly bushing ring when you install them.
NOTE: There are four different sizes of bushing halves in this set, (two of each size) To make sure they all get installed in the correct position, sort them this way. The longest halves and the shortest halves go together on the FRONT sleeve of the A-Arm, with the thick flanged half at the front, and the thin flanged half at the rear of the sleeve. (you will notice that the turned down part on one half is slightly bigger in diameter than the other half, and this bigger diameter half must go in the flanged end of the sleeve) The remaining two pairs of buhings halves go in the rear sleeve of the A-Arms, again with the thick flanged end towards the front, and the thin flanged end towards the rear of the car, and the bigger diameter half goes in the flanged end of the steel sleeve. You can determine which is front and back of the A-Arm by noting that the two Ό” holes that the brake line clamp fastened to are to the REAR half of the A-Arm. MAKE SURE YOU GET THIS RIGHT, BECAUSE IT IS NOT EASY TO GET THEM OUT AND DO IT OVER.
2: Align each bigger diameter half of the Poly bushing with the hole offset AWAY from the ball-joint, or if desired, with the FRONT one AWAY, and REAR one rotated 180 degrees CLOSEST to the ball joint. (the steel sleeves in the A-arms have a flange on one end, and the bushing inserts from that end) Either press or hammer in the bigger diameter end using a flat plate or other suitable piece so you don’t deform the bushing or the A-arm.
3: Press or hammer in the center tubes in each bushing. If it makes you feel better you can put some grease on these, but I have not found it to be necessary.
4: Press the smaller half bushing over the steel tube and into the other end of each steel sleeve, aligning the hole to match the other bushing half, again using a flat plate to keep from damaging the flanged ring. You can insert the long bolt through the other bushing against the flat plate to press or tap the bushing over the steel tube and into the steel sleeve.
5: Use the 1/8” drill bit to drill a hole and a phillips screwdriver to drive a screw into each steel sleeve to hold larger diameter bushing half in place. (put screws on opposite side from offset hole in bushing so they clear center tube)
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STEP 4: RE-INSTALLING A-arms on Car
SPECIAL NOTE: Remember, do NOT push too hard sideways in any direction on the car, you could cause the jack stands to tip and crush one of your friends, and you may need them to help finish.
1: Put one or two (whatever originally came on it ) of the thin washers on the long bolt and insert the long bolt through the FRONT bushing of the A-Arm, so it sticks out about Ό”. Put ONE of the new hardened washers on the end of the bolt with the flat side towards the bushing flange. Next, set the A-arm back into place and tap or push the bolt through just even with the back edge of the tube in the frame. While holding THREE of the new hardened washers in place with the flat sides towards the rear bushing flange, (you can wrap them with a piece of electrical tape to make it easier to hold them all together) tap or push the long bolt all the way through the washers and the rear bushing. Add the other thin original washer(s) on the bolt and put the nut on and tighten to the correct torque.
2: Lift the A-Arm up a ways and use the new bolt and nylon lock nut to fasten the brake line clamp in place in the rear hole. (make sure you are not kinking or stressing brake line)
3: Place floor jack under outer end of lower A-arm and raise it up a ways, until you can set spindle knuckle over ball-joint stud and screw nut on stud (if possible, first rotate stud so cotter pin hole goes sideways to spindle, this makes it easier to insert and fold cotter pin later)
4: Tighten nut to specified torque, then get it to align with cotter pin hole and install and fold cotter pin.
5: repeat steps 1 through 4 for other side of car.
FINISH:
1: Jack up each A-arm slightly and re-install shock absorbers.
2: Install wheels and tighten to proper torque.
3: Reverse your original jacking procedure to lower the car back to ground safely.
4: Roll or drive car back and forth 20-30 feet while pushing down on front of car to settle suspension.
5: Check alignment and adjust toe-in of front wheels. (this will probably be off due to changes in alignment from bushings)
6: Test drive car. Re-check toe-in and re-adjust if necessary.
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Gerald Storvik

http://www.8shark.com/

I didn't read all of the instructions, but thanks for taking the time to write them!

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Mike

the washers in the top a-arm are speciic thicknesses to adjust the caster on the car. If you are trying to acheive more caster, you can change the spacers to position the a-arm farther back. it's a lot of work to adjust these things, and you need NO MORE than one degree of POSITIVE caster for race car handling. For street driving and stock steering effort put them back in the order they came out. If I was to change my caster I would get the larger front sway bar, Geralds' ball-and-socket end link bushings and remove the steering damper...in that order. Oh yeah, that's with lowering springs. But for crying out loud replace ALL the ball joints (you don't want the catastrophic failure of the lower one) and hey, while you're at it the tie rods. The front end will practically new and better than stock!!

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John DuRette
85 SE