Front and rear bushings

[HKS]

Re: Front and rear bushings

David,

Maybe it is temperature, time and mileage. I just had my car serviced yesterday (20,700 miles) and asked them to take a good look at the bushings. All checked out fine. Maybe the colder climate makes a difference. My Tbird was purchased August 2002. I also had them set the tire pressure to 30 psi. They had it set to 35psi. 35 psi and rough roads may be another big factor.

HKS

I started a thread about this last year. I replaced the rears as they were totally shot, but I had no complaint as my car has 82K on it. Yours proves that keeping the mileage low doesn't make a difference, it's time that deteriorated these things, not miles.

[RoboPat]

Re: Front and rear bushings

Are you sure it's the bushing, these bushings are covered with a thin
rubber boot to keep water & dirt out, just like ones on ball joints. The
rear boots on mine were cracked & flanking but after prying with a large
bar the control arms were solid no slope or movement. It's possible it
could only be the boots.

[phil]

Re: Front and rear bushings

my car has 16,000 miles on it and I just had to replace the front bushings. Glad i had the extended warranty because the cost at the Ford dealer was $850.

[HKS]

Re: Front and rear bushings

my car has 16,000 miles on it and I just had to replace the front bushings. Glad i had the extended warranty because the cost at the Ford dealer was $850.

A 2005 model year car and only 16,000 miles leads me to think that Ford used inferior materials in later year Tbirds. What tire pressure do you have in your tires?

HKS

[Rondor]

Re: Front and rear bushings

Iin reading this thread over, it appears to me there is no pattern. All cars have rubber bushings in the suspension system, or some form of composite bushings. I haven't replaced one since the 50's other than a chasis rebuild. My guess is no answer fits all here, but all need to inspect regularly. I am sure mine were checked but not mentioned because no issues found.

[maskedman]

Re: Front and rear bushings

I just replaced the rear stabilizer links, toe rods, right rear upper control arm, & right front outer tie rod end because all the boots were shot.

From the looks of it I'll be replacing some control arms next winter because the boots are in rough shape.

I did it myself and it still cost $$.

Check out this link to my repair report.

http://www.thunderbirdnest.com/forum...7&d=1362671769

Regards

Larry

[2bad4u]

Re: Front and rear bushings

Maybe, the bushings are reluctants to a permanent heat exposure coming from the area where you live. They might degrate easily after a long run. Maybe, I do not konw.

[DuffyF56]

Re: Front and rear bushings

I would really like to see all these bushings that purportedly have "failed". I have a hard time believing it. While I agree that rubber bushings will crack at the surfaces exposed to air and in some cases may even flake off, the load bearing portion of the bushing is internal. Most modern bushings are "canned" and the rubber is bonded to the can. They often have an inner support tube that are likewise bonded to the rubber where the pivot point bolt passes through. You have a whole lot of rubber supporting the loads even if the surface is looking ratty. Unless you are seeing or experiencing abnormal movement of the control arms being supported by these pivot point bushings there is nothing wrong with them. Now if you have an ESP and can get someone to replace them for you under warranty , have at it. But unless this abnormal movement issue exists and you are paying for it yourself.....save your money.

[cewhite3]

Re: Front and rear bushings

I would really like to see all these bushings that purportedly have "failed". I have a hard time believing it. While I agree that rubber bushings will crack at the surfaces exposed to air and in some cases may even flake off, the load bearing portion of the bushing is internal. Most modern bushings are "canned" and the rubber is bonded to the can. They often have an inner support tube that are likewise bonded to the rubber where the pivot point bolt passes through. You have a whole lot of rubber supporting the loads even if the surface is looking ratty. Unless you are seeing or experiencing abnormal movement of the control arms being supported by these pivot point bushings there is nothing wrong with them. Now if you have an ESP and can get someone to replace them for you under warranty , have at it. But unless this abnormal movement issue exists and you are paying for it yourself.....save your money.

I have a lot of experience with deteriorated rubber boots and gaiters (the rubber bits that project ball joints and the like) on farm tractors. They rarely last more than a couple of years. My largest tractor has had to have the tie rods ends replaced once in the last 20 years. The rubber boots on the new ones lasted about 1 year. The tie rod ends are still soild after five. They are are in a far harsher enviroment and subject to far higher loads than anything the typical car will see.

The rubber boots on my Father's 1999 Ranger ball joints are shot as well. My mechanic said the joints are soild and the best thing to do was to just drive until they showed unaccepatable wear (assuming he will inspect them at every oil change). The cost to replace just the boots would be about the same as replacing the entire joint (if they were avialable).

I plant to check the joints for slop and replace them when it is excessive.

Ed

[DuffyF56]

Re: Front and rear bushings

cewhite3,

I was addressing bushings used as pivot points on the suspension. I agree fully that boots and gaiters will deteriorate over time and require replacement of the base component if the parts are not individually serviceable.

[Peterfurlan]

Re: Front and rear bushings

Just wondering in all these posts how many actual bad bushings were found opposed to a split boot. I showed my neighbor who is a retired GM mechanic Larry's
photo of the bad boot. I asked him what he thought his reply was no big deal just
a split boot. I'm thinking Duffy and Ed are on the money and many folks getting all
alarmed over nothing. So far no one has responded to Duffy's or Ed's posts in re-
gards to this problem. Would like to see any pro or con views to their posts from
other qualified sources.

[Gecko]

Re: Front and rear bushings

My front bushings are definetely shot. I hear the creaky noises coming from the front when I go over a speed bump. Also, I when I was washing my car I could clearly see that they are worn / broken. My car was on in the driveway on a steep incline, so maybe that helped visibility

How much do the parts cost for the front? Part numbers?
Are they easy to change?

[cewhite3]

Re: Front and rear bushings

http://www.autocarepro.com/Article/1...shing_bad.aspx

Ed

[DuffyF56]

Re: Front and rear bushings

On this version of the T-Bird, the control arm bushings are not serviceable. You have to replace the entire upper or lower control arm. From Rockauto.com. Upper Control arms are around $100 each for Motorcraft parts. No listing for the ball joints which aren't part of the Motorcraft control arm. No lower control arms listed. Mevotech Lower Control arms are $158.00 each. The labor is going to be the killer and you will need new Camber adjustment cam bolts at $25.00 per the Ford Shop Manual as well as a wheel alignment.

With that said squeaking from the front end does not necessarily mean it is the control arm bushings that are causing the noise. There are multiple parts that can cause that including sway bar bushings, coil spring isolators for another. Take your car to a mechanic for a proper diagnosis before throwing parts at it.

[cewhite3]

Re: Front and rear bushings

On this version of the T-Bird, the control arm bushings are not serviceable. You have to replace the entire upper or lower control arm. From Rockauto.com. Upper Control arms are around $100 each for Motorcraft parts. No listing for the ball joints which aren't part of the Motorcraft control arm. No lower control arms listed. Mevotech Lower Control arms are $158.00 each. The labor is going to be the killer and you will need new Camber adjustment cam bolts at $25.00 per the Ford Shop Manual as well as a wheel alignment.

With that said squeaking from the front end does not necessarily mean it is the control arm bushings that are causing the noise. There are multiple parts that can cause that including sway bar bushings, coil spring isolators for another. Take your car to a mechanic for a proper diagnosis before throwing parts at it.

I think you are wrong when you say the Motorcraft Control Arms don't include ball joints. For the uppers see the pictures at:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-me...e=UTF8&index=2

For 2003-2005 Thunderbirds:

The upper left is Ford P/N 6W4Z3085AA = Motorcraft P/N MCSOE-39
The upper right is Ford P/N 6W4Z3084AA = Motorcraft P/N MCSOE-38
The lower left is Ford P/N 6W6Z3079AA = Motorcraft P/N MCSOE-149
The lower right is Ford P/N 6W6Z3078AA = Motorcraft P/N MCSOE-117

For some reason the Motorcraft Buyer's Guide doesn't list the lower control arms for the 2003-2005 Thunderbird, but I verified the Ford P/Ns for the lower control arms and then verified that they interchange to the Motorcraft numbers shown above.

I am reasonably certain the upper control arms also work for the 2002. The lower control arms may not. I think the 2002 used a different size ball joint stud.

Ed