Upper A-Arm bushing movement

[TexasPettey]

The time for maintenance and upgrades continues ...

I've got a set of Delrin bushings replacements for my stock control arm bushings. On the upper arms in front, both pass and driver, there is a small amount of back & forth movement possible on the a-arm. It is probably 1/16" or so, definately noticable. All the bolts are tight to SPEC. It seems like this is not normal and that the arms should have only rotational movement. I haven't heard back from the manufacturer yet on this question. Is this something that I should be worried about for a track event?

 

[dave6666]

It likely is affecting caster and toe in with movement like that. Tire wear might be an issue. Tire chatter maybe. Probably not going to kill you, but I would resolve. Shimming the shafts?

 

[GTS Dean]

Do the bushings have a shoulder? They may not have been machined quite enough to seat them all the way down.

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

Did you check for this movement in the stock bushings before you took them out? They probably had even more because they are rubber. The delron will have a small amount of initial movement but no where near the amount of the rubber bushings. If they were totally tight you would have so much "stiction" the arm would hardly move up and down like it should. IMHO

 

[dave6666]

On a 185mph car there should be minimal movement of the control arms along the length of the shaft. Personally, I would define 1/16" as past minimal. I just checked my factory '01 manual though, and there does not appear to be a spec other than replace worn parts. Anyone else care to be an expert?

 

[TexasPettey]

Just talked with the manufacturer. He said that the gap shouldn't be there. He is going to send me some spacers to fill the gap. It may be one of those 'It's a Gen1 viper' fit things. The OE rubber bushings were shot, so it's hard to tell if there was always play there or not. I'll recheck the bushing fit in the arm while it's off the car.

Thanks for the suggestions.