Date: Sun, 6 Jan 2013 19:48:11 -0800
Reply-To: neil n <musomuso@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: neil n <musomuso@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Urgency of Upper Control Arm Bushing replacement?
In-Reply-To: <F9AE16E5-41A8-48D7-9772-44B5618579DF@peterkrogh.com>
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I've only done this job twice, so I'm not an expert but....
If the "klunk" you head is a bushing, yes; allowing the part(s) to
klunk could damage a hole in the arm. Sound could also be a ball
joint.
Assuming you're talking about a 2WD (I know little of the Syncro), the
upper control arm long bolt shouldn't be hard to remove.
If you have a MIG, tacking the bushings is not hard. What I do is
practice on the old bushing to get a feel then start the gun on arm
then just for a short bit on the bushing body.
Here's some images of oversized welds to an old bushing:
https://picasaweb.google.com/musomuso/FrontEndWork#5791615115658853458
Though not "definitive", it should give a rough idea of how much weld,
heat, time with gun on part it takes to affect the rubber. Like that
amount of weld is pretty significant and overkill.
Taking the assembled arms to a pro weldor is easy to do. Maybe take a
picture of the OEM tack so he knows what to do? If he knows what he's
doing, it should take very little time. Some say you can just leave
the part un-tacked but I wouldn't. And though I can't vouch for this
method, a mechanic told me that he used the strongest Locktite between
bushing and arm. He claimed applying heat to parts would allow them to
be taken apart. I have no idea if that is accurate and true though so
YMMV.
Neil.
On Sun, Jan 6, 2013 at 6:38 PM, Peter Krogh <peter@peterkrogh.com> wrote:
> But #2 is also an important question. The Upper Control Arm (A Arm) has loose bushings that are thunking over bumps. An examination shows pretty deteriorated bushings on the A as well as upper ball joints that have cracked rubber boots/bushings.
>
> I looked online and saw one narrative of control arm removal that indicated removal of the bolt to several hours of frustrtating knuckle-banging. It also appears that I need to be able to weld the new bushing to the arm. (Which means take the arm to shop, I assume). All this makes the repair less attractive to do right away.
>
> Here's the link I saw:
> http://www.vanagonauts.com/Upper-Control-Arm-Bushing-R&R223.htm
>
> I'm wondering what the real ramifications are of driving with a thunky bushing. Am I in danger of putting excessive wear on an expensive part (like the A arm)if I put the repair off a few months? Any safety concerns? I assume loose steering is at least somewhat of an issue.
>
> Also, any recommendations on needed parts for the repair? Does the long bolt generally need replacement? I assume the washers need replacement. I also assume it makes sense to replace the ball joint while the thing is apart. I'm assuming that I'll just buy the parts from Van Cafe and try to do this myself, with the help of my mechanic to press in and weld the bushing.
>
--
Neil n
65 kb image Myford Ready For Assembly http://tinyurl.com/64sx4rp
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