Bad Parts Thread

[htchevyii]

I know I'm not the only one to have issuses with crummy parts lately and as much of a p.i.t.a. as it is to rebuild your front end, you don't want to do it over and over. Today I replaced the lower control arms with new complete arms on the '82 Spider. I did this because the bushings looked all screwy and they were also off center, (the ouside washer was rubbing the arm on the rear of each arm). I 'm not sure if this is due to bad parts or an error on my part. While swaping the arms I noticed that the upper balljoints, (2 years and 4,000 miles old) have cracked and ripped boots. The lower ones still look new. This car hasen't been driven hard or raced and lives inside the garage. What really irritates me is that I paid extra because the vender said these were superior. I support our vendors and realise that without them we couldn't keep our cars on the road, but I have a hard time finding time to do a job once and I surely don't want to do it over. I'm sure that suppliers change and it may take awhile before you know if a part is good or not. I'd gladly pay extra for a superior part, especially when safety is involved.
I was involved in VW's for a while and there is a big difference in the quality of parts. One of the vendors actually graded all of it parts, oem, premium, econ, etc. If the only thing avail was inferior quality, they told you. I haven't contacted C.Obert yet about the ball joints, but since it's been 2 years I'm not holding my breath. Hopefully if we share our experiences we can keep others from having the same problems.
I also replaced the inner sway bar bushings with some universal ones. I drilled the brackets to seperate them, ground the poly bushings to size and then peened over the new outer brackets, (avail from Midwest 124 or P.F.).

[mdrburchette]

I think we do need to make it known to the vendors when we find parts that are inferior, since I doubt they will know otherwise and I'm sure many parts are bought from the same source. Like you, I'd much rather pay up front for quality parts vs having to buy the same part several times.

[narfire]

Trey, on Sat. I popped the front wheels off to check the nuts and bolts on the front end. Found a couple not real tight but,like you,noticed some suspect bushings. Put my glasses on and the bushings on the top bolt of the top A arm were knackered. The nuts were tight but the rubber looked shredded. I have about 4000 kms on the car after the complete rebuild and replace everything I could a couple of years ago. The originals looked better after 75,000 miles.
I'm gona have to replace this winter and am wondering if the aftermarket poly bushings stand up better?

[bwilson27]

You did tighten those nuts to spec while the car was on the ground (preferably with someone in the car), right?
Bushings will wear quick if over-tightened.

[htchevyii]

yep, sure did, after rolling the car, bouncing on the bumper and with my wife in the car.

[ga.spyder]

Deja vu,Trey!I dont know if you read my post in the early spring,but I had exactly the same thing happed to me.The second time pulling the front end apart sucked!I think we all are in agreement that we would rather pay a little more for something as crucial as front end parts.That is not the area to try and save a buck.
Craig

[radiopilot]

Trey, I replaced my bushings two years ago and I bought them from IAP, not sure where you got yours, they are still like new, when I installed the arms I used silicone grease all over the bushings prior to installing the pivot arm, if you don't lubricate the pivot arm they will bind with the rubber bushing and over time the rubber will fail, with just a small amount of friction it's enough to make the bushing fail fast... Fiat probably used some sort of grease (not sure what type) and that is why the original parts lasted as long. Using grease that is petroleum based can damage rubber parts over time so hopefully none of that was used.

Nick

[manoa matt]

There has been recent talk on the forums regarding inferior controll arm bushings. Unlike the ball joints, its hard to find a maker or manufacturer mark on the bushings to identify them, so keeping track of what's good and what's bad is even harder.

The rubber that is visible on the bushing is neglegable. The rubber between the two metal sleeves is what counts, and you can't see it. Many perfectly good controll arm bushings are replaced because they "look bad" while the rubber inside is still good. They will all look shreaded within a few months even when installed correctly.

When I tighten suspension components and have alignments done, I do not load the car up with two people and 140 pounds of weight. I simulate my weight in the driver's seat with a few extra pounds in the passenger side. This method simulates actuall loads and alignment on the car while driving.

If you are suspect buy 1 bushing from each vendor (less than $5 each) and sit them in the sun for a month. Otherwise bite the bullet and buy polyurethane bushings.

You won't save any money, but you will save some time and headache buy buying the "A" arms with ball joints and bushings already installed. However the vendors need to make money too, so its likely they load those arms up with the cheapest parts possible to save money.

If you want the best ball joints buy MOOG.

[htchevyii]

My bushings weren't cracked or disintegrated like India rubber, but the ones on the rear of each ctrl arm were pushed in to the point that the washer was rubbing against the control arm. They were also squeeking. They were not like this when they were installed. The rubber on the ball joints just looks rotten. I've used polyurethane on every car I've replaced them on except the Fiats. I was afraid of transferring more more stress to the allready marginal crossmember/framerails. If I have anymore issues I'm using poly.