Control Arm Bushings - How tight should these be?
 

I'm installing new top and bottom control arm bushings and am finding inconsistencies between the how far the bushing nuts screw in and much resistance they have on the controls arm to move up and down.

This is for a '72 C10. The first picture is taken from the manual. Note that the manual shows two specifications for the lower control arm nuts. For my installation I used the lower number, 160 ft. lbs.

The other pictures show how one of the lower control arm nuts is still pretty far out from the edge of the control arm despite being torqued to 160. The other three nuts seem to screw down to the surface of the control arm before reaching their recommended torque.

Is this typical that one nut should stick out farther than the other or can this be corrected?

How freely should the control arms pivot up and down on the shaft when torqued to the recommend setting?

Should I have lubed these before torquing them down? The manual didn't state anything about doing that before installation.

Thanks

Re: Control Arm Bushings - How tight should these be?
 

I'm looking for this information as well. Have you found an answer or a write up on the correct procedure to install these properly? Would really like some peace of mind that I'm doing it correctly.

Re: Control Arm Bushings - How tight should these be?
 

Hello thegrandiman,

It's been so long since I went through that process I have a hard time remembering exactly what I did. I do know I had the same feeling that you stated, "it would be nice to know I'm doing it right".

One thing that does stand out in my mind was centering the shaft between the control arm so that the amount of threads was distributed between both ends. Then I tried to screw each side in as evenly as possible. I believe this applied to both top and bottom shafts. I'm going from memory so I hope this is right.

I still would like to know how freely the arms should move up and down when torqued to the spec.

Re: Control Arm Bushings - How tight should these be?
 

I've done multiple 6x-72 trucks & always threaded them front/back as equally as I could.

I also read the info on the torque spec for the caps & know I never came near that 160-280 ft/lb range. When I tried that, they would either gouge the ends up or lock the dang arm in place.

As I assemble things, I thread the caps in (upper & lower) until they are snug but they still allow the arm to pivot. Once everything is assembled & full weight is on the suspension, I tighten them to the low end of the spec & went about a 1/2 turn more for the lowers.

Re: Control Arm Bushings - How tight should these be?
 

They should be threaded all the way to the arm. As others have said, most important part is making sure the shaft is centered exactly on the arm - if you don't, it is going to jack with your caster settings. I just did my R30 which is the same setup as this. I greased everything before it went back together - shafts, inside and outside of caps. Got it all snug then greased it as I cycled the arms up and down, then torqued the caps.

When tight, the arms will not fall under their own weight, but I could still easily cycle them by hand.