Photo Essay - Replacing Front Control Arm Bushes

[PhilMeUp]

Photo Essay - Replacing Front Control Arm Bushes

Helps stop brake shudder

This was actually done in September last year (2011). I had a very good Brembo brake system lined up to go on the car, but was holding back until I understood enough about everything else that is involved in brakes (eg suspension bushes).

People are regularly complaining on Falcon forums about how they've recently had their front discs machined but still get brake shudder a short while later. For a lot of these cases, the problem will be worn control arm bushes. If these bushes are worn, then the control arms move around too much and brake shudder can result.

I didn't want to fit the exotic Brembo setup and then have brake shudder problems straight away. I especially didn't want to ruin some very valuable disc rotors. I wanted the brakes to work properly and not spend weeks or months getting upset about stupid dramas that could have been prevented with some better planning and maintenance.

After a bunch of research, I lined up new bushes, a spare set of control arms and a mechanic who knew heaps about doing this particular job. Ripper.

Getting a spare set of control arms (ie one upper and one lower for each side, for a total of four arms) meant that I could get the new bushes fitted by a place that had a suitable hydraulic press. This was useful, as the workshop that did this didn't have that resource, and having the replacement arms ready to go made the task a lot simpler.

Pulling the thing apart. The brake caliper and disc have been removed (caliper sitting on top of the control arm for now).

This is the infamous villain - a lower control arm. I picked up a spare set of arms from a workshop, bought new bushes from Ford and had them fitted at a suspension workshop. This meant that replacing the bushes became a job of just replacing the control arms, instead of pulling them out, stuffing around for a couple of hours fitting new bushes and then putting the whole lot back together.

This is the view of the top of an upper control arm.

This is the view of the bottom of an upper control arm. The bit on the left is a ball joint, which is actually a rather amusing name when you stop and think about it.

This is the guilty item. If you've got ongoing brake shudder problems then chances are that this bush is stuffed. This is the front bush on the lower control arm. The standard Ford part is filled with liquid to help give a more comfortable ride. If you are happy to sacrifice comfort then you can pursue other options from Super Pro and Nolathane.

Another angle of the front lower control arm bush.

This photo shows how the whole lot works. The upper and lower control arms move up and down, which is controlled by the shock absorber and spring. In this photo the bolts for the upper control arm have been sprayed with CRC to assist with removal. You can see the big front bush on the right side of the photo. You'll hopefully now understand that when you brake, that bush is taking on the weight of the car.

The upper control arm, ready for removal.

These are the brackets that the upper control arm bolts to. When you have a camber kit fitted to your Falcon, this is where it goes. A camber kit goes between these mounts and the car body. You can also see where the top of the front shock absorber goes.

Carport floor, in the midst of battle.

Here we see the replacement arm being fitted. You can see the two bushes that go between the arm and the car (ie the front bush and the rear bush). The bit in the foreground with the threads is the lower ball joint and just behind that is the bush that the shock absorber attaches to. You can also see where white grease is used on the bushes and bolts.

Another angle of the lower control arm in place. You can see the front and rear bushes in the background. In the foreground is the lower ball joint, and you can see where the shock absorber mounts to (with the white grease).

This is the lower control arm being fitted on the passenger side. Same setup as the previous photos (ie driver's side). Note the hammer on the ground, which is useful if you're the mechanic and need to tell the idiot owner to piss off with the camera.

Nice closeup shot on the front bush on the lower control arm. When you jump on the brakes that baby gets to do a heap of work.

Re-attaching the front shock absorber to the lower control arm.

Getting it all back together again. Lower control arm is back in place and shock absorber has been re-attached.

Same as the previous photo, but on the passenger side of the car.

Everything has been tightened up to the required specifications with a torque wrench. To make sure that everything is done up properly, use a jack and some blocks of wood to put enough pressure on the control arm and shock absorber to duplicate the load that it carries when it's on the ground.

Re-fit the brake rotor and caliper, put the wheel back on, do the wheel nuts up to the correct torque (125Nm) and you're ready to go. I actually bought a Snap-On torque wrench off eBay in America mainly for this task, as I had previously been doing the wheel nuts up way too tight. On this night, Brembo front brakes were also fitted, which is another story…

Costs: this is definitely not a cheap exercise, which also explains why so few Falcon owners do it. Being a taxi, I get a special trade price on parts, but the bushes still cost a bundle. Recommended retail price for the bushes and ball joints is around $800. I paid $110 at Pedders Suspension in Osborne Park to get the bushes fitted to the spare control arms that I bought. Then there's the labour cost. Ouch.

If you have a BA or BF Falcon and are having troubles with brake shudder then this is what you're going to have to look into. Look around Ford forums and you'll regularly come across feedback from people that can't understand why their newly machined discs are warped after only a few thousand kilometres.

It's not just the brakes that cause brake shudder; there are other factors such as wheel bearing hubs and these suspension bushes. The mechanic confirmed that the front bushes were completely stuffed. The car had brake shudder for a while, and I had tried different calipers and disc rotors. I'd pretty much figured out that machining discs wasn't going to solve the problem, so held back on fitting the Brembo stuff until I had all this stuff figured out.

The guy that did this job is a qualified mechanic, and did it in his workshop. This wasn't a freebie and it didn't involve a carton of beer. This guy is a professional mechanic and is priced accordingly. If you're in Perth and want the same job done on your BA or BF Falcon then send me a private message (with your phone number) and I'll pass it on to him straight away.

[Dillz]

Good write up.