Need front suspension guidance

-
D

dodgemahal

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2023
Messages
92
Reaction score
30
Location
Illinois
I'm restoring a 1973 Dart. 225 slant. 80K miles. It's been in storage for many years. I've removed the lower control arms and everything associated with them. I'm certainly going to replace the lower control arm bushings but should I replace everything with new parts while I have it all apart? My Aunt originally owned this car and she was the epitome of the careful driver, meaning ball joints and tie rod ends still look to be good. No broken grease seals. Or should I go ahead splurge on a P-S-T kit and replace all (or is RockAuto stuff okay)?
Now a question about upper control arms. How can I test them to determine if the bushings are okay? Or again, should I just go ahead and replace them? After all, they are 50 years old. Thanks.
 
i would go ahead and replace, that stuff is old and has mileage on it.

do source good quality components. whether rock auto fills your need or PST kind of depends on what's available and how you intend to use the car.

for the uppers i strongly suggest the problem solver offset upper bushings.
 
If it's rubber, I'd replace it. Like you said, it's 50 years old.
Hard parts, I'd be a little more inclined to reuse if they check out pretty good- at 80K if it was diligently maintained and gently driven, they may very well still be in decent shape, and the factory pieces were (are) infinitely better quality than a lot of the replacement parts out there now. I've heard of (and seen some) replacement ball joints/tie rod ends fail after only a couple years, so there's that.
Especially if it's just going to be a weekend cruiser, I'd seriously consider throwing new boots on them, grease them up with a good quality grease, and run 'em. IF they check out.
 
What are your plans for the car?

I mention it because that would have a lot to do with how much I replace in the front end. If the car has been in storage a long time, and the goal is just to get it "safe" to drive on the road and shake things out then you don't necessarily have to replace everything. Obviously most of the rubber stuff should be replaced, but, if things like ball joints and tie rod ends are in good shape without a ton of play then there's nothing wrong with leaving them in there for now and just replacing any boots and bushings that need it.

I totally understand the whole "I've got it all apart I should do it now", and that's probably the most efficient way to do things. But with limited budgets, and cars that see limited miles, well the shortest path to back on the road is usually better. If that ball joint is ok it might hold up for several thousand miles. And how long will that take to happen? Years? That makes budgeting a lot easier.

If you're planning on putting tens of thousands of miles on the car, well, probably replace everything. But if you're just getting it going after a long storage and will probably run into a lot of things that need addressing as you go, well, replace the stuff you have to, leave the rest, and get the old girl back on the road. Maybe you have to come back to some of that stuff later if you do start putting thousands of miles on it, but that's no big deal either. Maybe not the most efficient, but you have to do what you have to do.

The "while I'm at it" disease has put a lot of cars in the garage half torn apart for decades. By all means don't leave anything unsafe on there, but on a limited budget stuff that's in ok shape is just fine, because getting it back on the road will probably add a whole bunch of other stuff on the "must replace now" list.
 
@72bluNblu has given good advice. Depending on your budget and plans for the car, it may be to your advantage to just repair what needs to be repaired now. That being said, if you have the mechanical expertise to do the work yourself and plan to keep the car for a while, you can never go wrong with replacing it all now. While you are at it, you can paint all the suspension parts. I am anal about replacing everything when I dig into something, but you need to do what works best for you. If you decide to replace everything, contact @PST. They are sponsors here, and they will give you a good discount. Plus they will stand behind their parts.
 
Figuring out what your end game is with the car is the biggest step. Other than that, all I will add is this. ....and I say it all the time around here. The factory style suspensions on these cars is good. Perhaps even better than good. These cars have won every form of motorsports there is with the stock style factory suspension systems, so bear that in mind. Don't fall for stupid gimmicks and BS marketing. Do your research. Ask questions. There are no stupid ones, either. We have some really sharp members here always willing to help. Just be careful what's called an "upgrade" because not everything is and upgrading the Mopar suspension is tougher to do than people think. It usually means a complete approach, instead of piece mealing. That's about all I got.
 
Last edited:
It's going to be a gentley driven weekend cruiser. I'll keep it for a few years and pass it on to my Son, who drives like an old granny. BTW, the slant runs very good.

I'll do all the work myself (I'm responding to the above inquiries). I guess I wasn't aware one could obtain new rubber grease seals and add them to old ball joints/tie rod ends. Where is a source for those??

Okay, from reading all these great responses, I'll clean up what I've got, and see how they look, replacing anything questionable. Rubber bushings I'll replace. No one addressed a technique for testing upper control arm bushings---- should I just replace them, then? Are polygraphite(PST) the way to go?

Sorry for all the questions but rustyratrod said I could. Thanks.
 
When Mopar ball joints were new- they were "loose". Now is the time to replace with better. They are screw-in.
 
dodgemahal said:
It's going to be a gentley driven weekend cruiser. I'll keep it for a few years and pass it on to my Son, who drives like an old granny. BTW, the slant runs very good.

I'll do all the work myself (I'm responding to the above inquiries). I guess I wasn't aware one could obtain new rubber grease seals and add them to old ball joints/tie rod ends. Where is a source for those??

Okay, from reading all these great responses, I'll clean up what I've got, and see how they look, replacing anything questionable. Rubber bushings I'll replace. No one addressed a technique for testing upper control arm bushings---- should I just replace them, then? Are polygraphite(PST) the way to go?

Sorry for all the questions but rustyratrod said I could. Thanks.
Click to expand...
no poly uppers!

MOOG K7103 "problem solver" upper control arm bushing. these allow for more caster to be dialed in, which radial tires need and helps all around in driving things and stuffs.

i know that energy suspension sells new grease seals. but, there's the catch that you've got be careful taking everything apart lest you wreck the parts, and then you're just putting new seals on waxed components. careful taking everything apart means special tools.
 
What is a good method for cleaning these parts up well enough to be painted? There's lots of old grease caked on most of it.
 
scraper to get the big chonks off. wire brush to get the scaly bits and in the nooks and crannies. then weapon of choice: purple cleaner, LA's totally awesome, gas, and a whole bunch of elbow grease.
 
Okay, thanks. I was looking for a slick, magic bullet. I just bought a steam cleaner but it's been too cold to try it.
What's LA's awesome gas??
 
www.lastotallyawesome.com

LA's Totally Awesome Products | All Purpose Products

www.lastotallyawesome.com www.lastotallyawesome.com

the all purpose concentrated one at full strength works well.

because i rebuild the full arm, i usually just dunk the whole thing in a 5 gal bucket of whatever degreaser i've got (zep, purple stuff, etc) and then hit it with either the power washer or just the hose nozzle.

but if you're trying not to mess up the joints or whatever, a little more prudence might be in order. once you've got the big ugly stuff off, gas and stiff parts brush might do wonders.

short of a hot tank, there's no easy button.
 
66fyssh said:
Great advice has already been given.

One more thing, after you're done you'll need a front end alignment immediately.
Click to expand...
Yes, great advice for sure, although I've ascertained that some are in the "re-use old parts if they are still good", camp. And other camp says to use new parts. Both are valid. I decided to clean them up, analyze to see if they are still good, and use 'em if they are. Reboot the ones that need that as well. Heck, who knows what will happen once I get into the process! And yeah, an alignment is a no-brainer. Thanks for that.
 
I'm in the re-use if it's still good camp. New parts make me nervous. Like a box of chocolates...you never know what you're going to get!!
 
You're spot on about that 66. Youtubers like "Uncle Tony's Garage" are constantly harping on an epidemic of crappy parts.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top