Lower control arm strut rod length

H Fabo!

I'm working on my 65 'Cuda disc brake swap from the '74 Dart parts car this weekend.....I noticed some curve in the lower control arm strut rod & thought about the '74 Dart. Those rods are straight but a tad [~.25"] longer between the bushing stops.

Is this difference is acceptable in the front end geometry? Y/N?

I have the Moog offset bushings if that weighs in any sorts..

Thanks!

If it's anything but straight replace it or try putting it in a vice and see if you can get it straight again.

All the normal load on them is pulling, so it's not critical that they be perfectly straight.
Would be nice if it was straight though.
Put a block under each end and bang that baby straight.

Now if you wanted to do 50mph backwards and slam on the brakes it would be pretty critical.

You have to use the correct bushings with 73 and newer struts, the bushings are thicker than the 72 and older ones.

The front end geometry is not different. The later strut rods are longer because of a difference in the thickness of the bushings, the effective length of the strut rods is the same. So, if you use the '74 strut rods, use '74 strut rod bushings. Not all replacement strut rod bushings are created equal, some of the poly ones are the wrong thickness. All of those are reasons why I use adjustable strut rods on my cars. Even with the correct strut rod bushings the factory strut rods don't always work out to be the right length, they were a "one size fits most" scenario from the beginning.

Any bend in the strut rod will cause the effective length to be shorter. That alone could cause binding of the LCA or strut rod bushings. Further, if the strut rod ends aren't in line, it will cause additional binding as it tries to push the LCA somewhere other than where it should be (further in, further out, etc).

Well, i massaged it into optimum straightness!!

Also, on a side-by-side comparison..with the bushing stop "knurls" placed side by side on each rod, the '74 Dart rod is longer...the knurls are a greater distance apart than the '65 Cuda by about 1/4"

I ordered the bushings for the 65

Thanks everybody!

eestatic said:

Well, i massaged it into optimum straightness!!

Also, on a side-by-side comparison..with the bushing stop "knurls" placed side by side on each rod, the '74 Dart rod is longer...the knurls are a greater distance apart than the '65 Cuda by about 1/4"

I ordered the bushings for the 65

Thanks everybody!

Click to expand...

The suspension geometry is not different. If you use the correct bushings for the given year of the strut rod used, the effective length is the same. The strut rods themselves are not the same, and the bushings can't be mixed between year ranges, but if they're used with the proper bushings the strut rods can be swapped between the model year ranges.

Make sure you get an alignment before you hit the road to make sure everything really is where it needs to be.