One year ago, a friend of mine helped me install new (CAP AUTO) tubular control arms that I purchased through Mancinni for my 74 Duster. Ever since the installation, they have been squeaking terribly loud!!! So loud, that I barely have the courage to drive the car in and out of my neighborhood! Along with this issue, there is no give with my front suspention. When I push down on either front fender, the car won't budge. If it does budge, it stays right in place. No bounce at all! I might as well not even have shocks! When I contacted CAP AUTO about this problem they said that my washers are too big so they chuckled at me and sent out a set of washers/spacers. I put those on and it changed nothing!!! :mrgreen: OK, I'm frustrated! Any help from someone else who has installed tubular control arms on a duster would be greatly appriciated. Thanks in advance.
Upper Tubular Control Arm Problems
- Thread starter Valveguy
- Start date
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pauly v.100
Well-Known Member
i can't recall ever hearing of problems like you describe but i've heard plenty about CAP products and none of it was good. you can try removing the arms and grease them up with poly grease or a good marine grade grease. if that does'nt help i'd deep six the CAP arms and get some good ones from firm feel or RMS.
pauly v.100
Well-Known Member
...oh yeah, there shouldn't be any washers in there, just the peices for the concentric adjusters.
Strongly suggest you check out the thread from abodyjoe titled "Mancini tube upper control arm failure...."
70Duster440
Well-Known Member
After reading this thread about failure of CAP tubular uppers I'd be a little leary of using them at all:
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=61733&highlight=cap+mancini
The washers are not unusual with these types of arms. They're used as spacers between the bushing ends and stock chassis.
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=61733&highlight=cap+mancini
The washers are not unusual with these types of arms. They're used as spacers between the bushing ends and stock chassis.
Many thanks for the responces so far. I am sorry to say that we've used every type of lubricant out there and it doesn't change anything.
***Still, if anyone out there has ever put a ser of these on a Duster, demon, dart, dart sport or valiant, please let me know if you are having any problems like the ones I've described.
I guess I'm going to have to take them off (lot's of money down the toilet) but I am not sure if I want to change the Firm Feel set. I might have to go back to OEM! *** Feel free to try and sway me one way or another.
Thanks guys!!!
Tom
***Still, if anyone out there has ever put a ser of these on a Duster, demon, dart, dart sport or valiant, please let me know if you are having any problems like the ones I've described.
I guess I'm going to have to take them off (lot's of money down the toilet) but I am not sure if I want to change the Firm Feel set. I might have to go back to OEM! *** Feel free to try and sway me one way or another.
Thanks guys!!!
Tom
lhearold
Well-Known Member
I have the Firmfeel UCAs on my Dart and they are great. No squeak, no binding of the suspension and on top of all that I can get almost 7 degrees of positive caster. They ain't cheap but when you look at the CAP stuff they are around the same price.
Larry
Larry
abodyjoe
Well-Known Member
sounds like somethings binding in there which just isn't right. sure everything is together right? i'm running the RMS tube uppers for 4 years now and have never had a squeek out of them.
72challorange
Well-Known Member
From the first time you posted this.
Just a WAG here, did you tighten the eccentric bolts all the way in the air or on the ground?
Tom
Just a WAG here, did you tighten the eccentric bolts all the way in the air or on the ground?
Tom
Sorry for the delayed responce but I had to get an answer from the guy who installed them. Here is what he said: "yes it was in the air, But the suspension was preloaded as if i was adjusting camber/caster on an alignment machine"
I hope that answers your question. Thank you so much for the idea.
Tom
wazoo64
Well-Known Member
I ran RMS uppers and Cap kframe.....The uppers from RMS worked great and never broke the Cap KFrame however did not do so well... There seems to be a common denominator here.
72challorange
Well-Known Member
If it was preloaded it would be on the tires full weight on the bushings. Back everything off and see if your suspension comes back.
Then do a proper alignment. Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I think your suspension is in a state of bind from being tightened without the weight of the car on it's tires.
Unless I read, "yes it was in the air" wrong. Not sure how he could accomplish both unless He's telling you it was on a drive on lift(alignment lift) on the tires. Doesn't sound right to me. If you tighten the bushings without enough weight on them when you release the car downwards the bushings will twist instead of rotating for lack of better terms.
Tom
Ok, I'll definetely look in to this. Thank you for the info!!!
I am pulling the CAP AUTO/MANCINI Upper Control arms Off! The old ones will go back on after I clean them up. Cap Auto jerked me around for a full year and their only advice made things worse! My recamendation to all who read this, unless you want to waist a huge amount of money and time on these control arms and are willing to put up with unbelievable squeeking noise, then go ahead and buy them. They are not for me!!! Tom
I dont have any experience with tubular arms and dont intend to. I still have to wonder what was the cure. Are tubular arms marked left and right spacific ? If so were they correctly installed ?
Silly questions I suppose. Inquiring minds wanna know
Silly questions I suppose. Inquiring minds wanna know
70Duster440
Well-Known Member
FWIW, my tubular uppers from Reilly Motorsports are a little squeaky. I have verified it with my front suspension currently partially disassembled. The bushings in the polished rod ends are poly (or awfully hard rubber). I'm going to take them off and lube 'em up with Energy Suspension grease. I believe it's the rotational friction between the bushings and the spacer washers causing the noise. (And there is a right and left arm but it would be pretty whacky if installed wrong).
If you disconnect either the upper or lower ball joint and move the arm up and down you'll be able to easily tell whether there is binding and where the squeak is coming from.
Still, if Mancini will take the CAP arms back, then by all means do it.
If you disconnect either the upper or lower ball joint and move the arm up and down you'll be able to easily tell whether there is binding and where the squeak is coming from.
Still, if Mancini will take the CAP arms back, then by all means do it.
wazoo64
Well-Known Member
Sounds like a commom theme for this Cap company. Consider yourself lucky. They took $2,000 from me on a KFrame and didn't even flinch when everything fell apart. If you bought them from Mancini then you should be able to get your money back. Unfortunatley I went directly to Ray and paid a hefty price while almost losing my car/life in the process. Good Luck.
I dont have any experience with tubular arms and dont intend to. I still have to wonder what was the cure. Are tubular arms marked left and right spacific ? If so were they correctly installed ?
Silly questions I suppose. Inquiring minds wanna know
To Redfish, Yes, there is a right and a left side. My mechanic answered this very same question to me a year ago when they were first were put on. He definetely did it right. This guy is very good and knows what he's doing. Obviously I don't since it was my idea to put them on. I'm sure there are other people out there using othere brands of the tubular control arms and they probably work fine. We tried every type of lubricant and grease known to man and it did not change anything. Like you, I suspected that something wasn't put on right from the beginning but I took pictures of the installed control arms and emailed them to CAP auto. They verified that they were on corectly but that I wasn't using the correct type of spacers. I had MY MECHANIC talk personaly to Ray and they had agreed with how the spacers should be put on. They were then put on that way and, again, it didn't change anything. Thanks for the idea. Tom
To 70duster440,
Yes, that is exactly what we did to verify where the sqeaking was coming from. If you can live with the squeaking, you are a better man than I. It was really bugging me! Also, I don't know if this happens to you but the warmer it gets outside, the worse the squeaking got! I hope you have good luck on the grease, it didn't help us. Actually, I had two separate professional mechanics add all kinds of lube, both without success. Thanks! Tom
70Duster440
Well-Known Member
Yes - I've noticed the hotter the ambient temp, the noiser they are. Good to know what your experience has been - thanks!
Actually, if my tubular upper control arms had "only squeaked" that would have been bad enough but these control arms froze up the front. Just like the old saying, "it rides like a lumber wagon" and it did! I had the OEM ones put back on, and now the car drives (comparatively speaking) like heaven! Thanks!
Chuckbizkits
Well-Known Member
Man, it would be great to hear what CAP/Ray/10secondart has to say about this.
Dittos! I have called him, left my phone number AND emailed him, ALL without any response. To his defence, when I talked to him in the past, he seemed like a very sincere-likeable guy. The only thing is, I had a years worth of excuses from him and honestly, I just want to be done with it. I mailed back the tubulars to Mancini today.
FYI to all: I sure am enjoying this website, especially the recent photos from Carlisle, WOW! WAIT, no, those pictures are better than wow, they are "SHAMWOW!!!
Thanks!
dennis
Member
89
dennis
Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: clintontownship,michigan
Posts: 37 guys ... he did not launch the car was just driving it when they broke.they were installedright after xmas 08 . i know the car and the owner he drive it respectfuly the looks fast but he can drive all day long with out any problems...except for the broken CAPupper control arms.
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/...ht=cap+mancini
dennis
Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: clintontownship,michigan
Posts: 37 guys ... he did not launch the car was just driving it when they broke.they were installedright after xmas 08 . i know the car and the owner he drive it respectfuly the looks fast but he can drive all day long with out any problems...except for the broken CAPupper control arms.
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/...ht=cap+mancini
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