73 Dart Front suspension rebuild

[SputnikOne]

Hey all, the time has finally rolled around for me to tackle the front suspension and alignment on my 73 Swinger.

I just recently received the last tool I believe I need for the job (1-59/64th Ball joint socket) and I have the replacement components already on hand, id just like some tips and suggestions before I go about it, as the best place for me to do this would be the nearby car shop that has an hourly rate and id rather not get the car stuck in a state where I cant put it back together there.

I'm currently tracking removing the front wheels and probably the brake assemblies, the ball joints, and the control arm bushings for replacement, I have more parts if I have the time but those are my biggest concerns from my understanding.

The shop has one of those universal socket removal/installation C-clamp kits, I intend to put the car on a frame lift for the work.

Is there a specific order I should go about it in? Every video I find seems to remove things in a different order.

 

[SputnikOne]

Here's the replacement parts kit I received.

 

[remytherat]

Is there a specific order I should go about it in? Every video I find seems to remove things in a different order.

Doesn't really matter on some level. A few things to keep in mind though:
1. Ball joints are easier to pop when they're still on the car and not flopping around on the bench
2. Make sure to replace the strut rod bushings. Once the lower control arms are back in you can't access them anymore. Two piece kind is the best.
3. Lca bushing replacement is not that straightforward but tons of info out there.
4. If you haven't done this particular rebuild before, you will run into unforeseen slowdowns. It will take longer than you think it will. Part quality can also cause problems

 

[Kern Dog]

Here's the replacement parts kit I received.

View attachment 1716473367

View attachment 1716473368

View attachment 1716473369

That kit looks very complete. What brand is that and what is the price, please?
The PST kits usually only come with outer tie rod ends, not inners, no idler arm and no tie rod sleeves.

 

[SputnikOne]

1973-1976 Dodge Dart New Front End Suspension Master Rebuild Kit

Pretty sure it was this one, it all looks very nice.

 

[Kendog 170]

I would also tackle the lower control arm bushings. Not easy for a pay by hour garage. Chances are you're going to be awhile. JMO Best of luck.

 

[mobileparts]

That “ kit “ has a few issues , other than being 100 % Chineseum……

You had better check the Upper and Lower Control Arm Bushings for correctness….

The Strut Rod Bushings are very incorrect for a 1973….

There is NO Pitman Arm in there….

There are NO Torsion Bar Boots in there…..

( You did not illustrate the egg roll — I suppose you ate it before the picture was taken .. )

 

[Ozyduster]

I pulled my whole front end apart on a lift in less than an hour but lucky as no seized bolts. You will need a torsion bar remover tool as well.
As stated make sure you do the lower control arm bushes, these are tricky as need to weld a washer into the outer to press out. Or sit there belting away with cold chisel for an hour.
As stated you will also need a pitman arm and most likely torsion bar boots.

 

[1973dust]

My only advice would be to find a non time-sensitive location to do that work, if at all possible, especially if you are a first-timer. Suspension work can hit you with many unforseen problems that suck up time. Granted, I am just a hobbyist that is slow at pretty much everything I do. I would be very nervous about tackling that project in a location that I was paying by the hour to use. I spent at least a couple of weeks doing mine in my spare time and painting things before reassembly. Best of luck with however you proceed.

 

[340sFastback]

A lot of ppl reporting upper and lower control arm bushings not fitting correctly.

Some times the wire clips that hold torsion bars get stuck and get mangled pulling them out. They are cheap so might want to have new ones on hand

Use a lot of grease on both ends of torsion bars on assembly to make it come apart easier later.

Loosen upper ball joint while control arm is on car. PB Blaster and heat can help. Be careful screwing new upper ball joints into control arm its easy to cross thread and strip the threads out.

 

[Newbomb Turk]

I just picked up a 68 K member for a 73 Duster.

I’m correcting a past error of not getting rid of the spool mount K member and factory strut rods.

I can feel the engine moving around on the mounts and it sucks.

I’ll never do another front end with spool mounts and factory strut rods.

 

[72bluNblu]

Hey all, the time has finally rolled around for me to tackle the front suspension and alignment on my 73 Swinger.

I just recently received the last tool I believe I need for the job (1-59/64th Ball joint socket) and I have the replacement components already on hand, id just like some tips and suggestions before I go about it, as the best place for me to do this would be the nearby car shop that has an hourly rate and id rather not get the car stuck in a state where I cant put it back together there.

I'm currently tracking removing the front wheels and probably the brake assemblies, the ball joints, and the control arm bushings for replacement, I have more parts if I have the time but those are my biggest concerns from my understanding.

The shop has one of those universal socket removal/installation C-clamp kits, I intend to put the car on a frame lift for the work.

Is there a specific order I should go about it in? Every video I find seems to remove things in a different order.

Do you have anywhere to work on the car at home?

There’s really no reason to car has to be on a lift for a suspension rebuild. All of that work can be done off of jack-stands, pulling the torsion bars is really the only PITA from jack stands. All the rebuild work can occur off the car, and the LCA bushings are really the only thing you need special equipment/press for. But you can just take those wherever you need to go for the equipment.

As already pointed out, there have been significant manufacturing issues with some of the control arm bushings as of late. And the 73+ strut rod bushings are not currently being reproduced in rubber by anyone I’m aware of. Poly bushings are available there but their fit is also not very good (for that particular use).

I just picked up a 68 K member for a 73 Duster.

I’m correcting a past error of not getting rid of the spool mount K member and factory strut rods.

I can feel the engine moving around on the mounts and it sucks.

I’ll never do another front end with spool mounts and factory strut rods.

The factory strut rod part I understand, adjustable strut rods are a significant improvement.

Not sure I get the spool mount part, the spools are better at controlling engine movement than the biscuit mounts. At least with rubber or poly bushings. I suppose if you go to solid mounts that would be a different story.

The sway bar mounting alone is worth it to go to the 73+ K’s, all the 67-72 bars hang lower and reduce ground clearance. And tire clearance depending on the wheel and tire set up planned. Application specific of course, but 73+ is a substantial improvement for a pro-touring style build.

 

[1973dust]

I assume you measured your upper ball joints to know which socket to purchase? I know SBP and LBP are different and I think there may be one other size. Definitely not something you would want to find incorrect once you're into it. edit: I just noticed that your kit is for disc/drum so it is LBP and that socket is the same I used on my 73 Duster.

 

[SputnikOne]

I don't have a garage, or at least a personal one, I'd have to do it outside and that Hawaii sun really hits different, though the issue is more just available of tools like torches, air tools like impacts, breaker bars, and all the other things I simply don't have. My toolbox right now is limited to simple wrenches and sockets and electrical tools. I'll be getting a garage but not until after my next deployment, so it begs the question if patience is the key here, and I should just wait on doing this kind of work.

 

[1973dust]

I don't have a garage, or at least a personal one, I'd have to do it outside and that Hawaii sun really hits different, though the issue is more just available of tools like torches, air tools like impacts, breaker bars, and all the other things I simply don't have. My toolbox right now is limited to simple wrenches and sockets and electrical tools. I'll be getting a garage but not until after my next deployment, so it begs the question if patience is the key here, and I should just wait on doing this kind of work

FWIW, If your car is still driving decently now and you will have a garage in the near future, I would definitely wait until then to tackle the front-end. It's very nice to have the luxury of time and, as others have said, there will likely be unforseen problems to deal with. For example, on my car, the cam bolts were froze inside the upper control arm bushing sleeves and had to be cut out rather than just unbolted. I assume this is a hobby car and you don't have to rely on it being drivable for transportation?

 

[SputnikOne]

Nah, my work is a 3 minute walk from where I live, I try not to drive the car a lot, especially on any roads over 25, it has a pull in the steering but it's manageable still, though I'd rather not wear down the suspension any more than it already is.

 

[72bluNblu]

The problem with the front suspension work is that how difficult it can be varies dramatically!

If everything is well cared for, basic hand tools and a good breaker bar and torque wrench can handle it. But if you encounter a stuck bolt, torsion bar etc you may need a whole bunch of tools that you don’t have.

And then there’s parts that don’t fit. Member @RealWing made this up, it has dimensions of a bunch of different LCA bushings.

There is some variation in the pivot pin diameters too, so this may not be a catch all but it certainly demonstrates that just because you bought a kit doesn’t mean any of it will fit. And if your car is torn apart and at a charge by the hour deal, you don’t want to be waiting on new parts to come in.

For special tools, I do all my UCA bushings with this and a DeWalt 20v impact. No press needed!

 

[SputnikOne]

Yup, that all makes a lot of sense, I'll hold off for now, thank you all for the warnings. Life would be simpler if parts just worked as intended.

 

[Newbomb Turk]

Do you have anywhere to work on the car at home?

There’s really no reason to car has to be on a lift for a suspension rebuild. All of that work can be done off of jack-stands, pulling the torsion bars is really the only PITA from jack stands. All the rebuild work can occur off the car, and the LCA bushings are really the only thing you need special equipment/press for. But you can just take those wherever you need to go for the equipment.

As already pointed out, there have been significant manufacturing issues with some of the control arm bushings as of late. And the 73+ strut rod bushings are not currently being reproduced in rubber by anyone I’m aware of. Poly bushings are available there but their fit is also not very good (for that particular use).


The factory strut rod part I understand, adjustable strut rods are a significant improvement.

Not sure I get the spool mount part, the spools are better at controlling engine movement than the biscuit mounts. At least with rubber or poly bushings. I suppose if you go to solid mounts that would be a different story.

The sway bar mounting alone is worth it to go to the 73+ K’s, all the 67-72 bars hang lower and reduce ground clearance. And tire clearance depending on the wheel and tire set up planned. Application specific of course, but 73+ is a substantial improvement for a pro-touring style build.

I should have mentioned I use steel biscuits.

Even with poly bushings on the spool mounts in my 73 Dart Sport I could feel the engine moving around. Especially backing the car up.

I could also feel it in the gear changes. I noticed a big difference in 1980 after a rubber biscuit failed and let the fan eat my shroud.

I went to solid mounts. I started backing the car out of my high school shop and I could feel the engine wasn’t moving around.

My brother had a 69 Dart 4 speed that broke a rubber mount. He was going to Hawaii for two months and asked to to fix it for him.

So rather than ask him I just put solid mounts in it. The car was at my parent’s house when he picked it up.

He backed out of the driveway and stopped in the street and looked at me funny. Then he took off shifted once, put it in reverse and backed up and pulled back into the driveway.

I thought he was going to be pissed because he jumped out and opened the hood.

He said are those solid mounts. I said yes and he said I could tell the car felt different backing out of the driveway. It’s more solid shifting it.

It’s that noticeable.

 

[72bluNblu]

I should have mentioned I use steel biscuits.

Even with poly bushings on the spool mounts in my 73 Dart Sport I could feel the engine moving around. Especially backing the car up.

I could also feel it in the gear changes. I noticed a big difference in 1980 after a rubber biscuit failed and let the fan eat my shroud.

I went to solid mounts. I started backing the car out of my high school shop and I could feel the engine wasn’t moving around.

My brother had a 69 Dart 4 speed that broke a rubber mount. He was going to Hawaii for two months and asked to to fix it for him.

So rather than ask him I just put solid mounts in it. The car was at my parent’s house when he picked it up.

He backed out of the driveway and stopped in the street and looked at me funny. Then he took off shifted once, put it in reverse and backed up and pulled back into the driveway.

I thought he was going to be pissed because he jumped out and opened the hood.

He said are those solid mounts. I said yes and he said I could tell the car felt different backing out of the driveway. It’s more solid shifting it.

It’s that noticeable.

Yeah with solid mounts that makes sense. Although I would imagine you could use solid mounts in the spools as well, you’d just need something that looked like an aluminum leaf spring bushing on a larger scale.

I’ve had a rubber biscuit mount fail and watched the engine try and climb out of the engine compartment, so that I understand.

With the spools though I’ve only run poly bushings, and on my Duster they were so tight getting into the spools they actually held the engine up before the bolts would go through. I never had any issues with the 833 and chassis/driveline movement but by the time that was in there I also had subframe connectors, torque boxes and J bars installed. And with the internal shifting on the T56 and a hydraulic clutch I don’t know that it would effect shifting even if the engine did move on the mounts, since nothing that effects the shifting or clutch has solid linkage between the chassis and transmission.

Not doubting, with my application I’d rather have the updated sway bar design and deal with the mounts if it ever became an issue.

 

[Newbomb Turk]

Yeah with solid mounts that makes sense. Although I would imagine you could use solid mounts in the spools as well, you’d just need something that looked like an aluminum leaf spring bushing on a larger scale.

I’ve had a rubber biscuit mount fail and watched the engine try and climb out of the engine compartment, so that I understand.

With the spools though I’ve only run poly bushings, and on my Duster they were so tight getting into the spools they actually held the engine up before the bolts would go through. I never had any issues with the 833 and chassis/driveline movement but by the time that was in there I also had subframe connectors, torque boxes and J bars installed. And with the internal shifting on the T56 and a hydraulic clutch I don’t know that it would effect shifting even if the engine did move on the mounts, since nothing that effects the shifting or clutch has solid linkage between the chassis and transmission.

Not doubting, with my application I’d rather have the updated sway bar design and deal with the mounts if it ever became an issue.

I looked into getting some solid bushings made up for the spool mounts. It was expensive even if I started out with 200 parts.

The two big killers were making two small sleeves to go around the bushing where it sits in the engine mount and convincing people they could use them and not get vibrated out of the car.

I would have taken a shot at it if I could have made it cost effective at 100 parts but I couldn’t.

 

[340sFastback]

Yup, that all makes a lot of sense, I'll hold off for now, thank you all for the warnings. Life would be simpler if parts just worked as intended.

Yeah the risk of an unexpected issue arising I think is pretty high.

 

[SputnikOne]

So looking at the bushings in the kit the packaging says K-791 on it, there's no brand listed but according to the table y'all posted earlier they won't work at all? Assuming they're the moog ones of course since the part number

 

[72bluNblu]

So looking at the bushings in the kit the packaging says K-791 on it, there's no brand listed but according to the table y'all posted earlier they won't work at all? Assuming they're the moog ones of course since the part number

You’d have to measure them. There’s been multiple instances of the Moog bushings not being the right size recently but it’s pretty difficult to know when your parts were produced. And even with multiple instances you don’t know that all of the bushings they’re making now are wrong, they could have had a bad run etc.

 

[Kern Dog]

Here is a Moog part I bought last year.

Yeah...look at this crap ! Offset lower control arm bushing ?

I returned it and got a "Precision" one.