Problem Solver UCA Bushings or Not?

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Aaron65

Aaron65

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One of my summer projects is to replace all the front suspension bushings on my '65 Dart. It has no power steering, stock drums, a 225, and I don't drive it enthusiastically. I just cruise around in it.

With that being said, should I install the UCA bushings for the extra positive caster, or is this probably unnecessary for my style of driving? I'm on the fence on this one, not because of the price or anything, but because I don't want it to steer like a dump truck.

Any input from anyone with any experience here is welcomed...thanks! :)
 
If you run radials you most likely need them. I'd start by checking the caster / camberwhich is simple to do and then eyeball the adjuster cams to see how much "more" there's in there
 
I drove a 65 Barracuda for a couple of years on 15" radials. I DID not have the problems solvers, and it drove fine at speed and around the parking lot. It did have M-body spindles in it and a disc brakes, don't know if that makes things better or worse in regard to caster.

sb
 
Forget the dump truck stuff. Won't apply.
Instead it'll give you increased road feel (especially with power steering) and response.

To me, that sounds like agility and road manners.
 
For about the same money, why not install the offset bushings? I don't think there is a downside to them.
 
I've been leaning toward the offset bushings, but I wanted to make sure that they wouldn't add so much caster that I wouldn't be able to steer it around town. It sounds like it won't be an issue.
 
Go with the offset bushings, it'll handle better. Even with those in a stock arm, you still won't have have as much positive caster as modern cars.
 
Applying logic, they won't last as long with the thinner rubber thickness, never ran them and all my cars handle very well. Just get a good alignment guy and tell him you want the most positive caster as he can get. That being said, I'll be using Firm Feel upper control arms on the 67 Cuda when it gets redone this summer.
 
PuT 'em in. About the most caster you can get with ZERO camber is 4.5 degrees. After you crank some camber in you might be left with 3.5 ish which is very nice. You won't notice any truck-steering. Forget that myth.
The factory caster setting may actually have been negative caster, which is horse-pucky. That's just for granny to take it to market at 28mph, and to be able to park it. Negative caster is good for hammering over speed-bumps, and nothing else.
I have been abusing mine since 1999, so don't worry about premature wear out,lol
 
If you do use them, look for the instructions here w/ photos. Disregard the instructions that come in the package, since that is for correcting accident damage (top mount pushed in). You want to set the rear mount of the UCA as far in as possible and the front mount as far out, while also adjusting camber. Factory camber setting was positive, which means the top of the tires lean out. Most people prefer a little lean in (negative camber), which is set extreme in Indy-Cars. You can find recommended settings here (an article by Rick Ehrenberg). I used the offset bushings, but also wonder about life for the thin rubber on one side.

At the same time, if you change the rubber strut-rod bushings, use the Moog "improved design" (2 piece). The original 1-piece bushings are very hard to press into the metal hole, and they don't last as long. Also, insure you orient the cupped washers correctly (per stamp).
 
Bill has a point
But I just haven't seen it on the street, in my Barracuda.And since I'm outta that line of work,I have no feed-back from years-ago, customers.
Besides, I'd rather replace several sets of worn out Problem-Solvers and have the caster; than the other choice.

Non-the-less, Bill's concern is valid.
 
I put my order into Rock Auto yesterday, and I'm getting the problem solvers and the "improved design" strut rod bushings. The car's out at the storage barn right now, but the last time I set the camber, I put it near zero or maybe just a little bit negative. I didn't even check the caster at that point because there's really a limited range of adjustment in these old cars sometimes, and getting the camber about right seemed like my first priority. We'll see how it works out.
 
Yeah, once I get the old bushings out of there, I'll set the caster more carefully.
 
66fs said:
Applying logic, they won't last as long with the thinner rubber thickness, never ran them and all my cars handle very well. Just get a good alignment guy and tell him you want the most positive caster as he can get. That being said, I'll be using Firm Feel upper control arms on the 67 Cuda when it gets redone this summer.
Click to expand...

I put mine in in 1994. About 60k miles and still good.
 
Marcohotrod said:
why do radials want more caster. and Aaron has manual steering, as I do
Click to expand...

Some info on bias ply vs radial suspension settings Tire Tech

I think that biggest thing with the caster was that there was a trend to make the steering exceptionally light by the factories back then. That and the narrow/long tread patches for the bias ply's didn't need as much positive caster to get a centering effect. The tread patch for radials tends to be wider and shorter, so you need more caster to get a re-centering effect. It's a pretty small difference in the tires though.

As for manual steering, yeah, it will take a little more effort with more positive caster. But like AJ already said, if you dial in a little negative camber you won't get too much more than +3 for caster even with the offset bushings and that's not much even with manual steering. It's all relative. I have +7 degrees of caster on my Duster right now, and I've got 16:1 manual steering and 275/35/18's up front. I'm not a big dude, and I can still steer with that much caster, fast ratio steering and a 10" wide tread patch up front.
 
Marcohotrod said:
why do radials want more caster?
Click to expand...
Interesting article which 72bluNblu linked. But, I didn't read where it directly answered this question. What I have read is that radial tires don't flex backwards as much as old bias-ply did when you drive, which puts the "contact patch" further fwd. Caster is the "shopping cart" effect where you want the contact patch after the pivot axis so the front wheels want to follow the car. Note this is not what causes the steering wheel to re-center (that is from the Steering Angle Inclination, which is designed-in). The pivot axis is a line drawn thru the centers of the upper and lower ball joints. Ideally, you want that line to hit the road in front of the contact patch. To move it forward, you move the upper ball joint as far aft as you can. With the factory design, you can't adjust the lower ball joint position, although an adjustable strut rod will allow you to pull it forward slightly. Of course, as you adjust the upper ball joint fwd-aft, you also change camber (how much the tire leans in or out towards the car), so usually have to compromise. BTW, radial tires do flex more sideways so you can set more neg caster (lean-in) without excessive wear. If you look at your fleet of vehicles, you will find many different methods of alignment adjustment. Few allow full adjustments and most adjustments interact. Some require adding shims. This is all theory to me, since not a road-racer. My only practical experience is the effects of toe-in, which is the most important thing to get correct to avoid extreme tire wear or tendency to wander. You can check that w/ a tape measure.
 
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