 |  | | | As a vehicle's bushings, balljoints and other frontend components wear, wheel alignment becomes increasingly sketchier. Refurbishing these parts offers several advantages: For one, alignment can be returned to spec, so tires will last longer. Ride and handling also improve. Replacing the soft parts in your front end is the automotive equivalent of curing arthritis, comparable to putting new tendons and ligaments between bones.
Original vs. "Performance"
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Factory bushings are typically made of rubber. Aside from being cost-effective, rubber absorbs vibration and noise. The result is a soft, quiet ride—at least when the rubber is new. Over time, road grime and atmospheric conditions cause rubber to crack and decay. The worse the bushings become, the more the vehicle's ride and handling suffer.
The performance upgrade is to use poly bushings instead of rubber. These bushings are typically made of either polyurethane or polygraphite, both of which are harder than rubber. The two main advantages of poly over rubber are longevity (some aftermarket bushing manufacturers offer a 20-year warranty) and tauter handling for flatter cornering and such. The trade-off is that poly doesn't absorb noise and vibration quite as well as rubber, so the compromise is sometimes a stiffer, squeakier ride.
Do It Yourself
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For many motorheads, poly bushings offer that high-tech appeal; the resto crowd tends to prefer traditional rubber. Do-it-yourselfers generally appreciate poly because it can greatly extended the period between frontend rebuilds.
Although bushings are available individually, many aftermarket companies offer complete frontend rebuild kits for many popular vehicles. These kits are assembled with do-it-yourselfers in mind.
A complete frontend rebuild requires above-average skill and a few specialized tools, some of which are listed below. Two competent home mechanics should plan on setting aside a whole weekend for the job, taking Murphy's Law into account. Obviously, all frontend components should be assessed ahead of time so that all the necessary replacement parts are on hand before tearing into the vehicle. Rebuild kits typically include balljoints, tie-rod ends, swaybar bushings, and suspension bushings. Other steering components such as pitman and idler arms might not come in the basic kit.
This is also an opportune time to replace sagging front springs and blown-out shocks, as we did on the coil/A-arm Chevy truck shown here. Also, refer to a shop manual for details not covered in this overview. (Some frontend-kit manufacturers offer how-to videos instead of printed instructions.) Finally, have the car professionally aligned as soon as possible after completing the job.
Helpful Tools
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> Floor jack
> Balljoint remover (pickle fork)
> Pitman arm puller
> Hydraulic press
> Pneumatic chisel
> Coil-spring compressor
> Service manual
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