Reply to "ride quality"

Bill,

the rubber bushings in your A arms are nearing 35 years of age. Although the exposed rubber is cracked & dry, the rubber that is bonded to the inner spacer & outer sheath may be intact, the bushing may be functionally fine, so long as nothing is loose or binding. However at that age I'm sure the rubber has hardened and the ride could be improved with installation of new parts.

The proper way to remove bushings is with a hydraulic press if you have one, most folks, like RoverLTD wrote, pound & hack them out. Save that job for a day when you need to work off some agression!

The poly bushings most people convert to, are a very poor design mechanically speaking. But there is a big savings in money. The secret to getting them to work is keeping them lubricated well, like Larry mentioned, and not overtightening them. A spacer through the middle that prevents overtightening would be a good addition to the design, if any vendors sell them that way.

If your current bushings are not loose or binding, then you could put up with what you have with the knowledge that it could be a bit more compliant with new parts; you could drop the bucks for new bushings and have a "like-new" ride, the ultimate in cushioned ride & noise isolation; or you could opt for the poly bushings for a ride that is compliant when greased well & not over-tightened, but the poly bushings will not provide the cushioning & noise isolation of the oem type bushings.

My upper control arms all pivot on spherical rod ends (aka heim joints). I do not think they are any more harsh riding than the poly bushings, but they are frictionless. One of my projects someday will be to install heim joints on the lower control arms as well. I like 'em!

your friend on the PIBB, George