Expert: Brad Sears - 7/26/2009

Question
Hi Brad, i am restoring a 1968 Pontiac lemans.  I torqued the control arms to frame bolts to factory specs but noticed that they are very tight, i mean real tight. Can barely move them up and down with your hand.  This doesn't seem right to me.  Won't this distort the rubber inserts inside the bushings as the control
arms move up and down or is the rubber actually supposed to flex back and forth as control arm moves?  I replaced all the bushings, ball joints,etc.  The frame is sitting low on right rear corner and body shop says the frame had a twist in it but its still sitting low.  Is this normal or should i go to another body shop?  Thanks for any help, i am an amatuer struggling with this project but have learned a lot and hope to get this thing back together.

Answer
The rubber bushings that you are using are not supposed to move. The rubber twisting allows the arm to swing up and down. When installing them the arm should be in the position that it will be in when the car is sitting level on the tires and springs so that the bushing is unloaded. As the car hits a bump or a dip then the arm twists on the bushing and returns to neutral as the car levels out. So, loosen the bolts so that the metal will turn, put the arm in its neutral position and torque the bolts.
Brad