Question first, then I'll provide the background:

I recently did work on my front end and one of the things was new bushings on the upper a-arms. I was not able to pound the "cans" back in the a-arm all the way. Now I can hear a popping sound sometimes from the front. Is this the reason or perhaps is it something else such as the ball-jounts not being torqued enough?

I recently installed new shocks in all four corners, and while I had the front taken apart, I replaced the upper a-arm bushings. What I did was pound out the "cans" in the upper a-arm so I could heat them up so the old bushings would slide out. At any rate, I was not able to pound any of the "cans" back in all the way. Therefore the lip of the "cans" are not flush with the a-arm and there is about 1/8 of an inch gap.

I pounded the crap out of the "cans" trying to get them back in, so I can't imagine they're moving and causing this noise. And if they are moving, I would assume they would eventually work their way back in due to the bolts pulling it together. Either that or perhaps rust in place but not move.

Another thought was maybe I didn't torque the ball-joint castle nut tight enough. I put it on pretty darn tight so I can't imagine that would be the cause.

Lastly, I loosened the left swaybar endlink as part of a failed attempt to remove the lower a-arms. I couldn't get the endlink apart, so I tightened it back up as tight as I could.

Any thoghts would be appreciated. My biggest question is what downsides there are to 1.) not having the "cans" in all the way" or 2.) not putting enough torque on the upper ball joint castle nut.

Thanks!

 

can the upper a arms move that 1/8th of an inch? try getting a long prybar out and prying around to see if youve got any slop where it shouldnt be i.e. sway bar endlink,ball joints, and even the shock being loose could cause that sound.re tighten everything and go rent a torque wrench from autozone for free and the torque specs are 80 lbs for the castle nut on the lower ball joint,40 for the upper.i would just put a set of poly end links on it with new bolts on it. for $15 it wouldnt hurt.torque those down to 17 lbs,but dont even bother trying to get an accurate torque reading from the old bolts if the threads arnt clean.
off topic... you can meet me at rt 66 in joliet with that t-bird and ill give you 7 and the hit!

 

Thanks for the response!

Yeah, I ordered new swaybar endlinks that I'm going to put on. Just like you said, for $15 it can't hurt. I am definitely going to re-torque everything. Thanks for the specs. If all that checks out, I'm going after the tie rod ends next.

I don't drive my t-bird anymore, it sits at my parent's house. :-( Its nothing compared to a camaro, thats for sure.

 

I marked all four "cans" on each upper a-arm. The rear driver's side "can" is rotating inside the a-arm. WTF should I do now? Purchase a new can? Get new a-arms? Somehow weld it in place? Is this dangerous?

In the image you can kind of see where I marked it with disc brake quiet - it's a very bright red and easy to see. The top image approximately shows where the mark was this Sunday and where it is today (Wednesday). It must move quite a bit because I couldn't see the mark on the "can" yesterday.


Shot of the mark on the a-arm:


Shot of the mark on the 'can':

 

Ttt

 

Its been 8 years since I did the ES poly bushing on the front end, but I don't remember removing any "cans" at the top. Just burned the old bushings out, recovered the center ferrule from the melted mass, put it in the ES bushings, lubed them up and pushed them back in the cans.

Only one that required removal of the can was the lower vertical bushing, because the ES design is differnet and doesn't need the can.

 

Ahh. I read somewhere that heating up suspension components isn't a good idea because the heat can change the properties of the metal. Regardless, I removed the cans and now the one is moving in place. I don't think it will pose any safety hazards as the bolt is still holding everything together - correct?

I'm also thinking now that I need to get new upper a-arms because this part isn't supposed to move, and now it is. Think it is a wise idea to replace them?

Thanks Injuneer - you're a great resource and thanks for the detailed shock install web page!