I am going to be rebuilding the rear end in my car and am going to do the rear suspension while it's apart. Is there a kit that includes all of the bushings that i need for this? Where can i find it? How much? Also, if I have to buy everything seperate, exactly what bushings and stuff do I need. I know that someone can think of it off the top of their head. Thanks guys.

 

control arm and panhard bar bushings is about all there is plus shocks and springs, maybe isolaters. you might want to go to aftermarket torque arm control arms, panhard rod which should come with bushings already installed. depends on how much or how far into it you want to go. look at jegs or summit catalogs and you'll get an idea what you need and prices. seems sort of strange you're rebuilding the rear end and don't know what parts you need for the suspension end of it.

 

well, here's what's happening. i am rebuilding the differential coming up here pretty soon. I have done that before, so that's not a worry. What I am looking for, is a definite list of all the bushings, mainly because I don't want to miss anything. Keep in mind, that all I am doing is replacing the shocks and bushings.

Panhard rod - Total of 2 bushings
Shocks - Should come with them
Control Arms - Total of 4, 2 each side
Sway bar end links - will come with all the bushings when I buy them
Trans mount - I figure I'll do it while I'm down there
Torque Arm - I'll do that one while I'm there too.
Bump stops - 1 for each side

I think that's about it for the stuff I'll need in the rear. Springs aren't sagging any, I still have a good ride height. If I missed anything, please let me know.

What I also need to know is if someone sells a "kit" with all this stuff, minus the shocks themselves of course, or if I have to buy them all individually. I have tried to find them all together, but have thus far not been able to do so. Hope that clears up my question a little.

Oh, and BTW, are the lower control arms spring loaded, or is it just the obvious gravity that pulls them toward the ground? For some reason I think I remember hearing that they were springy, but I don't see why they would have to be.

 

Depending upon what part of the country the car is from, there is a good chance you may end up destroying the LCAs and panhard bar getting them out. I had to cut mine out with a Sawzall. The bolts seized to the bushing's inner sleeve. Not even my air hammer and a torch would make them budge. Try to remove the parts before buying the bushings; that way if you end up buying replacement parts that come with bushings you'll be set.

 

Definately buy new bolts, same thing that happened to Brett happened to me on my front LCA's. If you do a search on this suspension forum for something like "part number lca bolt", you'll find my message with GM part numbers for front bolts, rear bolts, and the nuts.

 

The Moog sway bar endlink package is very good and very cheap. I got mine at NAPA. It had poly bushings, bigger bolts and sleeve, plus all the nuts and washers. It was like $15.

Try saturating the bushings and bolts/nuts with a good penetrating oil every day for a week before even attempting to take the stuff apart.

I use this stuff called Sili-Kroil that I got from my father-in-law. I think it came from Eastwood. It makes WD-40 look like water, and PB-Blaster look like WD-40. I've used it to remove brake bleeders, brake lines, and suspension stuff, and it all came apart without needed to resort to the blue wrench. I've never seen anything like it.

 

Since I'm on a faster computer, I did the search: <a href="https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/showthread.php?s=&threadid=184591" target="newwin">Cheated on Front & Rear LCA bolts/nuts!! GM Part #s inside!! Don't get ripped off!</a> Yep, the dealer charged me an arm and a leg, but I needed 'em- I forgot about them the day before the swap.

Problem with the bushing bolts, the way they rust to the inner sleeve of the bushing, is that there's absolutely no way to get any penetrant INTO the bushing! The nuts will come off no problem, the bolt will spin no problem, but the bolt won't come out of the bushing. Luckily in the back there might be some room to swing a sledge, or fit a grinder in there, but in the front, I went thru hell. None of my "cool tools" would fit!! I finally had to use my die grinder with a small stone, and basically polished the head and threads of each bolt away until the control arms could be shoved down and out.

I've seen that Kroil advertised by Eastwood, thanks for the info that it's actually good! I've actually been disappointed by PB Blaster... people here said it was great, but it never seemed to work any better than Liquid Wrench for me.

 

The PB was great when I compared it to WD-40 and CRC, but nothing when compared to the Sili-Kroil.

The Sili-Kroil will actually creep into the joint as it eats the rust away. If you do it over a week like I said it usually works. I had an aluminum brake drum fused to an axel from dissimilar metal corrosion. I sprayed Sili-Kroil around the axel flange and let it sit overnight. The next day one smack with a deadblow mallet freed it. If I'd tried to just beat it I probably would have ruined the drum. I could see where the fluid had seeped into the joint and eaten away at the corrosion. It was pretty amazing.

I've had bushings rust to bolts like that too. The inner sleeve and the bolt are usually hardened, so they're a bitch to cut through. The problem with trying to beat them out is that they are surrounded by rubber, which absorbs most of the force of your hammer blows. A lot of the time if you burn the rubber out with a torch (wear a respirator!) you can beat them out when you're done.