Post by mastiff54 on Oct 31, 2010 7:21:46 GMT -6
Whenever I hit a small bump or turned up a driveway my car had a fairly loud 'click' or 'knock'. The dealer told me it was bad sub-frame bushings. During the replacement of my front struts I found the sub-frame bushings were not the real cause of the noise. It was the forward bushings on the lower control arms. I talked to other Aurora owners I know and found the dealers were telling them it was sub-frame bushings, which may have had some wear, but the problem was more typically the lower control arm bushings and usually only the forward bushing. The dealers make more money that way and often get the owner to trade in for a new sale and then make the easy fix and resell the car for more money.
The bushings are available from a variety of sources. Before you try to change the rearward bushing make sure it is bad. Most of the time they are not bad. I say this because they are very difficult to remove and replace and if you do not need to - DON'T. AC Delco sells the bushings individually, everyone else sells them in sets.
To remove the control arms:
They are relatively easy to replace. Pop the knuckle from the ball joint, CAREFULLY remove the 2 bolts that hold the lower control arm to the frame. The front one needs a Big Torx driver, losen the nut or you will strip out the torx head. It is a B%^$&$ but can be done. We found that removing the inner fender liner gave us a lot more room to work. As you can see this is also the optimum time to change your serpantine belt and the ball joints. There is a great thread on changing the serpantine belt in another thread I found once but can not find again. Again Moog has replacement ball joints. You can see where I have drilled mine out and am getting ready to repaint the control arm and reinstall the bushing and ball joint. Replacing the rear bushing requires special tools. Everyone I looked at in the junk yards were good, only the front ones semm to go bad.
imagehost.auroraclubna.com/?v=bushing.jpg
imagehost.auroraclubna.com/?v=controlarm.jpg
imagehost.auroraclubna.com/?v=frame.jpg
To remove the forward bushing -
Place the control arm in a press or use a ball joint press. Only try to press out the rubber and inner sleeve. Do not worry if some of the rubber remains, just get the biggest section out. This will leave the can. From the side without the flange use an inside cutter for splitting exhaust pipes and split the can. Use care to not cut the control arm. The can will easily fall out.
To Install the forward bushing:
The flat on the bushing flange faces the reward bushing.
Start it in the control arm and carefully press it in place. I used a ball joint press using the large tube as the driver when I did mine.
To remove the reward bushing - again you will have to press out the rubber in a similar manner as the forward bushing, it does not come out easily, put the press ram on the bushing sleeve (the metal tube the bolt goes through. Once you get the sleeve out you can finish cutting out the rest of the rubber insulator.
Putting in the reward bushing requires a 'funnel tube'. I machined mine out of a piece of pipe on a lathe. The inside is tapered with the large diameter being large enough to easily accept the bushing and the small end .032 smaller than the control arm. Polish it well, make it very smooth. Lube everything well with WD-40 and press on the rubber with another heavy wall tube that is just smaller than the small end of the funnel you just made (about .062 less than the control arm. You will need help holding everything in alignment. If I had to make the tool again, I would use a heavier piece of tubing that could have a counter-bore to locate it over the tube on the control arm.
This link has the part numbers. I got mine from Advance Auto Parts.
www.car-stuff.com/mmparts/oldsmobile-aurora/control_arm_bushing.html
AC Delco Front Suspension, Inner, Frontward Arm Control Arm Bushing - Rubber 1995-1996 Oldsmobile Aurora AC DELCO CONTROL ARM BUSHING, SOLD INDIVIDUALLY -- This control arm bushing features a silent-bloc metal sleeve/rubber design for exceptional durability, alignment, and ride stability.
Location: Front Suspension, Inner, Frontward Arm
Material: Rubber
1995-1996 Oldsmobile Aurora 45G9177 $23.64
AC Delco Front Suspension, Inner, Rearward Arm Control Arm Bushing - Rubber 1995-1996 Oldsmobile Aurora AC DELCO CONTROL ARM BUSHING, SOLD INDIVIDUALLY -- This control arm bushing features a silent-bloc metal sleeve/rubber design for exceptional durability, alignment, and ride stability.
Location: Front Suspension, Inner, Rearward Arm
Material: Rubber
1995-1996 Oldsmobile Aurora 45G9163 $9.07
Mevotech Front Suspension, Lower Control Arm Bushing - Rubber 1995-1996 Oldsmobile Aurora MEVOTECH CONTROL ARM BUSHINGS, SET OF 2 -- High quality, direct fit OE replacement control arm bushings.
Location: Front Suspension, Lower
Material: Rubber
Quantity sold: Enough For 1 Control Arm FITS (ENGINE/CHASSIS) SKU PRICE QTY
1995-1996 Oldsmobile Aurora MK6575 $20.16
Moog Front Suspension, Inner Control Arm Bushing - Rubber 1995-1996 Oldsmobile Aurora MOOG CONTROL ARM BUSHINGS, SET OF 2 -- This is a set of high quality, direct fit OE replacement control arm bushings.
Location: Front Suspension, Inner
Material: Rubber
1995-1996 Oldsmobile Aurora K6575 $30.85
The bushings are available from a variety of sources. Before you try to change the rearward bushing make sure it is bad. Most of the time they are not bad. I say this because they are very difficult to remove and replace and if you do not need to - DON'T. AC Delco sells the bushings individually, everyone else sells them in sets.
To remove the control arms:
They are relatively easy to replace. Pop the knuckle from the ball joint, CAREFULLY remove the 2 bolts that hold the lower control arm to the frame. The front one needs a Big Torx driver, losen the nut or you will strip out the torx head. It is a B%^$&$ but can be done. We found that removing the inner fender liner gave us a lot more room to work. As you can see this is also the optimum time to change your serpantine belt and the ball joints. There is a great thread on changing the serpantine belt in another thread I found once but can not find again. Again Moog has replacement ball joints. You can see where I have drilled mine out and am getting ready to repaint the control arm and reinstall the bushing and ball joint. Replacing the rear bushing requires special tools. Everyone I looked at in the junk yards were good, only the front ones semm to go bad.
imagehost.auroraclubna.com/?v=bushing.jpg
imagehost.auroraclubna.com/?v=controlarm.jpg
imagehost.auroraclubna.com/?v=frame.jpg
To remove the forward bushing -
Place the control arm in a press or use a ball joint press. Only try to press out the rubber and inner sleeve. Do not worry if some of the rubber remains, just get the biggest section out. This will leave the can. From the side without the flange use an inside cutter for splitting exhaust pipes and split the can. Use care to not cut the control arm. The can will easily fall out.
To Install the forward bushing:
The flat on the bushing flange faces the reward bushing.
Start it in the control arm and carefully press it in place. I used a ball joint press using the large tube as the driver when I did mine.
To remove the reward bushing - again you will have to press out the rubber in a similar manner as the forward bushing, it does not come out easily, put the press ram on the bushing sleeve (the metal tube the bolt goes through. Once you get the sleeve out you can finish cutting out the rest of the rubber insulator.
Putting in the reward bushing requires a 'funnel tube'. I machined mine out of a piece of pipe on a lathe. The inside is tapered with the large diameter being large enough to easily accept the bushing and the small end .032 smaller than the control arm. Polish it well, make it very smooth. Lube everything well with WD-40 and press on the rubber with another heavy wall tube that is just smaller than the small end of the funnel you just made (about .062 less than the control arm. You will need help holding everything in alignment. If I had to make the tool again, I would use a heavier piece of tubing that could have a counter-bore to locate it over the tube on the control arm.
This link has the part numbers. I got mine from Advance Auto Parts.
www.car-stuff.com/mmparts/oldsmobile-aurora/control_arm_bushing.html
AC Delco Front Suspension, Inner, Frontward Arm Control Arm Bushing - Rubber 1995-1996 Oldsmobile Aurora AC DELCO CONTROL ARM BUSHING, SOLD INDIVIDUALLY -- This control arm bushing features a silent-bloc metal sleeve/rubber design for exceptional durability, alignment, and ride stability.
Location: Front Suspension, Inner, Frontward Arm
Material: Rubber
1995-1996 Oldsmobile Aurora 45G9177 $23.64
AC Delco Front Suspension, Inner, Rearward Arm Control Arm Bushing - Rubber 1995-1996 Oldsmobile Aurora AC DELCO CONTROL ARM BUSHING, SOLD INDIVIDUALLY -- This control arm bushing features a silent-bloc metal sleeve/rubber design for exceptional durability, alignment, and ride stability.
Location: Front Suspension, Inner, Rearward Arm
Material: Rubber
1995-1996 Oldsmobile Aurora 45G9163 $9.07
Mevotech Front Suspension, Lower Control Arm Bushing - Rubber 1995-1996 Oldsmobile Aurora MEVOTECH CONTROL ARM BUSHINGS, SET OF 2 -- High quality, direct fit OE replacement control arm bushings.
Location: Front Suspension, Lower
Material: Rubber
Quantity sold: Enough For 1 Control Arm FITS (ENGINE/CHASSIS) SKU PRICE QTY
1995-1996 Oldsmobile Aurora MK6575 $20.16
Moog Front Suspension, Inner Control Arm Bushing - Rubber 1995-1996 Oldsmobile Aurora MOOG CONTROL ARM BUSHINGS, SET OF 2 -- This is a set of high quality, direct fit OE replacement control arm bushings.
Location: Front Suspension, Inner
Material: Rubber
1995-1996 Oldsmobile Aurora K6575 $30.85