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lyonroad
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I am in the middle of installing new control arm bushings on the '55 Ford Fairlane. When I removed the arms from the car both lower bushings had been pressed in from the inside of the arm - rears pressed towards the rear of the car and the fronts pressed towards the front of the car. The parts catalog illustrations show it this way and OldCarMark's manual (he has been a tremendous help to me on this) show it this way as well. My '55 shop manual says "On Thunderbirds, the front bushing is pressed in from the inside of the lower front leg. On all other cars, the front bushing is pressed in from the outside of the leg." OldCarMark says his manual says nothing about the Thunderbirds and other cars being different. Has anybody come across this?
Also I am having some difficulty determining how far to press the new bushings in. The bushings that I purchased have poorly defined shoulders and it is impossible to tell when they have been pressed in the right amount. Is there a distance i could measure as i am sur this would have a bearing on the alignment.
Thanks for your help.
Mark
1956 Mercury M100 1955 Ford Fairlane Club Sedan Delta, British Columbia
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Talkwrench
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rick55
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You are right the 55 manual does say what you have mentioned. Surprisingly the 56 does not make mention of the bushes being different for a thunderbird.
My experience has been that cheap bushings do not have a very big lip on the sleeve to determine the correct depth and it is possible to press them in too far. I would suggest you mark or scribe the bushes where the lip is and make sure you only press them in to that depth. If you press them in too far you won't get the arms onto the car.
Regards
Rick - West Australia Do Y Blocks Downunder run upside down? Gravity Sucks!!
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rick55
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Having read your post again, it seems a bit strange what the manual says. The parts manual shows the bushings for all being pressed in from the inside. This is is the way I have always fitted them to sedans and they have been this way from the factory. If you were to do what the book suggests, you would not probably not be able to get the arm in as the bulbous end of the bush would be against the front crossmember and you would never be able to get the front shim in if it required one. The knurled end of the inner tube of the bushing locks against the front and rear cross members and the big round washers compress the rubber ends to provide the tension. I would fit them the way the parts manual and Macs show they fit.  Regards
Rick - West Australia Do Y Blocks Downunder run upside down? Gravity Sucks!!
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lyonroad
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Rick, Talkwrench said you would help and you did along with OldCarMark. I sent you a pretty long PM in response. Fell free to post your response to my note here as it may help others. Thanks for your help. Mark
Mark
1956 Mercury M100 1955 Ford Fairlane Club Sedan Delta, British Columbia
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Jeff
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You guys are probably already hep to this but I thought I would mention it just in case, having done a recent front suspension rebuild. Be sure not to tighten the busing bolts until the car is setting with the weight back on the front wheels. Jeff
Jeff Petersen

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lyonroad
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Thanks Jeff, its been mentioned a couple of times. I don't have the motor in the car so it will be awhile before I can tighten up the suspension and steering. Its amazing how much tension is applied to the tie rods when the car is sitting on jack stands with the wheels hanging. makes you wonder if its good for it.
Thanks.
Mark
1956 Mercury M100 1955 Ford Fairlane Club Sedan Delta, British Columbia
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aussiebill
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lyonroad (5/10/2012) Thanks Jeff, its been mentioned a couple of times. I don't have the motor in the car so it will be awhile before I can tighten up the suspension and steering. Its amazing how much tension is applied to the tie rods when the car is sitting on jack stands with the wheels hanging. makes you wonder if its good for it. Thanks.All the guys are right with their advice, i would add that once the lower bushes are in and arm is refitted, there usually is gap between front bush and front Xmember, this gap is then reduced bty the addition of the flat washers, about 1/8" thick, this is to ensure arm is not over stretched to tighten.
AussieBill YYYY Forever Y Block YYYY Down Under, Australia
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lyonroad
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Thanks Bill, I'll look for that gap. Mark
Mark
1956 Mercury M100 1955 Ford Fairlane Club Sedan Delta, British Columbia
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oldcarmark
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Something else that Mark(Lyonroad) has noted when doing this bushing replacement-the bushings supplied by Dennis Carpenter(made in China) leave something to be desired as far as quality.I purchased the same kit myself with the mounting bolts and bushings.I had Moog bushings which I purchased prior to and they are MUCH better quality wise than the ones supplied by Carpenter.Its really worthwhile to try and find name brand bushings.

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