There is lots of missing rubber on the right rear one, but it's a good time to replace both bushings on each arm. Are these bushings hard to remove, and install? I'm installing new OEM bushings on the steel arms. Do I need to remove the arms completely, or I can get away with them hanging (supported) on the ball joints?

Another question: on the right arm, the front bushing is placed asymmetrically, so that at the rear of the bushing you can't even see the rubber of the bushing (i.e. the arm almost touches the cross member). Is it just friction that prevents the control arm from sliding back and forth along the pivot bolts?
Obviously it affects the caster alignment, but this can be compensated by moving the rear of the arm sideways at the caster block. I wonder if this asymmetry that I noticed (only in the right arm) was meant intentionally when doing the alignment, or there were other reasons?

P.s. the design of (steel) early 944 is not the same as late 944.

 

Stan, I had this done to my 83 and both arms had to come off because there's no way in heck you can get those bushings in without a press, and a major one at that!

What you can do, is remove the control arms yourself and take them together with the bushings to a workshop so they can press them in for you. Good luck.

 

I agree with Luis, in a MAJOR way.
I had to cut the old ones off (couldn't burn through the rubber...)
Using windex might help if you have a small shop press.
Good luck.

 

OK. I'll keep the option of taking the arms to a shop. I'll probably attempt to do it myself first. After all, 944 is my daily driver, and I hate taking 2hrs each way trip to work by train and busses (takes usually 45min by car).
I'll try making a "custom press" by means of connecting some metal bars with long bolts and nuts. I used a similar technique to remove some bearings and to separate the steering shaft from the steering rack.

How about opinions on the arm-mounting-asymmetry I mentioned above?

 

I've seen some people use a threaded rod and some washers to "press" the bushing in. I have a small press and just pressed them in. They went in pretty tight, so I'm not sure about the threaded rod trick.

 

I changed the front control arm to cross member bushings on an '84, and the most difficult part was getting the old bushings out.

I used a drill to cut into the rubber between the control arm and the inner metal sleeve, and then I pulled the bushing out in pieces.

To get the new bushing in I cleaned the hole in the control arm and lubed the new bushing with soapy water. Then I used a 'C' clamp to press the bushing in place.

 

Sounds like it's worth a try!

 

I replace both bushings in the right arm over the weekend. As you guys said it wasn't easy, but I managed to do it at home. The front bushing was easy to remove, maybe because it was incompletely in (!). I pressed the new one with a 4" wise and a socket. The rear was harder, I had to grind a slit in the old one to remove it. It was very hard to push the new one in, I ended up using a hammer...

I did the home-style alignment too. A hint for future DIY'ers: if you trust the old value of the caster, mark a point on the fender behind the wheel, and adjust the caster until the distance from that point to the wheel center is the same as before.

I already feel the difference: it used to feel loose when the car was riding along ruts of the highway. Now it's much more stable.

I also changed the front camber a bit (from +0.3 deg to -0.5deg). -0.5deg is max I can do within local autoX rules. I wasn't sure if I would feel the difference, but I do: the car feels more neutral (less understeering) in deep turns. Can't wait for the next autoX.

 

Well I would have told you the easy way.


That is buy new front contol arms. They are quite cheap and it really not worth the time to remove the rear bushing. The front will come out with a long bolt or threaded rod and you kind of squeeze it out like vice. Not hard once you fab something to press it. The rear suck however.

 

well, I thought about it. Although buying a new arm is a very good alternative, it's not that cheap and fast when you consider that you still need to mount these bushings and the ball joint.

 

Good for you, Stan! I've replaced the manual steering rack and tie rod assemblies on the 83 before, but those bushings were serious business. I see you found a way to DIY.

 

I got my last set of arms from Paragon for $25 each. That included the front rubber, but not the rear. Front rubber are easy to remove and replace with alternate materials. Nice thing is that gets you fresh arms. I have seen at least 4 orginal arms with cracks in them in the area around the forward bushing. For $50 it is worth it to me to not worry about them failing.