largecar379

so you can swap them back and forth, as long as you use the complete A-arm.

only the available camber adjustment would really be the issue (if you could not find a set of S4 arms, but had OB arms to go in?)

I'm just guessing at this point-

--Russ

BC

Clean it up, and when you put them back together, the nuts on the end will bend it back to shape. To get the rubber out, you will have to dremel the stuff out it looks like.

BC

And you need a press. HF has them for less than 70 bucks.

Lizard928

I found a socket that was the right size, held it just over open jaws in the vice and with a couple of really SOLID hits, it came right out.
if it doesnt you need a BFH

Mike Frye

Andrew,

How about chemical removal?

I'm thinking some of that powerful paint remover that says you can't use on non-metallic parts? I think the one I used on my wheel project (still unfinished) was called 'aircraft remover' or something like that. It is VERY powerful and started to melt my nitrile gloves and everything else except the wheels themselves.

If the a-arms are bent I personally wouldn't use them again, but this might be an option for future reference or for others.

I have the poly bushing kit too, but Bill Ball scared me by saying that if the old ones aren't really shot, not to try it. So mine have been sitting on the shelf too.

Keep us posted.

AO

Thanks to all who have posted thus far. It's clear I need to get a new Passenger upper A-Arm. But I'm really regretting having taken this on. Please learn from my mistake... if your rubber is in good shape, leave it alone.

dr bob

There's no reason not to tackle this project if your old bushings are tired. If you don't have the right tools though, you could spend a few dollars at a local auto machine shop and have the bushings changed for you once the arms are out. A press, the fixture to support the arm, and the right pilots are the minimum. Most of us will do this job once or maybe twice in a car's lifetime, so unless you service cars regularly it's not worth tooling up for it.

Remember that many cars have been using upper control arms for many years, and bushings have been wearing out and being replaced in them for many-minus-one years now. The methods and tools required are hardly 928-specific. This is surely one of those tasks that you can have done without breaking into the kids college funds, since it's hardly a 928- or Porsche-specific task.

Andrew--

Consider putiing in the early arms so you can crank some decent camber into the front end. It would seem that you could add a strap between the bolt heads s in the engine bay, tack the bolts to it so they wouldn't turn, and then be able to easily add or remove plain old chebby-style shims in the wheelhouse to adjust the effective length of the upper arm. Or just go to Carl's a-arms now and get it over with.

Mike Frye

OK, this is probably obvious to everyone else here, so if it is, please just humor me and be kind.

How can you tell if your a-arm bushings are shot? I mean, mine are 20+ years old, so for me that might be enough reason. But unless they're obviously crumbling is there another way to check them?

AO

I don't think there's any way to check them. I thought there's a good chance this engine will never come out again, so if I want to change them... now's the time. I guess you could say I fell into that WYAIT syndrome!

Scotts87928

You can check the upper A-arm bushings by lifting the car and pulling on the top and pushing on the bottom of the tire at the same time with your hands and a bit of muscle. If you get movement in the A-arms you can see it at the busings. (my left front had about 3 milimeters and the right had none) I just ordered new poly bushings and will pull the A-arms and have a machine shop press out the old and press in the new. Put it all back together and drive it to settle the suspension and get the car aligned. Check wheel bearing play at the same time. You will be able to notice it when your doing this. If the wheel moves slightly with no movement of the a-arms your wheel bearings may be loose or bad.

Scott
'87 Gemballa Red/Black 5 sp
'89 Black/linen Auto

dr bob

Andrew, just for grins, could you get the dimensions of the arm and the shaft? It may be that we can find a commercial non-Porsche bushing that at least fits in the arm, even if we need to have the shafts modified or re-made. As much as the poly bushings are the rage these days, it's mostly because they are relatively easy to make, and you can get different durometers made in the same cavities. I'm leaning more to using the original type steel-sleeved kind, the ones that don't squeek and squeal when the grease gets pushed out in a few weeks. Fine for street applications, for sure, if there's one available for a different car already.