Upper cont arm bushing

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Upper cont arm bushing

Postby crawfw » Wed Dec 30, 2015 11:18 am

can anyone verify this will work for adjusting out the neg camber caused by the s10 spindle swap?
ACDelco #- 45G8046

thanks in advance
Bill
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Re: Upper cont arm bushing

Postby cjbiagi » Wed Dec 30, 2015 11:32 am

Yes, those can be used to correct negative camber or gain some additional positive caster depending upon how they are installed in the control arm. These can be installed to get your rough adjustment and then the lower control arm cams can be fine tuned for final settings.
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Re: Upper cont arm bushing

Postby crawfw » Wed Dec 30, 2015 2:36 pm

Thanks Clyde. I'm going to see if maybe those are already installed(prob not) and take it to an alignment shop. If not or I can't see them, I will just buy new ones and take them to the alignment shop and have them fix me up. Lol
Dumb question. I need 4 , right? They are kinda pricey unless you know where to get them cheaper.
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Re: Upper cont arm bushing

Postby cjbiagi » Wed Dec 30, 2015 3:03 pm

Ideally you do need 4 to get the most adjustment especially for a camber issue where you are basically trying to just move the upper balljoint outboard as far as possible.
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Re: Upper cont arm bushing

Postby chevyart » Wed Dec 30, 2015 11:50 pm

clyde from prior talks about theses offset bushings, between you and don(megavega) i thought we only used 2 of these bushings, on the fronts only of the upper control arms. maybe you could clarify this, as i dont understsand front end geometry at all. after you answer that question i have another for you which you never gave me a specific instruction on installing of these bushings, or i didnt understand your answer to my question. as always, i appreciate your input on all these questions i ask. thanks art
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Re: Upper cont arm bushing

Postby cjbiagi » Thu Dec 31, 2015 12:41 am

For the maximum amount of adjustment you would use 4 offset bushings, 2 in each upper arm. You can use only 1 in each arm but it limits the amount of camber correction. It's difficult to explain if you really have no concept of how the front end alignment works. However, all you are really doing is moving the position of the upper balljoint around. If you move it outboard by rotating the offset bushing then you will make the camber more positive by pushing the top of the tire outward. If you move the balljoint to the rear then you will be adding positive caster. You can put the 2 offset bushings in various positions when you press them into the arms and it really depends upon what ailment you are trying to fix on your car. The offset bushings should be considered "rough adjustments" to get you in the ballpark where you need to be and then the final alignment would be performed using the eccentric cams on the lower control arms. Most GM cars use shims that are added or subtracted on the upper control arm mount, these shims move the position of the upper balljoint to adjust the alignment. The offset bushings are accomplishing the same thing except once you press them in that's where they stay. If you are just trying to correct a excessive negative camber issue then you would install both bushings in a manner to push the arm and balljoint outboard, this is probably what most people are trying to correct.
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Re: Upper cont arm bushing

Postby v8vega383 » Thu Dec 31, 2015 3:59 am

So to get this correct, if the upper half of my front tire is pointing inward and the lower half of the tire is outward, i would use these offset bushings to move the upper half of the tire more outward to try and "level" the upper and lower right?
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Re: Upper cont arm bushing

Postby cjbiagi » Thu Dec 31, 2015 7:36 am

If you don't have enough adjustment in the lower control arm cams then yes, these bushings would help. By pushing the upper balljoint outward you are changing the angle of the spindle which in turn changes the angle of the wheel/tire.
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Re: Upper cont arm bushing

Postby chevyart » Sat Jan 02, 2016 10:49 am

cj maybe you can clarify my understanding of these offset bushings. they can be put into the control arms with the offset at 6 and 9 oclock facing towards the engine. i would think this would move ball joint out for more positive camber. if you installed them in the 6 and 9 ocloch position in the control arm facing to outside of the car, then this would put top of tire in for negative camber. nobody has ever explained the positioning of these offsets, and i think you put them facing in one direction or the other depending on where your front end sits BEFORE you start the alignment process. am i on the right track thanks art
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Re: Upper cont arm bushing

Postby cjbiagi » Sat Jan 02, 2016 5:37 pm

If all you want to do is correct a negative camber issue then you would install them so that the fat part of the rubber is toward the balljoint. In the pic below you will see a arrow on the bushing (that's what I called the fat part), in this case the bushing would be installed with the arrow pointing toward the balljoint when pressed in. So if you were looking at it when pressing it in it would be at the 3 o'clock position.
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Re: Upper cont arm bushing

Postby chevyart » Sun Jan 03, 2016 12:38 am

cj the way you show it is the way i was thinking to myself without using the arrows. the short side of offset bushing facing towards engine was the way i thought of it, which would pull the balljoint more towards outside to fix the negative camber problem(gives more positive camber). now to just decide if i should put in all four offset bushings, or just front 2 bushings. dont understand using just one on each side of upper control arms. seems just one would sort of cock the control arm and 2 on each side would make the arm parallel to centerline of car(using centerline of car as an example of arm being straight.). what do youthink. thanks art
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Re: Upper cont arm bushing

Postby Smiley » Sun Jan 03, 2016 12:43 am

I would do all 4 uppers.
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Re: Upper cont arm bushing

Postby chevyart » Sun Jan 03, 2016 9:03 am

thanks smiley. i have the bushings. no problem in using them if that is the direction i need to go. art
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Re: Upper cont arm bushing

Postby cjbiagi » Sun Jan 03, 2016 9:32 am

For maximum camber correction you would use all 4 installed as I mentioned. If you only used 1 in each arm then you would install it in the front hole, this would give you less camber correction but would give you a bit more positive caster by pushing the upper balljoint rearward as well as outboard. However, doing it this way may not give you the camber correction you need, it depends on your car. If in doubt, install all 4 for correcting camber and then just use lower cams to get the rest of the alignment set.
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Re: Upper cont arm bushing

Postby chevyart » Sun Jan 03, 2016 2:43 pm

THANKS CJ. I WILL HAVE TO PICK A REAL SAVVY GUY TO DO THE ALIGNMENT, AND HE WILL READ ALL YOU GUYS POSTS, AS YOU ALL KNOW THE H-BODY ALIGNMENT PROBLEMS WELL. GUESS I WILL BRING CAR TO SHOP WITH NEW TIRES AND COMPLETE DRIVETRAIN UP AND RUNNING,(WITH NEW LOWER CONTROL ARM BUSHINGS IN AND OLD UPPER BUSHINGS) AND SEE WHAT IT READS ON THE MACHINE, AND THEN GO FROM THERE. DOES THIS SOUND LIKE THE RIGHT WAY TO DO IT, OR SHOULD I JUST GO AHEAD AND ALSO PUT IN THE NEW UPPER BUSHINGS(FRONT AND BACK)WITH ARROW FACING OUT FOR MORE CAMBER). IM JUST LOOKING FOR BEST WAY TO DO THIS . ARE THE VEGA CHASSIS'S ALWAYS NEEDING MORE POSITIVE CAMBER AND CANT GET IT WITH FACTORY PARTS? IS THAT WHY WE USES THE OFFSET BUSHINGS.? WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER ASPECTS OF VEGA ALIGNMENT, CASTER AND TOEIN-TO-OUT?. ARE THESE A PROBLEM GETTING CORRECTLY WITH FACTORY SUSPENSION PARTS? DONT WANT TO TRUST THE LOCALS FOR A PROPER ALIGNMENT.. THANKS AGAINFOR YOUR TIME IN HELPING ME. ART
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