quick strut question

[Big Mort]

Hi, i have a question thatd id imagine would be an easy one for anyone whos redone their suspension sooo.... i recently replaced alot of suspension components and sent the half shafts, trailing arms and strut rods to Van Steel to get them re built. i got it all back put it all on, and now whenever i go over bumps and what not, my rear end sqeaks. where the struts meet the arms seem alittle cockeyed, so are they interchangable to either side??? or unique to one side or the other?? or is there another reason for the annoying squeaks. any tips help. thanks yall

mort

 

[JohnZ]

Only the trailing arms are side-specific - the half-shafts and camber strut rods are the same on either side. Were they rebuilt with poly bushings, or with stock rubber bushings? If the trailing arm front pivot bolts and the bolts at both ends of the strut rods were tightened with the suspension hanging free instead of with the car being on wheels, that will overstress the bushings and they'll fail prematurely. Did you use the little steel caps on the front and rear of the inboard strut rod bushings before installing the cam bolts?

 

[Big Mort]

i believe they were rebuilt with the stock bushings, and we did use the steels caps, but now that i think about it, we may have tightened those without the body on, because we did the suspension work on just the bare chassis, would that have any difference?? im not sure, because it was awhile ago, but we may have done that, but it was on the ground

 

[JohnZ]

i believe they were rebuilt with the stock bushings, and we did use the steels caps, but now that i think about it, we may have tightened those without the body on, because we did the suspension work on just the bare chassis, would that have any difference?? im not sure, because it was awhile ago, but we may have done that, but it was on the ground

All of the bolts I mentioned must be tightened with the full weight of the car on the suspension so it's at normal ride height, just like the front upper and lower control arm bushings. If not, the car will have excessive ride harshness and the rubber bushings will fail prematurely. Loosen those bolts, jounce the car up and down to let the bushings neutralize again, then re-tighten them.

 

[Big Mort]

ok i will thanks for the advice!