Strut Rod Bushings Re & RE

When the strut rod bushings go bad and the inner bushing sleeve rots away, the strut rod starts to move around in the bracket, and that causes the mounting hole to become egg shaped, which can contribute to the condition commonly referred to as death wobble. Heres what to look for, on the car, when they're really bad, notice the rub marks from the bushing moving around on the bracket.

Heres a good one on the left, and an egg shaped one on the right, removed from the car.

To repair; find some large heavy washers with an inside diameter of 1 & 3/8 inches(this is the diameter of the collar on the Moog bushings), the washers I used had an ID of 1 inch, so I ground them most of the way open with a die grinder, then finished them with a half-round file. If you need to open them up and have a lathe, all the better, but not necessary.

When its time to begin welding, use one of the old bushings to hold the washer in place on the bracket, then tack it on and remove the old bushing.

Then, from the opposite side of the bracket, weld up the 'egged out' portion of the hole, and grind/file it smooth and flat.

Next, using an old bushing again, tack the other washer on, remove the bushing, then finish welding.

Be sure to grind/file when finished welding so there are no sharp edges on the hole to tear the collar on the bushings.

NOTE -- I strongly suggest that, when replacing the strut rod bushings, you use either the MOOG "improved type" K3090 bushings, or the brand of poly bushing of your choice, as they are much harder than the soft, mushy factory type replacement bushings. There will be no extra noise or harshness from using them instead of the mushy replacements, the only difference will be that the strut rods will be held more tightly, as they should have been in the first place.

The K3090 services both sides of the car so you only need to order 1 box, unlike the factory replacement types, which are sold individually.

Also, the 1 inch ID washers have the correct outside diameter for the Moog K3090 bushings,which don't squish, but the OD of the 1 inch washer would be too small for the factory type replacement bushing, as they squish very much.

Another thing, removing the strut rod bracket from the frame rail on the passenger side of the car is relatively easy, but the drivers side is not easy at all because the brake booster and master cylinder, and everything else is in the way of getting your hand down next to the frame rail, while holding a wrench, to get to the bolt heads, so you might find that it might possibly be easier for you to weld and grind the brackets while they're still attached to the frame rails, if you have large hands and arms!

And, if you don't weld, or have access to a welder, prepare the pieces and try taking them to your local muffler shop, or truck or farm equipment repair shop for welding.

When done, be sure to visit your friendly alignment shop.