The Ford Barn

poolplayer1 · 06-20-2023, 01:39 PM

Been busy working on the roof of my house. Anyway, I have a question on the installation of the lower control arm bushings. According to the ford repair book that I have here, it says that on the T-birds the front bushing is installed from the inside of the arm and that on all the other cars, the bushings are installed from the outside. I don't want to dispute the book's info but if I put the bushing in from the outside, I cannot install the spacer ( don't know the real name) that fits between the front arm and the frame. Maybe you guys are familiar with this problem that I have and can tell me for sure which way the front bushing goes in. Also, does the rear bushing goes in from the inside or the outside in. Thanks for your help. Trying to get this done before it gets too hot here.
Almost forgot to mention that I am installing new springs too. I found a company that sells them but they ask me if the springs have 6,8, or nine coils. I told them that the part # I had was AD-5310. Do I have the right part # for the springs?

poolplayer1 · 06-20-2023, 03:13 PM

The guy on ebay that said he had the springs said they he checked and that his springs would not fit a stock control arm so back to hunting. I have called so many company's and they all say they don't have them. One guy said that the coils from a Mustang II would fit but when he gave me the part # to look on the website, that coil has 6 coils where mine has 8. What a problem.

5851a · 06-20-2023, 05:53 PM

Not sure on your application but you might give Eaton-Detroit spring a call. Has been years but gave me exactly the factory spring I asked for.

poolplayer1 · 06-20-2023, 06:08 PM

Ok, thank you. I will check with them tomorrow. I'm debating on how to install the front arm bushing.

poolplayer1 · 06-20-2023, 07:42 PM

Forgot to mention that the reason I don't know how the bushings go is because I had taken the 55 over to a guy that had a lot of experience on front end work on vintage cars. He said one of the coil springs was bad but it was better to replace both. He also said the lower control arms needed bushings. He said it would take about 2 weeks to do the job
Because he was really busy with other cars. He was suppose to call me in 2 weeks to tell me that he was ready for the parts. It was already a month and no call from him. So, I decided to go over and see what was going on, Bad news, the guy had passed away a 2 weeks earlier. I told his wife that he was working on my car and told her which one it was. I went over to my wagon and guess what, he had already removed the 2 arms and also the springs. I told her I was going to take my car back and she said ok but the problem was that we could not find any of the parts that he had removed. She knew nothing about my parts. Some how they got lost. I have my wagon back but no springs or lower control arms. The wife was a really nice lady and she was already heart broken so I did not want to make things worst for her. I found 2 used control arms but they don't have the bushings in them and I don't know which way they go. Thats why I am asking. Sorry for the long post.

Daves55Sedan · 06-20-2023, 08:38 PM

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For the full size '55/56 cars and wagons, the bushings for the lower A-arms are installed from the inside. You will notice the thick, heavy rubber portion of the bushings facing each other. There, you put on the big curved washers and nuts up against that thick rubber. So the knurled steel casing of the bushings are toward the car frame.

poolplayer1 · 06-21-2023, 02:35 PM

Thank you very much Daves55sedan for your help. I had told the mechanics wife that if she by any chance find my missing parts to please give me a call. This morning she called and said that there was a plastic container that was marked 55 ford wagon and that there were some nuts and washers inside. I went to pick the parts up after she called me. There are some washers that are not fully round, kind of cut off at the top and I have no idea where they go. Maybe they are used for shims but not sure. I am going to upload a picture of the washers and maybe you or anyone else here can tell me where they go.

Ole Don · 06-21-2023, 03:08 PM

If your car is a stock restoration, new springs from Detroit is the way to go. A few years back the guys over on the HAMB were recommending Aerostar springs available at the time from O'Reilly's. They may lower the front just a bit.

miker98038 · 06-21-2023, 07:56 PM

Just a guess, but he had a shop someplace that was going to press those bushings in. That’s where your A arm’s went too. They’re a bit of a pain, and IIRC the small presses won’t do it. One that will do rear axle bearings. i.e. tall press and a rod. My memories is fuzzy on this, but our press wouldn’t do it and mine were sent out.

poolplayer1 · 06-21-2023, 09:40 PM

Thanks to all for your help with this project. I have the new bushings and the used control arms that I bought here locally. I think I am going to take them to the suspension/alignment guy here in town to press the bushings in. I was going to rent the press from a parts store to press them in myself but decided to just take them in. I have a question on the springs, I found 2 used springs from a 56 wagon here at the local salvage yard. On this springs, the top spring and the bottom spring are both flat.
Last year I replaced the 2 shocks on my wagon and I remember looking at the springs and the top is pretty flat and had a rubber insulator on it. The bottom coil was not flat,looked like a pig tail. Do you think the springs from the salvage yard that does not have the bottom spring that looks like a pig tail will still work? Today I looked at the section where the bottom of the spring sits and its not flat, looks like it starts low and than goes a little higher as the spring curls up. Its hard for me to explain. I don't even know if its worth it to mess with used springs but its really getting hard to find new springs. By the way, do any of you know where the washers that have the top cut off ( they are in the shape of a U. I wonder if they are shims instead of washers.

Daves55Sedan · 06-21-2023, 10:24 PM

Okay, the original springs are flat at the TOP only. The bottom of the coil is round.
Look at your bottom control arms! The spring needs to be rotated so that the end of the bottom coil will fit where the indentation is in the control arm.
Don't forget to put your rubber insulator on the top of the spring before inserting it into the recess in the frame. New rubber insulators can be purchased at most repro parts suppliers if your old ones are lost. Sometimes the old insulator can be stuck up inside the recess, so look there first before deciding if you need them.
BTW, the wagon models had HEAVIER front springs than the car models did, so make sure you get springs from a '55/56 wagon.

poolplayer1 · 06-22-2023, 01:18 PM

Thank you Dave's 55 for your great help and information.

poolplayer1 · 06-26-2023, 03:12 PM

Ok guys, I got my lower control arms back from the front end/ alignment shop here in town. They replaced the front and rear bushings on the arms.
I have a question though, I went ahead and installed the driver's side lower arm first and tighten the bolts only to about 25lbs since I was told not to fully tighten the bolts until the car is on its tires. What I noticed is that right now as it is, the arm will go up and down kind of stiff. If I thighten the bolts more, the arm gets pretty hard to move up or down.
Is that normal or is the arm suppose to travel easy going up and down since the springs are out right now. I'm just wondering cause if I am doing something wrong, I want to correct the problem now before I put the springs on. The springs will be here on wendsday I hope.
I first put the rear arm in and than the front arm. In the front arm, between the frame and the bushing, I put the shim ( Washer with top cut-off) and then the collar. In the back where the big rubber of the bushing is, I put the big cup/flat washer and than the lock washer and finally the hex nut. Let me know please if all this looks ok or not.
Thanks to all.

dmsfrr · 06-26-2023, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poolplayer1

... I was told not to fully tighten the bolts until the car is on its tires. What I noticed is that right now as it is, the arm will go up and down kind of stiff. If I thighten the bolts more, the arm gets pretty hard to move up or down.
Is that normal or is the arm suppose to travel easy going up and down since the springs are out right now. ...

It's normal and why they told you not to tighten the bolts until the car is sitting with all its weight on the tires. The new bushings are naturally stiff and should be in their 'neutral/relaxed' position with the car weight on them before tightening to spec.

Daves55Sedan · 06-26-2023, 07:52 PM

The washer with the top cut off goes against the backside of the front frame crossmember and the pipe/collar fits over the front of the control arm bushing.
The reason why you should not tighten the nuts on the control arm bushings right away is because it would be too difficult to move the control arms down to insert your coil springs. Put your coil springs in first, hook up your balljoints and bolt them in, then you can tighten down the control arm bushing nuts. Shock absorbers go in last.

poolplayer1 · 06-27-2023, 11:04 AM

Thanks Dave's55Sedan. This is great information and will follow your advice with this installation. Its greatly appreciated.

06-20-2023, 01:39 PM	#1
poolplayer1 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Posts: 399	1955 Ford ranch wagon/ Lower control arm bushings Been busy working on the roof of my house. Anyway, I have a question on the installation of the lower control arm bushings. According to the ford repair book that I have here, it says that on the T-birds the front bushing is installed from the inside of the arm and that on all the other cars, the bushings are installed from the outside. I don't want to dispute the book's info but if I put the bushing in from the outside, I cannot install the spacer ( don't know the real name) that fits between the front arm and the frame. Maybe you guys are familiar with this problem that I have and can tell me for sure which way the front bushing goes in. Also, does the rear bushing goes in from the inside or the outside in. Thanks for your help. Trying to get this done before it gets too hot here. Almost forgot to mention that I am installing new springs too. I found a company that sells them but they ask me if the springs have 6,8, or nine coils. I told them that the part # I had was AD-5310. Do I have the right part # for the springs?

06-20-2023, 03:13 PM	#2
poolplayer1 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Posts: 399	Re: 1955 Ford ranch wagon/ Lower control arm bushings The guy on ebay that said he had the springs said they he checked and that his springs would not fit a stock control arm so back to hunting. I have called so many company's and they all say they don't have them. One guy said that the coils from a Mustang II would fit but when he gave me the part # to look on the website, that coil has 6 coils where mine has 8. What a problem.

06-20-2023, 05:53 PM	#3
5851a Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: NE Iowa Posts: 1,665	Re: 1955 Ford ranch wagon/ Lower control arm bushings Not sure on your application but you might give Eaton-Detroit spring a call. Has been years but gave me exactly the factory spring I asked for.

06-20-2023, 06:08 PM	#4
poolplayer1 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Posts: 399	Re: 1955 Ford ranch wagon/ Lower control arm bushings Ok, thank you. I will check with them tomorrow. I'm debating on how to install the front arm bushing.

06-20-2023, 07:42 PM	#5
poolplayer1 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Posts: 399	Re: 1955 Ford ranch wagon/ Lower control arm bushings Forgot to mention that the reason I don't know how the bushings go is because I had taken the 55 over to a guy that had a lot of experience on front end work on vintage cars. He said one of the coil springs was bad but it was better to replace both. He also said the lower control arms needed bushings. He said it would take about 2 weeks to do the job Because he was really busy with other cars. He was suppose to call me in 2 weeks to tell me that he was ready for the parts. It was already a month and no call from him. So, I decided to go over and see what was going on, Bad news, the guy had passed away a 2 weeks earlier. I told his wife that he was working on my car and told her which one it was. I went over to my wagon and guess what, he had already removed the 2 arms and also the springs. I told her I was going to take my car back and she said ok but the problem was that we could not find any of the parts that he had removed. She knew nothing about my parts. Some how they got lost. I have my wagon back but no springs or lower control arms. The wife was a really nice lady and she was already heart broken so I did not want to make things worst for her. I found 2 used control arms but they don't have the bushings in them and I don't know which way they go. Thats why I am asking. Sorry for the long post.

06-20-2023, 08:38 PM	#6
Daves55Sedan Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Granite City, Illinois Posts: 3,008	Re: 1955 Ford ranch wagon/ Lower control arm bushings Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) For the full size '55/56 cars and wagons, the bushings for the lower A-arms are installed from the inside. You will notice the thick, heavy rubber portion of the bushings facing each other. There, you put on the big curved washers and nuts up against that thick rubber. So the knurled steel casing of the bushings are toward the car frame.

06-21-2023, 02:35 PM	#7
poolplayer1 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Posts: 399	Re: 1955 Ford ranch wagon/ Lower control arm bushings Thank you very much Daves55sedan for your help. I had told the mechanics wife that if she by any chance find my missing parts to please give me a call. This morning she called and said that there was a plastic container that was marked 55 ford wagon and that there were some nuts and washers inside. I went to pick the parts up after she called me. There are some washers that are not fully round, kind of cut off at the top and I have no idea where they go. Maybe they are used for shims but not sure. I am going to upload a picture of the washers and maybe you or anyone else here can tell me where they go.

06-21-2023, 03:08 PM	#8
Ole Don Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: St. Michael, Minnesota Posts: 1,713	Re: 1955 Ford ranch wagon/ Lower control arm bushings If your car is a stock restoration, new springs from Detroit is the way to go. A few years back the guys over on the HAMB were recommending Aerostar springs available at the time from O'Reilly's. They may lower the front just a bit.

06-21-2023, 07:56 PM	#9
miker98038 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Kent, WA. Tucson, AZ Posts: 1,398	Re: 1955 Ford ranch wagon/ Lower control arm bushings Just a guess, but he had a shop someplace that was going to press those bushings in. That’s where your A arm’s went too. They’re a bit of a pain, and IIRC the small presses won’t do it. One that will do rear axle bearings. i.e. tall press and a rod. My memories is fuzzy on this, but our press wouldn’t do it and mine were sent out.

06-21-2023, 09:40 PM	#10
poolplayer1 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Posts: 399	Re: 1955 Ford ranch wagon/ Lower control arm bushings Thanks to all for your help with this project. I have the new bushings and the used control arms that I bought here locally. I think I am going to take them to the suspension/alignment guy here in town to press the bushings in. I was going to rent the press from a parts store to press them in myself but decided to just take them in. I have a question on the springs, I found 2 used springs from a 56 wagon here at the local salvage yard. On this springs, the top spring and the bottom spring are both flat. Last year I replaced the 2 shocks on my wagon and I remember looking at the springs and the top is pretty flat and had a rubber insulator on it. The bottom coil was not flat,looked like a pig tail. Do you think the springs from the salvage yard that does not have the bottom spring that looks like a pig tail will still work? Today I looked at the section where the bottom of the spring sits and its not flat, looks like it starts low and than goes a little higher as the spring curls up. Its hard for me to explain. I don't even know if its worth it to mess with used springs but its really getting hard to find new springs. By the way, do any of you know where the washers that have the top cut off ( they are in the shape of a U. I wonder if they are shims instead of washers.

06-21-2023, 10:24 PM	#11
Daves55Sedan Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Granite City, Illinois Posts: 3,008	Re: 1955 Ford ranch wagon/ Lower control arm bushings Okay, the original springs are flat at the TOP only. The bottom of the coil is round. Look at your bottom control arms! The spring needs to be rotated so that the end of the bottom coil will fit where the indentation is in the control arm. Don't forget to put your rubber insulator on the top of the spring before inserting it into the recess in the frame. New rubber insulators can be purchased at most repro parts suppliers if your old ones are lost. Sometimes the old insulator can be stuck up inside the recess, so look there first before deciding if you need them. BTW, the wagon models had HEAVIER front springs than the car models did, so make sure you get springs from a '55/56 wagon.

06-22-2023, 01:18 PM	#12
poolplayer1 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Posts: 399	Re: 1955 Ford ranch wagon/ Lower control arm bushings Thank you Dave's 55 for your great help and information.

06-26-2023, 03:12 PM	#13
poolplayer1 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Posts: 399	Re: 1955 Ford ranch wagon/ Lower control arm bushings Ok guys, I got my lower control arms back from the front end/ alignment shop here in town. They replaced the front and rear bushings on the arms. I have a question though, I went ahead and installed the driver's side lower arm first and tighten the bolts only to about 25lbs since I was told not to fully tighten the bolts until the car is on its tires. What I noticed is that right now as it is, the arm will go up and down kind of stiff. If I thighten the bolts more, the arm gets pretty hard to move up or down. Is that normal or is the arm suppose to travel easy going up and down since the springs are out right now. I'm just wondering cause if I am doing something wrong, I want to correct the problem now before I put the springs on. The springs will be here on wendsday I hope. I first put the rear arm in and than the front arm. In the front arm, between the frame and the bushing, I put the shim ( Washer with top cut-off) and then the collar. In the back where the big rubber of the bushing is, I put the big cup/flat washer and than the lock washer and finally the hex nut. Let me know please if all this looks ok or not. Thanks to all. Last edited by poolplayer1; 06-26-2023 at 03:23 PM.

06-26-2023, 07:52 PM	#15
Daves55Sedan Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Granite City, Illinois Posts: 3,008	Re: 1955 Ford ranch wagon/ Lower control arm bushings The washer with the top cut off goes against the backside of the front frame crossmember and the pipe/collar fits over the front of the control arm bushing. The reason why you should not tighten the nuts on the control arm bushings right away is because it would be too difficult to move the control arms down to insert your coil springs. Put your coil springs in first, hook up your balljoints and bolt them in, then you can tighten down the control arm bushing nuts. Shock absorbers go in last.

06-27-2023, 11:04 AM	#16
poolplayer1 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Posts: 399	Re: 1955 Ford ranch wagon/ Lower control arm bushings Thanks Dave's55Sedan. This is great information and will follow your advice with this installation. Its greatly appreciated.