1984 C4 Corvette front suspension rebuild (Superpro Bushings, ball joints, hubs and steering rack)

[@jeffspicolli593]

I really admire guys who can do this work but have double admiration for guys that video it and share. Tks man!

[@larrybud]

I love your detail in this video, like at 1:23:12 about torqueing then lining up the hole for the castle nut. Sure, it might seem apparent, but small things that we run into when doing a project like this.

[@dalemihocik4732]

Great job , you really covered a lot of content ! I marvel at the way you video recorded and worked single handed . I may need to replace my rack and this will help immensely . Thanks .

[@party_on_dudes]

This video is GOLD!!! I really needed this as I attempted the same work on my car

[@donaldcamacho9263]

Great and helpful video ur very specific and especially the upper bushing replacement was what I was looking for, I could not find anyone doing that part..i like that u talked about the torque pounds of pressure in each assemble..thank you.

[@ratherbeboating10]

You're welcome!

[@vettepurist304]

Nice job! Great blow by blow video on the disassembly stuff.

[@KMETAL22]

Man a pressure washer would work wonders before starting this project lol. great video

[@ratherbeboating10]

Sadly I did. It was roughly 20 degrees outside though so it just couldn't really take off anything. Afterwards I hit it all again and it worked nicely though. (60-70 degrees)

[@89vette1]

Thanks for posting this. I just finished installing the super pro bushings in my 96. Your methods were very helpful. Had a really hard time getting the super pros started. Only one side would start so I used an extension down through the center and just smashed them in.

[@alexbrazhnyk770]

It's a big job and you did it well! It's hard to do it with two hands, and you did it with one sometimes. Thank you for the video. Can you please tell me where I can get this manual?

[@ratherbeboating10]

Thabk you. Which manual?

[@alexbrazhnyk770]

​@@ratherbeboating10 Don't need it, I found it, thanks.

[@johnreece8102]

Glad u showed the correct way to remove the upper ball joint pins by pressing them out, thats how it says to do in the fsm. Some other dude's video said to drill them out all the way, great way to ruin the c.a

[@ratherbeboating10]

Honestly I don't know if my 84 manual lists how to do that. There are omitted service items that are present in later ones. I know for a bit the upper control arm was simply replaced as a whole unit.

[@Mjt17]

You’re the man, awesome video.

[@jimdunne1900]

Great video! The rack rebuilt and back in! What a PITA 🥙!!!!

[@dennesdorantes6560]

Great video, I'm about to do all this soon, except the rack. I'm thinking it might be a good idea to get a floor press too. Thanks for video

[@jimdunne1900]

Great video! The upper & lower arms are a PITA 🥙!!!!

[@RH0DI]

Haha, I wouldn't have thought of using the gear puller to press the CAs off of the knuckle like that, clever!

[@mariocooldude9092]

Hard to believe there are still C4's with the original ball joints 😂 damn ....i did mine back in 1996 with 50,000 miles on my '85

[@ratherbeboating10]

Yeah. It seems they do last a good while allegedly being forged units. I tested mine and they were fine but it was one of those... I'm here I may as well do this things.

[@mariocooldude9092]

@@ratherbeboating10 and maybe it's because these suspensions are very stiff and don't travel much so the joints don't work that hard

[@mariocooldude9092]

@@ratherbeboating10 I'm gonna go through mine again...will be easier now that the rivets have been drilled out. Got Moog joints for a steal on eBay...seller that sells new old stock. They're also hardend ...re did some urethane bushings back in 2017..I was surprised they were breaking down just as rubber does but worse ...I anticipated then being much more robust and lasting many times longer than rubber. At least they too are much easier to replace now that the rubber are gone

[@ratherbeboating10]

@mariocooldude9092 yeah. The issue with poly is when they fail, they fail. Rubber slowly falls apart at least....

[@mariocooldude9092]

@@ratherbeboating10 hahaha 🤣 yep ..my rear camber rod bushings just disintegrated I was like what the hell 😲 I thought my lug nuts were all loose as hell 🤣

[@landonrenigar8488]

Godsend of a video, much appreciation👍

[@SehlraC]

So was it worth it? Haven’t seen much feedback on the SuperPro bushings yet

[@ratherbeboating10]

I mean the car is tight. It was worth it for the feel. But at the same time there really isn't another option available. I feel it was worth the effort.

[@anthonywalker5012]

So a tip I have is to mock the grease nipple up in the ball joint first to see where the alignment is first. mark where the ball joint needs to be pressed in and then the nipple will line up perfectly. Also, the SuperPro Bushings (made here in Australia) do not require a press and like the other brands, can be installed with a bench vice.

[@ratherbeboating10]

I can tell you that trying to use that 6 inch vice... I cursed them out. Yes they will press in but the press made it easy. It can be done for sure and I've done poly in the past which was much worse but... it was still annoying. The upper control arms were able to be done by hand however. A small bench arbor would be the best imo. Quick and easy compared to a vice. As far as the grease nipple that will work. However I have had things slip in the past and shear off the fitting as well so it is a bit of a double edged sword... in this case it would have been fine though.

[@anthonywalker5012]

@@ratherbeboating10 I did say temporarily install the grease nipple only to mark where it will go too...then remove it for the big push, then install when its seated. puts the 90 degree elbow of the nipple in the best spot to grease later on

[@ratherbeboating10]

@@anthonywalker5012 Sorry. Late shift. My bad for mis-reading. That would work just fine.

[@michaeldigiorgio]

Awesome video my man,thank you.

[@paulreithknecht5616]

Your gonna have to take my word for it “great video”😂

[@ratherbeboating10]

Exhaustion... it does weird things to a guy lol.

[@jimdunne1900]

Great video!

[@georged9335]

Great video and step by step! Oh, and I'll take your word on it LOL :)

[@markd4838]

Nice video.... Learned a lot... BTW what did you use to clean the arms, hub and shield with... Thanks and good job !

[@ratherbeboating10]

I have a parts washer and used gunk for the soak. Then the final cleaning was never dull.

[@ssgem3]

Great video, but I’m fortunately I done all my rubbers little bit the hard way

[@davidemaurizio3081]

Good job !!! How much do you tighten the bolts with the torque wrench

[@contraption22]

Great video, For the batwing bushings, you have to remove the outer shells for the original bushings?

[@ratherbeboating10]

I did, didn't seem like it would fit in the original shell.

[@mariocooldude9092]

I was discouraged with my urethane bushings... I assumed they would last much longer than they do 😢

[@89vette1]

I noticed @1:12:43 that the second bushing isn’t pressed in the whole way. When I did mine, it sticks out the same way. I’m guessing this is ok? Seems the bushing is a little long. Steel sleeve might be as well.

[@ratherbeboating10]

Once the nut on the control arm is torqued it pushes it in the rest of the way, the other end of the bushing is straight cut and could be pressed in by hand from where it is in the video.

[@89vette1]

That’s what I’m referring to. The flat bottom bushing isn’t seated on the flange even after torquing. I think the steel sleeve is a little long and keeping it from compressing all the way in.

[@ratherbeboating10]

@@89vette1 I double checked at 1:16:36 and from what I recall this is correct. I do see what you are saying however.

[@twadam5218]

Great video! And very well layed out so I could hit the points I was interested in. Much appreciated. What was the tolerance like on the bolts on the upper ball joint that replaced the rivets. My balljoints actually have different size holes (two bigger and two smaller) yet came with 4 1/4-20 bolts !?

[@ratherbeboating10]

They were loose but the ball joint itself fits snug so I'd assume it's more for clamping

[@duowing]

This is an awesome and super helpful video. I'm about to do this same thing to my c4. Where did you get the instructions for the bushing install? My super pro kit has no instructions, links, etc of any kind.

[@ratherbeboating10]

If you go to the super pro site and punch in a c4 corvette you can pull up the sheets I had by part number. superpro.com.au/

[@remaxjosephingram8491]

Awesome great info and Job!! The laptop showing you the bushings order -- What is the site ? Are these superpro bushings?

[@ratherbeboating10]

Yeah, that's off the Australian super pro site.

[@MrMany2811]

Good video what headers are those?

[@ratherbeboating10]

Melrose. They're no longer available

[@rtoole83]

Why did you use that piece of angle iron when pressing out the bushings on the upper control arm? Wouldn't the aluminum piece running between the two ends be enough to support?

[@ratherbeboating10]

Because the bar pushes completely through the arm, it will bend.

[@rtoole83]

​@@ratherbeboating10 Poop. I don't have a way to cut metal and I have the control arm out and sitting on my press right now.

[@ratherbeboating10]

@@rtoole83 brace it with a 2x4 piece of wood if you can cut that to fit? It doesn't have to be perfect and a little deflection won't hurt anything.

[@rtoole83]

@@ratherbeboating10 I thought about doing that but thought maybe the wood would be too soft. I'll find someone who can cut some angle iron.

[@ratherbeboating10]

@@rtoole83 the wood would probably be fine. You just can never be too safe. Being these parts are getting harder and harder to find I didn't want to take a chance.

[@Sammyjeans1]

Thanks so much for this great video! Just wondering where you found the instillation instructions from superpro?

[@ratherbeboating10]

It's on the Australian super pro website. Once I'm back in front of a PC I'm going to add the link to the description

[@Sammyjeans1]

@@ratherbeboating10 you're the man. Once again, really really helpful video. Got the rack out so far, just wish I had a press.

[@ratherbeboating10]

@@Sammyjeans1 I updated the description with the link for the superpro website for the c4 parts. Just click the part numbers and scroll down, there is a instruction PDF for each number.

[@Sammyjeans1]

@@ratherbeboating10 thank you sir, I got a front corner done and the rack was just arrived back from being sleaved and rebuilt. Hope I can get the rest done this weekend.

[@Sammyjeans1]

@@ratherbeboating10 Hey sorry to bother you with this but I put together the driver side front upper control arm and do you think it's possible to get that stick in backwards? There is a pretty significant gap between the lip of the front bushing and the edge of the control arm it faces. There is like a 1/8" gap

[@deanmarshall9751]

Great video, where do I find the online instructions that you had on your computer?

[@ratherbeboating10]

I used the Australian super pro site and clicked by part number.

[@rtoole83]

What is that website you are using for the bushing install on the upper control arm? I searched around the interwebs and haven't come up with anything.

[@ratherbeboating10]

It's the Australian superpro site.

[@rtoole83]

@@ratherbeboating10 And I just threw the control arm across the garage after 11 failed attempts to press the 0459 bushing into the rear of the upper control arm. Not sure how you were able to do it. I even tried opening up the chamfer a little with a file. No matter how straight I am, the bushing slips at the last second before going in evenly and I have to start again.

[@ratherbeboating10]

@Ryan Toole I had a stub extension that fit snug inside the bushing bore so it couldn't cantilever itself out if I recall correctly. It took a few attempts but did eventually go.

[@rtoole83]

@@ratherbeboating10 One last question for you. I'm new to this. When you did the bushings for the upper control arm, do you need to lubricate the inside diameter surface of the crush tube? Not the outside that will contact the bushing itself but the inside.

[@ratherbeboating10]

@@rtoole83 I didn't lube the part that contacts the bolt.

[@PAHROKKAL2]

What did you do to get that right side lower control arm bolt that you were struggling with? There’s no room for it to come out on mine and you never said how you got it out. Thanks!

[@ratherbeboating10]

The rear facing one I slid a prybar through that tow hoop or whatever it is and kind of tweaked it down and back. It then just popped out. You could pull the front bolt and maneuver the control arm a bit to give some extra room. If I remember correctly it just popped back in.

[@ratherbeboating10]

At the 1:15:15 mark you can kind of make out the angle I'm referring to.

[@PAHROKKAL2]

@@ratherbeboating10 thanks! I ended up just taking off the brace, 5 bolts and gave me the clearance I needed.

[@db4088]

How did you do the smog delete? I see a pulley there and would love to know what that setup you used is. I did the shorter belt trick but hate how close the belt gets.

[@ratherbeboating10]

I used an ac delete pulley off like a 94 pickup. It basically drops right in to the bracket but you do need a nut and bolt for the top and a slight notch on the back to sit flat. The belt off a 96 with no a/c was correct to maintain tension. Pulley: 34152 Belt: dayco 5060870

[@db4088]

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated.

[@db4088]

@@ratherbeboating10 btw thanks for making the video. When you read about refreshing your suspension bushings on these antiques it is a bit intimidating. I was always thrown by the front upper ball joint and having to grind and drill but your video shows that the overall process is totally doable. You should post this in the vette forums if you haven't already.

[@ratherbeboating10]

@@db4088 the vette fourm guys find things like this on their own. We've all talked plenty of guys through it. I'd rather my handle remain anonymous anyway. I gain nothing by promoting it. So long as it helped one person it was worth doing. I just say, go search around KZbin. There's a few videos on it. And there are.

[@WindRider1]

Just an idea for everyone. I pressure wash the area of the vehicle I'm working on to remove any oil, grease, and dirt. I can't stand working on dirty vehicles. Plus, great job but you need a tripod.

[@ratherbeboating10]

I mainly was trying to get it done ASAP at a house that was not mine... if I wasn't pressed for time, there are about two dozen things I'd have done differently all around, not limited to hot pressure washing and a tripod....

[@GSXSF1k]

A nightmare!

[@FranksModelAviationWorkshop]

Just judging by the detail of your video, it sounds like you’ve had that Vette apart more than once. Lol

[@ratherbeboating10]

Accessory drive, several times. Front suspension... never until this.

[@FranksModelAviationWorkshop]

@@ratherbeboating10 great video. I’m no longer afraid to tackle a job like this on my 84. Lol

[@FranksModelAviationWorkshop]

Did you do a smog pump delete on your car?

[@ratherbeboating10]

@@FranksModelAviationWorkshop Smog pump delete... heads. Cam. Exhaust. Bunch of other little things.

[@FranksModelAviationWorkshop]

@@ratherbeboating10 are you still running the stock cross-fire intake set up?

[@gregs_garage]

dude just get a cheap tripod

[@remaxjosephingram8491]

Quick question-- i used Moog lower ball joints and have the same dust boot cover as yours. How in the world did you get these dust boot cover on -- appreciate the help

[@ratherbeboating10]

Almost positive I used a large socket and rubber mallet.