Mustang upper rear control air bushing failure(s)

Hey guys, hoping for some guidance. Last year we replaced both driver and passenger rear upper control arms because the rubber bushing inside the control arm pushed all the way out on one side. We then installed a Maximum Motorsports panhard bar and their rear upper control arms before our first event this year. We've had two NASA events this year and we've already pushed the rubber bushing out of one side (drivers) where it contacts the pig tail ear thingy on the axle housing. I believe last year the failure was on the other end, not at the axle housing. Have any of you Mustang drivers had this kind of failure more than once a season? Any suggestions on whether we should replace the control arms again or try a poor mans 3 link. Any other options out there?

Dave
Team Incidental Contact

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Originally Posted by BADVENM

Hey guys, hoping for some guidance. Last year we replaced both driver and passenger rear upper control arms because the rubber bushing inside the control arm pushed all the way out on one side. We then installed a Maximum Motorsports panhard bar and their rear upper control arms before our first event this year. We've had two NASA events this year and we've already pushed the rubber bushing out of one side (drivers) where it contacts the pig tail ear thingy on the axle housing. I believe last year the failure was on the other end, not at the axle housing. Have any of you Mustang drivers had this kind of failure more than once a season? Any suggestions on whether we should replace the control arms again or try a poor mans 3 link. Any other options out there?

Dave
Team Incidental Contact

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Dave,

I go through an upper control arm bushing every four or five events. I only lose one side the other side never wears out. When I ran the panhard bar it was twice as bad. Try the car without the panhard bar. The control arm bushings will last way longer. Some of the fastest guys (Aaron) does not run a bar. We run sphericals in the housing.

JJ

To echo Jerry, panhard bar makes the bushing issue worse in my experience as well. More bind to an already binding suspension. Pretty sure I've got sphericals in the housing (I'd have to check and I can't find a picture right now) and stock uppers otherwise now. I ruined a full spherical upper arm running PM3L and went to stock arms and ordinary 4 link after that, got tired of welding the car back together after every event.

Since switching halfway through last season I have not had an issue with it.

- Josh

Thanks for the replies. This is the first year we've tried the panhard bar, after not changing any suspension components of the car the past 7 seasons I wanted to try something different in hopes of getting closer to our Camaro front runners. We really didnt examine the upper control arm bushings after each event the past many years so I cant say for certain how many arms we'd go through per season if we checked. Thanks again, we'll have to replace or change our current setup before our next event in 3 weeks.

I run the 4-link AND the panhard bar in a 96. I actually drill some small holes in the rubber of the axles ear bushing before installing them trying to weaken them a bit. The closer I got to running at the front, the faster I started pushing the black rubber out of the axle end housing sleeve. Sometimes they last 4-5 weekends.......sometimes they last 1-2 weekends. I've changed 15-20 of them in 5 years, usually just one at a time (doing both will really tighten up the car!)

Is their an option to replace these rubber bushings with something else that will extend the life of the control arm(s)? Seems like if we're replacing them every few weekends (and its not exactly easy to simply remove and replace) they could be a candidate for a rules request change? These things arent exactly cheap and replacing one and/or both every few weeks starts to add up a bit, not to mention the time it takes to get the arm out and back in.

They way less expensive than they used to be. Maximum had another batch made and the price went down from over $200.00 a set to like $49.00 or $69.00 a set. I just looked it up and they are at $99.00 a set now. So they have gone back up some. Most of us run the sphericals in the housing and the stock rubber in the top. I have tried many different uppers and they either tear up the mount on the chassis end or some I tried would lift the inside tire off the ground in a turn. The upper arm has to change lengths to make this POS system work. Anything else and it binds until it tears up sheet metal.

I don't have to check the ones on the 55 when it will not turn one direction I know it's time to replace one of the upper arms. I know other that never change them. I don't think Aaron has ever had to change his.

JJ

sphericals in housing ears. 100k mi oem upper arms. NO PANHARD bar. waste of money and time. My upper arms are literally the factory units from 2004. Never been touched. Never had any problems.

I went through my order history. I have two $12 ACDelco rubber bushings in the housing. I have the maximum motorsports tool for removing and installing them, only had to use it when I set it up. Have not had a problem yet.

- Josh

I have sphericals everywhere (Housing ears and UCA’s) back there, no PHB. Only thing I get is the Drivers side link upper bushing bolt will loosen slightly over a weekend. I check the car each day and that one always needs to be retorqued.

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Originally Posted by drecords

I have sphericals everywhere (Housing ears and UCA’s) back there, no PHB. Only thing I get is the Drivers side link upper bushing bolt will loosen slightly over a weekend. I check the car each day and that one always needs to be retorqued.

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When Craig was running that set-up he was tearing out the sheet metal upper mounts. I know Dan welded it up at the track a few times. Now Craig will tell you that this set-up does not bind at all but the owner of Maximum Motorsports has a different idea. There was a paper MM wrote telling the binding results they saw when testing different Mustang four link bushings. Of course both of you are/were very fast running that set-up.

Jerry

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Originally Posted by ShadowBolt

When Craig was running that set-up he was tearing out the sheet metal upper mounts. I know Dan welded it up at the track a few times. Now Craig will tell you that this set-up does not bind at all but the owner of Maximum Motorsports has a different idea. There was a paper MM wrote telling the binding results they saw when testing different Mustang four link bushings. Of course both of you are/were very fast running that set-up.

Jerry

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I inspect mine very regularly (every day on track) and have no cracking/tearing up top.

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Originally Posted by drecords

I inspect mine very regularly (every day on track) and have no cracking/tearing up top.

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I don't remember if Craig ran a panhard bar but I would have thought the whole rear would move too much side to side with sphericals and no bar. Shows what I know.

JJ