NO, your OK

 

Thanks, DJ

So the bolt and the bushing are not supposed to be adhered? I just don't want the bushing slipping out sometime.

Thanks again. I really appreciate all of your posts and find them very useful.

Justin

 

Justin,
Did the lower 2/3 separate from the upper 1/3?
Were you able to turn the bolt a few turns?
If not, it sounds like the bushing is stuck to the lower control arm and will need to be freed.
Dave

 

Dave,

Since I was able to turn the bolt, I went ahead and turned it, along with the upper third of the bushing, 4 turns. The lower part never moved. That's why I was afraid that the bushing has separated from the bolt.

Justin

 

Justin,
Not to worry.
If you have some rubber left on the upper 1/3 just scrape the bottom 2/3, which sounds like it is stuck, off of the lower control arm.
You can do one of two things;
Glue the 2 pieces of rubber together. (My choice) or.......
Leave the bottom 2/3 off completely. (Many of us do that)You will have to move the adjuster down a few threads to compensate for the missing rubber.
Dave

 

Thanks, Dave.

It looks like either way I'll have to take the A-arm down to get the bolt out and repair it.

Thanks for the advice.

Justin

 

Justin,
It sounds like the entire rubber part of the bushing is stuck to the lower control arm and has separated from the metal bottom of the bolt/bushing. Is that correct?
I don't see why you would have to take the bolt out to repair it.
Actually I don't think you would have to do anything if you were able to raise the bolt to where you wanted it.
The bottom of the bolt should be resting on the rubber bushing. Even if you don't glue the 2 pieces together I am not sure it will matter since there is little or no movement there.
Dave

 

Thanks, Dave

It's at the height I want it now, and I don't intend to race it for another two weeks, so maybe I'll just watch it for a while and see what happens. I just don't want to find out at Buttonwillow!

Justin

 

Another question -

Since I may be replacing or removing the bushing, what is a good way to level the front right to left once I've made changes? I was thinking of measuring the height of the crossmember at either end.

Thanks,

Justin

 

I've called several dealerships here in town to see if I could just get a replacement lowering bolt, and they said it comes as part of the A-arm assembly, and not separately!

One is going to call the factory on Monday to see what they can do. Funny how little jobs grow into big jobs.

Justin

 

As far as I know the bolt comes with the spring and is not sold separately.
However, a company called Hardbar makes replacements for the front and rear bushings.

Most of us just measure the ride height at the fender.
The true ride (trim) height is measured at 4 points on the chassis. I do not know the exact locations.
Ideally if you are tracking the car you would want to get the trim heights within factory specs to avoid "wedge".
Did you measure the stock ride heights on your car?
Dave

 

I measured the fender heights before lowering, but they were not even. I figured the body panels may not represent the frame height.

If I didn't need to bring it up to stock height later, I'd just cut the bushing on the other side. Thanks for the Hardbar info. I'll try getting a replacement from them.

Justin