I have known for some time that the bushings in the front end of my JH needed to be replaced.  Since I have owned the car from new, I knew the originals had been in there for 30+ years. I have to say, the task seemed pretty daunting to me, since I had never rebuilt a suspension, front or rear.

First thing I did was on-line research on bushing replacements in general, and then scoured the board for info from others on their suspension rebuild expreriences. Between those and the JH Shop Manual, I put together a plan for replacing the bushings.  Finally in the fall I ordered a set of SuperPro bushings from Greg at the JHPS Boutique. Actually, I did not order a full set of bushings - I had decided not to replace the bushings that connect the crossmember to the chassis.  Replacing those would have required lifting the chassis away from the engine and front suspension, and I was not ready to tackle that.

Anyway, the bushings and ball joints arrived and I ordered a few other bits from Delta, and soon had everything I needed, and some things I didn’t.  It was just in time, too.

In late October I was driving home from work when I heard a “clunk” in the left front every time I applied the brakes.  When I got home, I looked behind the left front wheel with a flashlight and saw that the control arm bushing had completely extruded from the crossmember outrigger. No more driving it this way.

In mid-November I began tear-down and finished assembly in mid-December. Knowing what I know now, rebuild would take about 12 hours on a side - 4 to disassemble, 4 to rebuild, and 4 to assemble. It took me considerably longer because I was a novice, and did not know exactly what I would need to do to complete the project.  I did the rebuild one side at a time, and the second one was much, much easier.  The tasks were really very simple - but brute force. Suspension is not complicated. However, after rebuild, wheel alignment and castor adjustment are required - not something I am equipped to do. I do have a modest basement shop with work benches, vise, drill press, portable power tools, woodworking tools, but I do not have a hydraulic press, and found I did not need one for this job.

I am sharing my front suspension rebuild plan and photos in hopes that others of you will not experience the anxiety and, at times, frustration that I did.  Remember, though, that every JH is different, and what worked for me (or didn’t) may be completely wrong for you.

Caution. The suspension arm assembly is under considerable stress, preloaded by the road spring, and is dangerous if not disassembled properly. The use of a spring compressor or a hydraulic floor jack is necessary to manage/relieve the spring pressure before the shock absorbers are disconnected and removed, and then during re-installation. I used a floor jack.

First, below is a link to an Excel spreadsheet that includes:

     - Step by step instructions on disassembly, rebuild and assembly
     - A parts and price list

                           Click here for Spreadsheet

Second, here is a parts list and three callout sheets that are keyed to the spreadsheet above.

     Front Wheel

     Front Suspension

     Steering

     Parts list for above callouts

Third, here is an extensive collection of pictures that may help you

Disassembly

Shop Rebuild

       Lower Suspension Arm

     Upper Suspension Arm

       Miscellaneous

Assembly

Mark Rosenbaum’s Torque Sheet made things easier too

All in all, the rebuild was not as difficult as I had envisioned.  Next step, of course is to have the front end aligned, but that will have to wait for Spring.

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