I am starting on the front suspension of my 444 project. All of the rubber parts appear to be cracked and deteriorated so I'm expecting a major rebuild. I have removed the eight bolts connecting the suspension to the frame and have the crossmember and front suspension upside down on a bench. Yesterday I disassembled one side, just looking things over. This is all new to me and I have some questions.

1. The outer bushings (upper and lower) for the control arms were different than I expected (threaded). They seem to have a lot of play. If the clearance spec in the manual (.012"-.023") means the wiggle of the bolt within the bushing, I'm way over the limit. Guess this means new parts - at least bushings and rubber parts. I see bushing and bolt sets. Evidently it is normal to replace the bolts with the bushings for these. Is that right? I don't see the bushings alone listed.

3. The inner bushings for the upper control arm felt tight but the rubber had deteriorated so I took them apart. The clearance (?) is in spec at one end and out of spec at the other. The parts supplier I'm looking at shows a repair set (includes new pin - many $) or just the bushings and seals (fewer $). Since the pin looks OK (I may be a bit biased), is it reasonable to just replace the bushings and rubber seals?

4. Can someone help me find the post about getting around the need for the fixture mentioned in the manual for installing inner upper control arm bushings, or suggest the best way to do this?

5. I'll need to rebush the idler arm. I plan to stick with the 444 arm rather than trying to change to the beefier arm from a 1964 544 parts car that I also have. Looks like the change is much more than a simple bolt in. Any comments?

Thanks for whatever advice you can offer.

Keith
444 Moline, IL