Upper A arm posture

[Cool Wheels]

The big day has arrived! I'm totally redoing my front suspension, including all the bushings.

While I was removing the upper a-arms I noticed that by loosening the bushing nuts (ie. on the pivot bolt) you can adjust the "tilt" of the upper a-arm to a natural, no-load posture. Just to clarify what I mean, you can either have the arm sticking out completely horizontal from the frame or move it down to fit onto the upper ball joint before tightening up the bushing nuts.

I'm just wondering where the best position is. Is this important? Thanks for any help in advance.

 

[Blue Thunder]

I would say neutral state of the bushings should be in whichever position the arm is in when the car is at rest on the ground. This way, the bushing loads whenever you hit a bump, and loads again as the suspension rebounds past its rest state.

 

[THE COBRAMAN]

Control arm bushings are to be tightened with the suspension loaded. Tightening them via any other method will lead to premature wear of the bushing.

 

[Cool Wheels]

That makes sense. Thanks for the info. I'm going to paint the caliper and spindle "chrome in a can" and the rest black. I'll snap a picture or two.