Other: Feeling every bump

[dallastx75208]

Feeling every bump it seems, rear and front. What should I be checking? I may need new bushings on the back leaf springs, the shocks are about 6 years old. The front, I have no idea where to start. I do know it squeaks a lot. Reminds me of an old Mustang. Do I need to get the front end rebuilt? What parts would I need to get a smoother ride and no squeaks? Tires are new. I can take it to a place but I am not sure they will tell me what I need or what they want to sell me. I have had that happen in the past on my daily driver at a national chain place and will never go back there. Wanted to replace $800.00 worth of stuff when all I needed was a new thermostat.

[Alan]

What is it? Car, Truck? Year?

[dallastx75208]

Sorry about that. The car is 62 Hawk

[warrlaw1]

Take it to a shop with a hoist and they should be able to check out king pins, springs, bushings, all that stuff to look for excessive movement, or lack of movement. All one needs is a pry bar and the knowledge of what to pry. Hopefully you can join them in the shop for a look-see. Things should basically go up and down smoothly, and not side to side or front to back. You can check for rusted out spring pockets in the front and spring shackles in the rear. Everything is available for your car from SDC vendors. Goodluck.

[63 R2 Hawk]

I recently rebuilt the front end on my '63 Hawk (king pin bushings, bearings, "A" arm bushings and one NOS spindle) for about $240 USD, including new wheel bearings. It's not terribly difficult but you need a few specialized tools, some mechanical ability and a shop manual. Made a huge difference, especially since the PO's "mechanic" rebuilt the front suspension and didn't do the job correctly. SI has all the parts needed, as do most other vendors and SI will also sell you a completely rebuilt set including remachined pins and spindles with bushings/bearings installed for about $400 USD. I also have KYB shocks, got tired of the cheesy aftermarket shocks made for Studebakers that didn't seem to last more than a few thousand miles.

[PackardV8]

What size and type tires? What brand? How many years old? What air pressure are you using? What wheels?

jack vines

[JoeHall]

Since it is squeaking, try lubing the upper & lower, outer pivot pins, and don't forget the other 20 or so grease zerks in the front end, brake & clutch pedals, shifting column, drive shaft, etc. while you are at it. The outer pins are likely where the squeaking is coming from. A GT rides pretty smooth if lubed properly, even if it is completely worn out. After lubing, take it out on the bumpiest roads you can find and drive a hundred miles or so, that will help determine what else may be needed.

[64V19816]

What he said. Grease those kingpins until it oozes out the top. Check for loose bolts, large and small. I remember decades ago a Commander I had, gawd almighty I don't know why the whole front end didn't fall off, so many loose bolts!

[Paul Keller]

Finding an "old guy" type of shop would be ideal. Some of the new guys have never experienced a trunnion type of steering system. Also, an off road/truck shop - they still work on many trunnion systems. otherwise, it might be a bit of a learning curve for the shop. DO bring you shop manual and let them know you have it available - Some shops are willing to learn (attitude is important).
Happy Hunting, Paul TK

[63 R2 Hawk]

Don't take it to the local lube & fleece. Few, if any of those monkeys can find more than 4 zerks out of the ~20 or so on the front suspension unless you stand there and point each and every one out to them. When greasing the kingpins, watch and see if grease oozes out of the TOP of the spindle, if it doesn't, it means the lower bearing seal is missing/bad, like mine was. I found several critical loose bolts on mine from PO's "mechanic" like the upper arm bolts which are difficult to see, much less tighten. Front wheel bearings should be snug but not tight after repacking, a very, very slight amount of play is better than too tight. Check shock bushings and mounting bolts.

[dallastx75208]

I found a guy whoh wolrs on the older cars next to my school. I had seen older, 60's cars there in the past but did not think of him. Stop by over the weekend and chated. Going to take to him and he will put on the rack and let me know what he finds. I will be there when he looks and moves things around. then I will put a list together and go to napa or si.