With the car jacked up, I was able to wiggle that part by hand, still connected to what's shown and the body of the car. Is this normal? Do I need bushings?

 

I'm not seeing a picture...

 

Yeah, thats no good. We're going to need more evidence - like the picture.

 

Pic shows for me, its the LCAs.

No, you should not be able to move the LCAs by hand. Your bushings are shot. For a cheap upgrade I recommend the UMI fixed LCAs w/relocation brackets. The poly bushings will last many times longer, they won't flex, and the relocation brackets will improve traction (especially if you are lowered any).

LCAs: http://umiperformance.com/catalog/in...roducts_id=104
Relos: http://umiperformance.com/catalog/in...roducts_id=117

Grind the powder coat off ~1/4" of the edge so after you bolt them on, you can drive to have them welded...unless you have a welder and trust your abilities enough to get the weld-in ones so you don't have to worry about hardware problems or elongated bolt holes.

 

Can it be fixed without welding? I just need something that bolts right in.

 

Put some aftermarket performance arms in there. The above post with links will do the job..

 

So with the car flat on the ground, I was still able to move the the LCA by hand.

Speaking of which, I believe my car has the relocation kit installed.

 

The bushings wear out. The Moog replacements are much better and solid inside unlike the fluted stock ones.

 

Will I need to send them to a shop to press the bushings in? IIRC, the front bushings were a ding-dong to install.

 

Dont replace the bushings, replace the entire LCA. Its easy to DIY and there is a noticeable difference in performance.

 

Will do. I'll purchase them this week when the paycheck comes. Thanks!

 

You don't HAVE to weld them in - I ran bolt-in LCAs/Relos for about a year and a half before having them welded for piece of mind. It is just recommended especially if you track your car to prevent elongating the bolt holes or having stuff loosen up. The ones I linked for the inexpensive, bolt-on, non adjustable replacements that are fine for a majority of cars. If you plan on lowering or autocross, the adjustables are a good investment.

Make sure you spend the extra ~$12 on new hardware. These cars are pretty old now and I wouldn't be surprised if the stock stuff is in crappy shape.

 

You can be super cheap and do like i did. Take the arms off and get some flat plate and weld it your stock arms to box them in. Don't need to run full beads just short 1 inch beads every few inches, knock your old bushings out, new ones in and you're good to go. FYI the stock lower arms are the same ones gm has used forever across many platforms.
We did this mod to my brothers 1980 g-body wagon 8 years ago and he has since upgraded his whole suspension set up and I had his laying around the shop. Tossed em on and and after a few pre and post butt dyno burn outs, the car isn't as sloppy in it's launches. I know there can always be better, but for the price of some bushings and your time if you can weld, it's a cheap and easy mod.

Here is some pictures of the arms I boxed and used.

 

I did my bushings myself, and I highly doubt you'd even notice a difference between the two. And no, I don't have a press.

 

Pick up some Founders control arms. Cheap and work well.

 

Can you vouch for them? Pics of your ride with them installed? I'm just curious.

 

Spartan, What is the part number for the bushings?

 

Also Spartan7:

On 04-24-2013 at 6:42PM CST, you said.
What did you mean by that?

 

I don't have any pics of them installed, but I do have their LCA's with the "extreme joints" and the panhard bar with a single rod end. I ran them for probably 30K miles with no issues. Car is just sitting right now for other reasons.

 

With how cheap the UMI pieces are @ $90, and how quick and easy they are to drop-in install, I don't really see a reason to be messing around with replacing bushings and modding stock LCAs unless you are on a super tight budget. Alldata shows like 3hrs of labor but if it takes you more then an hour from jacking the car to putting away your tools I'd be surprised. Can install them faster then some CAIs.

Buy the time you buy new poly bushings, plate stock, and have them welded you're probably damn near the price of the direct replacement aftermarket LCAs with no hassle. If you're stock height and not looking to spend the cash you can skip the relocation brackets for now.