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Dr. Diff Front Suspension Rebuild Kit - Opinions?

I have not used this kit but recently looked around and got advice from the guys here as well.
IMO i would prefere the solid adjusting rods over the OEM style rods for the steering linkage.
The upper arm is similar as stock, you could get your own rebuild (blasting & painting) and install new bushings and save some money on that.
If you do want to go for new upper arms go for aftermarket which are slightly different by having a better geometry which improves handling.
I went for the G-max tubular arms.(from PST)
I did find that most “kits” always miss something what could be found better separate so i went with my own selection of parts.

I am not in here to represent any company and saying others are no good, just passing on suggestions i received with a similar question.
 
I have not used that kit, but I have used many of their suspension products and other products over the years. Plus Cass know his stuff about Mopars. It is a very good company to deal with. I used the C body tie rod ends ( alot stronger then the B Body ones) and the solid adjusting rods
 
Yes Cass sources for the best he can get and if he can’t find them he has them made. I just got a set of control arms from him for my 68 for $98. Why even mess with 50 year old stuff and they are powder coated to boot! I did all the measurements compared to old ones and they are spot on and heavy to
 
Ive used his stuff off and on for years. Cass is a standup guy, stands behind his product.
 
Yes Cass sources for the best he can get and if he can’t find them he has them made. I just got a set of control arms from him for my 68 for $98. Why even mess with 50 year old stuff and they are powder coated to boot! I did all the measurements compared to old ones and they are spot on and heavy to
Thanks. Do you know if the uppers utilize problem solver bushings (offset) to get added caster?
 
But aren't the Upper Ball Joints in those cheap aftermarket upper control arms Chinese junk ?

Question , not a statement from what I have seen online with those aftermarket upper control arms
 
My opinion...Chinese stuff is not junk. All these American guys charge a fortune for shipping for stuff they get from China...$96 bucks to ship that kit to me in NJ. I got one on Ebay with the 11/16 body tie rod ends and sleeves for $240 with free shipping on Ebay; I could never drive my car enough to wear that stuff out. We were a strong union family that believed in the USA... I still do, but someone will be down on that. Soon our kids will be working for the Chinese.
 
Any opinions on needing to use offset bushings in the UCAs? Does it make a noticeable difference?
 
I believe their made in Taiwan, better than the soda pop can BS you get from China. Got them in my kit from pst and wasn’t happy about it but I’m going to run th for now see how it works out.
 
If you get the tubular A arms, they're already offset so you don't need the offset bushings. As far as kits go, it's hard to tell what the quality is today. When I rebuilt my front end I used a combination of vendor kits and Moog pieces.
If you're gonna beef up the suspension, I suggest adding more than the above kit. As others already mentioned, unless you're going for a stock look, go with the solid tie rod adjusters with the larger tie rod ends. What about the pitman and idler arms? Since the LCA's have to come out, might as well blast and paint 'em, install new bushings (I had a shop do it). And while they're out, if you weld or know someone who does, PST sells LCA stiffening plates. Check out your strut rods for straightness, install new strut rod bushings. With the LCA's out, the torsion bars are just hanging there - what size are they? If they're .92's you might want to think about going up to .96, or even the 1.03's from PST. With the front end apart, its a good time to upgrade shocks if needed. A lot of members like the KYBs, I prefer Bilsteins.
I did all of the above on the Coronet and had the p/s box rebuilt by Firm Feel and the difference is amazing. The car handles better than newer full size models. I dug it so much, then next year I duplicated the rebuild in the Dart (manual box). Now I can throw that car into corners and the limiting factor is tire rub in the back.
Doing some or all of the above will set you back some more coin and a few more weeks waiting on parts, etc. But IMHO its worth it.
 
they do work and you will get more postive caster.
Make sure you set the ride height first to what you want. Factory manual alignment specs are no good for radial tires, they only work if you use bias-ply tires. This is what I told the old guy at the alignment shop to use for my Radial tires, Camber -.50 to 0 degrees, Caster as much positive as you can get up to 3 degrees and toe in 1/16th to 1/8th inch. Car runs down the road straight as an arrow now. You will be limited to what you can do with stock A arm bushings, but if you have the Moog off set A arm bushing you can tweek it a little more.

If they installed them like the instructions in the package they might not help you much. The Moog intention of the bushings are for rusty cars that have sagging frames that bend inward over time.

The "trick" is to install them like this diagram below and ignore the Moog instructions. The arrows will be pointing opposite directions front bushing to rear bushing.

offsetbushingsfinal-jpg.jpg
 
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If you get the tubular A arms, they're already offset so you don't need the offset bushings. As far as kits go, it's hard to tell what the quality is today. When I rebuilt my front end I used a combination of vendor kits and Moog pieces.
If you're gonna beef up the suspension, I suggest adding more than the above kit. As others already mentioned, unless you're going for a stock look, go with the solid tie rod adjusters with the larger tie rod ends. What about the pitman and idler arms? Since the LCA's have to come out, might as well blast and paint 'em, install new bushings (I had a shop do it). And while they're out, if you weld or know someone who does, PST sells LCA stiffening plates. Check out your strut rods for straightness, install new strut rod bushings. With the LCA's out, the torsion bars are just hanging there - what size are they? If they're .92's you might want to think about going up to .96, or even the 1.03's from PST. With the front end apart, its a good time to upgrade shocks if needed. A lot of members like the KYBs, I prefer Bilsteins.
I did all of the above on the Coronet and had the p/s box rebuilt by Firm Feel and the difference is amazing. The car handles better than newer full size models. I dug it so much, then next year I duplicated the rebuild in the Dart (manual box). Now I can throw that car into corners and the limiting factor is tire rub in the back.
Doing some or all of the above will set you back some more coin and a few more weeks waiting on parts, etc. But IMHO its worth it.
Thanks for the detailed response CD. Great guidance.
 
they do work and you will get more postive caster.
Make sure you set the ride height first to what you want. Factory manual alignment specs are no good for radial tires, they only work if you use bias-ply tires. This is what I told the old guy at the alignment shop to use for my Radial tires, Camber -.50 to 0 degrees, Caster as much positive as you can get up to 3 degrees and toe in 1/16th to 1/8th inch. Car runs down the road straight as an arrow now. You will be limited to what you can do with stock A arm bushings, but if you have the Moog off set A arm bushing you can tweek it a little more.

If they installed them like the instructions in the package they might not help you much. The Moog intention of the bushings are for rusty cars that have sagging frames that bend inward over time.

The "trick" is to install them like this diagram below and ignore the Moog instructions. The arrows will be pointing opposite directions front bushing to rear bushing.

View attachment 582254
Thanks moes. I have heard the "trick" before, but you providing the diagram helps me understand exactly what needs to be done. And, you saved me my next post..."what should I use for alignment specs". Much appreciated.
 
Thanks for the advice all. I went with all moog parts, including the offset UCA’s and 11/16 tie rod ends from rock auto.

Also went with 1.03 Torsion bars, solid tie rod adjusters and LCA stiffening plates all from PST.
 
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