How do these A-arm bushings look to you?

Pretty hard to make a conclusive evaluation from your photos alone. They do however look like ancient, original bushings. The rubber has probably broken down significantly from both age and use.

While it does require a press and a few special pieces (tools that I have) to do the job right, I wouldn't put it back together without new rubber.

If you are indeed moving soon and are unprepared for the job, I suppose that reassembly is better than trying to move a basket case.

 

Those cracks look deep and the rubber looks dried out from what I can tell in the pics. Do they lean to a side? (Take a pic straight at the hole in the bushing)

It is very easy to replace these. The hardest part is getting the old rubber out. You'll need at the very minimum a 6 ton press. A 12 ton is easier to work with because you'll have all the clearance you will need. (Find a friend with one.)
Search the archives for Birdman's thread as well as mine on replacing these. It's a weekend project.

JIM

 

They are defiantly cracked and due for replacement.

 

by the looks of middle/bottm pic chunk of rubber missing i would ditch them fit new rubbers mate for sure...... also would ditch that camera good luck

 

They look absolutely shot!
They need replacing. It is an easy job. If you have the time and patience, strip back the wishbones and do a full job on them.
Also, you have to find the "Macro" switch on your camera.

Steve

 

I would caution all the views that they are shot.... you can get this effect on the exposed ends of the bushes while the rubber between the inner and outer metal is actually fine.

And unless you plan on tracking the car/ racing the car they will be Ok for day to day use around town/ regular spirited driving.

The best test is to put a long bolt through the hole and apply up/ down force at 0, 90,180 and 270 degrees to see what level of movement you get at each end of the metal tube, if minimal then the rubber is probably fine within the bushing, if you get movement or metal to metal then they need replacing.

Tom

 

+1 Mine looks the same but my car handles superbly, no play, and no noise.
It's the inside that counts.

 

+1 Tom.

 

Chris,

Although this may be music to your ears, I'd consider the reasoning behind the music as mildly flawed. These rubber bushings are now 30 years old....and deteriorate from time just as easily as they do from mileage. The same logic can be applied to any rubber-based product; just because it looks OK, doesn't mean that it is. Case in point: Tires, fuel lines and coolant hoses. In my experiences, now going on 30 years with Ferrari, the bushings have a "safe" serviceable life of about 10-15 years, maximum. Sure, they can be challenging, at times to replace them....but that "aggrevation" should never be a factor in determining the overall saftey of the vehicle.

Also, your car does have rubber-based suspension bushings in the rear, as well. These are used (only) on the "inners" of both the upper and lower control arms, where they attach to the chassis.

FWIW, the rubber that you see cracked and dry rooted is, "in essence" the thrust surface of the bushing. This comes into play when you load the suspension under braking or hard cornering....and helps in keeping the alignment where is should be statically. Loading these bushings "by hand" will not reveal the true looseness/slop than can be only simulated by the vehicle mass under actual load conditions.

In my opinion, all of the rubber in the car is long overdue for replacment...

Of course, opinions will vary.

Regards,
David