• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

PST Tubular Upper Control Arm

Bogey

Active Member
Local time
9:47 AM
Joined
Apr 27, 2019
Messages
39
Reaction score
6
Location
New Mexico
Hello all,

Starting to assemble front end which includes PST Tubular Upper control arms.

I fitted drivers side but see that the factory bump stop will not make contact with the arm.

Is this a problem and if so, can someone recommend bump stops that fit the application? I didn't see them on PST's website.

Appreciate and help...

20230308_123556.jpg


20230308_123550.jpg
 
When installed correctly, the ball joint mount is level to the ground. The picture above makes it look like the UCA is in correctly.
These should have been fitted with some way to contact the rebound bumper, maybe a section of flat steel welded to the forward tube.
 
I have a pair of PST tubular UCA in one of my cars. It sits PERFECTLY on the bump stop. Your install is wrong.
 
Right, I was thinking
When installed correctly, the ball joint mount is level to the ground. The picture above makes it look like the UCA is in correctly.
These should have been fitted with some way to contact the rebound bumper, maybe a section of flat steel welded to the forward tube.

I have a pair of PST tubular UCA in one of my cars. It sits PERFECTLY on the bump stop. Your install is wrong.
So the one marked left is really the right side? When I compared other with it it looked like it would be much worse. Going to swap with other and post pics afterwards. Thanks all
 
I will admit up front that I haven't done this on a B-body. However, when I switched to these PST UCA's on my A-body Dodge they would not make contact with the factory bump stops. I had to buy a slightly taller bump stop and I believe they were more square than round. If I recall correctly, I purchased them from Summit.
 
Thanks to all for their inputs. Here's images of the drivers side (left) but Upper Control Arm labeled as Right.

Looks worse aligning to bump stop and notice how the ball joint is tilted towards the front when parallel to the ground.

Looks like 1968VAGTX is right in that I need a different bump stop.

Would be really interested in what PST has to say?

Thanks all...

20230308_143342.jpg


20230308_143333.jpg
 
As I mentioned, the ball joint is level when the control arm is installed correctly.

CORRECT:

01 lh (2).jpg


INCORRECT:

01 rh (2).jpg
 
Maybe PST sent you the wrong arms for your car?
 
PST makes two types of tubular upper control arms.

They have the fully adjustable ones which they listed for Pro-Touring
1678320072389.png



And they make non-adjustable.

1678320389423.png



I have the non-adjustable and even they did not sit great on the stock bump stop. I ended up getting some Energy Suspension bump stops that are flat on top and those ones worked out great for the non-adjustable arms.
 
Last edited:
Maybe PST sent you the wrong arms for your car?
Could be ? I have the set immediately above ^^^ the non-adjustable, and they fit *exactly* on the stock bump stop. Edit: on closer look, do you have the heim-joint style ? If so, my comment does not pertain to your setup. ( And I would not use the heim-joint style myself ).
 
To me it looks like the op has the adjustable ones. I bet that is the issue.
 
Our adjustable upper control arms are a hoop style as seen with the majority of the suppliers that offer adjustable upper control arms using heim joints. As you can see in the photo, this can be slightly offset of the bump stop. In these cases, if you find a square bump stop that covers the majority of the bump stop plate, you should be able to provide contact to the control arm. The only time that you really should see contact of the upper bump stop is when the suspension is completely unloaded. In many cases these vehicles are lowered giving even more distance between the arm and the upper bump stop. So this tends to not be a problem. When the weight of the vehicle is taken off the suspension, for example, when put on a lift, the travel on the shock should bottom out prior to the control arm hitting. Now before anybody gets upset. Obviously this is not a good thing but when it's being lifted up slowly there should not cause damage to the shock. All, I'm saying, using these control arms for their intended purpose, there shouldn't be any issue with it making contact with the upper control arm bump stop unless the car is being lifted up off of its suspension. It's not like people are jumping these vehicles. These are designed for autocross, pro-touring or street performance. For the customer that likes to have the peace of mind of making contact with the bump stop I would recommend as stated above. Getting a large square bump stop that covers the entire please. Or move the bump stop further out on the plate. But if you look at any of these aftermarket style adjustable control arms from other vendors you will see we all run a similar design that may not make contact with the upper bump stop.

Thanks
James From
PST
 
PST makes two types of tubular upper control arms.

They have the fully adjustable ones which they listed for Pro-Touring
View attachment 1430170


And they make non-adjustable.

View attachment 1430173


I have the non-adjustable and even they did not sit great on the stock bump stop. I ended up getting some Energy Suspension bump stops that are flat on top and those ones worked out great for the non-adjustable arms.
I used the non-adjustable on my A-body and I recall now that I purchased a set of the Energy Suspension bump stops as indicated in @Toxic Orange 493 post.
 
What kind of caster gain can be expected over a stock upper control arm?
 
Anyone ever come up with a bump stop solution part # ?
 
Auto Transport Service
Back
Top