[Lou]

I’ve finally had enough with the infamous “cold scraping” sound our V’s make. I’ve done a lot of searching around to see what others have done. I came to the conclusion that is was my upper control arm bushings.
So I pulled the strut assembly out and pulled off my UCA. The bushings looked fine. Upon further inspection the spring insulator had some cracks. I’ll update how it goes once I get those replaced. What do you guys think of the control arm bushing? They looked fine to me.

 

[Prime Time]

I’ve finally had enough with the infamous “cold scraping” sound our V’s make. I’ve done a lot of searching around to see what others have done. I came to the conclusion that is was my upper control arm bushings.
So I pulled the strut assembly out and pulled off my UCA. The bushings looked fine. Upon further inspection the spring insulator had some cracks. I’ll update how it goes once I get those replaced. What do you guys think of the control arm bushing? They looked fine to me. View attachment 155348 View attachment 155349 View attachment 155350 View attachment 155351 View attachment 155352 View attachment 155353

I'm on the same boat. Now this it is getting cold outside it is starting to make a lot more noise in the mornings. Your UCA look fine. One area looks like its suspicious (the second and fourth picture)
More Information for GM GENUINE 15840310 (rockauto.com)

 

[Lou]

I'm on the same boat. Now this it is getting cold outside it is starting to make a lot more noise in the mornings. Your UCA look fine. One area looks like its suspicious (the second and fourth picture)
More Information for GM GENUINE 15840310 (rockauto.com)

I’m gonna call around some dealers tomorrow and see if they have this part in stock. I was looking at GM part number 22935187. The one you referenced cost less.

 

[Corsair231]

Mine sounded horrible this morning and it's not even that cold here. Sound was coming from the right front.

 

[2012CTSV]

Mine does it too. Sounds like rubber scraping

 

[Sudderth]

It is an easy changeout if you just replace the upper control arms. You can change the upper control arm bushings to urethane and they work great. However, the upper ball joint will need replacement too. Your call if you want to do the urethane or not. Just be sure you tighten the control arm bolts once you have the car at ride height otherwise the bushings will have preload.

 

[tramminc]

Well in the past, it turned out to be the swaybar bushings. Rubber got hard and growled while flexing.

 

[Sudderth]

that too I have replaced them too. they are a pain in the butt to replace

 

[Prime Time]

It is an easy changeout if you just replace the upper control arms. You can change the upper control arm bushings to urethane and they work great. However, the upper ball joint will need replacement too. Your call if you want to do the urethane or not. Just be sure you tighten the control arm bolts once you have the car at ride height otherwise the bushings will have preload.

I thought preload was only for swaybars, endlinks and the top bolt of the strut tower. How can you tighten the UCA bolts once the car is on the ground? I'm on Eibachs and can barley get a finger between the tire and fender......?

 

[Sudderth]

you sit the lower control arm on a jack and do the same thing on the other side. Once the car is level tighten the bolt and nut. I have established long wrenches and that is how I got to them. Pain in the ass. If your bushings are not torn and you mark the location you could put the others in the same orientation. But, you do risk preloading the control arms doing it that way.

 

[specialp]

The urethane bushing install was not very easy when i did it. But yes the uca rots out and makes noises. That one pictures looks a lot better than mine did

 

[Lou]

My UCA bushings are fine.
I ordered part number 15840310 and it was the wrong part. I need 22935187. The upper insulator in the V is a one piece assembly with a dust cover for the strut. I’ll post a picture of what the old one vs new one when I get it in, but here is a picture of the part I have to try returning. Mine looks collapsed.

 

[Pokie V]

I wish mine was just a scrape sound.. it feels like the front end is gonna fall out when it's cold and I turn sharp.. its a big clunk and you can feel it! Car drives smooth as can be and after 5 mins on the road, you can turn in circles with no sound of front end movement...

 

[Sudderth]

rockauto and get a couple of control arms and be done

 

[Lou]

rockauto and get a couple of control arms and be done

My cold scraping sound is not upper control bushings. I don’t wanna be just a parts replacer. lol

New part came in today. Installed it on the spring. I’ll try and get it installed in the car tonight, if I have time.

 

[Prime Time]

New part came in today. Installed it on the spring. I’ll try and get it installed in the car tonight, if I have time. View attachment 155410

Yep, that looks like the right part! keep us updated.

 

[RobF300]

We are all watching

 

[Lou]

We are all watching

I got it in the car last night, but ran out of time. I need to put the wheel back on and check the other side before test driving. I had a hell of a time trying to get the right torque for the UCA. I went with 35 ft/lb. Also lost the Jesus clip for a little bit, but he returned.

Got the wheel back on and it’s sitting on the floor. It’s definitely sitting higher. Just by looking between the fender and tire. I can see the passenger side is in the same condition. I need to order another for the passenger side. Rockauto now shows it out of stock. So I’ll have to go either GMpartsdirect or have the dealer order it. Both are saying about 7-10 days. One local dealer ship showed they had 2 in stock but when they physically looked they could not be found. So goes the story of the backyard mechanic.

So quick update, I"m having trouble ordering another upper insulator. Rock Auto shows out of stock. I tried GMpartsonline and they rejected my order because its high risk. They offered to send me a paypal invoice, which i agreed. But I haven't heard anything back. So I went to the dealership and the parts counter is having trouble ordering it also. The part is paid for but I guess we'll see what happens.

 

[Ctarb1]

Not related but if your interested rock auto sells the three piece grey oem splitter for the cheapest price around. Noticed yours was kind of jacked up in the pic. Will clean up your front end.

 

[Lou]

Not related but if your interested rock auto sells the three piece grey oem splitter for the cheapest price around. Noticed yours was kind of jacked up in the pic. Will clean up your front end.

It’s been on my mind to replace just haven’t got around to looking at prices yet. How much are they asking? Do you have a part number? I’m lazy to do any searching right now.