2000 Condorde - Body (chassis) mounts

I don't know of any "body mounts" on our cars. Are you talking about the engine cradle bushings? Some of your comments sound like maybe that's what you're talking about.

From my reading over the years on several LH car forums, it would seem that the difficulties you might expect have everything to do with where you live - i.e., is it in the rust belt or not, or somewhere in between. You seem to already be aware that, worst case, it can be difficult and may involve some torch work.

When you do your struts, don't use the OEM spring cushions. They become worthless very quickly. Some guys here:

arranged to have some polyurethane ones made that are supposed to be excellent. They also arranged for poly cradle bushings too, but unfortunately they are only made for 1st gen. LH cars.

It must be cradle bushings I'm referring to, Bill. I looked that up in the service manual and it looks like what I saw. When I stood under the car in front of the transmission pan, if I looked over my shoulder right or left, I'd see the side of a very squashed bushing. Figure 76 on page 2-40 of the 2000 Service Manual lists item one as the part. Unless there's another one other than the mate to this one that looks similar, it's got to be cradle bushings I'm taking about.

Yes; I live in the heart of the rust belt.But this is the only car I've had (I'm in my 60's) where frame members became an issue. I've never seen a car looks so good but make one so uncomfortable. My friends are asking why I want to sell it. I tell them it's unreliable. At 108,000 miles, two door actuators (fortunately I provided the labor), an evaporator, brakes with rotors that keep warping (3rd set), water pump (to be expected), and a computer module that prevented shifting. I keep thinking the slight hesitation I feel shortly after the car takes off (shift to 2nd I guess) is a sign of impending trouble (though this might have been occurring all along and I've simply become paranoid).

Anyway - back to the bushings. What I see from the side is half a bushing gone and rust around the area. The integrity of the cradle doesn't seem to be compromised but I'm not a good judge of that; no frame of reference (no pun intended). What's you're take? Probability of that auto class supervisor finding the area too rusty to risk what has to be a relatively clean replacement in order for him to tackle it?

Judging from the picture I referenced, would it be wise to replace any other components; like the entire tension strut and lower control arm assembly (or just the bushings)?

Dorman makes replacement bushings now for the LHS so i figure they will fit other LH cars. got one pair (1 upper, 1 lower) for my 96 LHS for about $60.00

all 8 of them was over 400.00 from Chrysler earlier this year but only due to my car club discount. list price would have been around 520.00. they don't sell them in pairs from Chrysler, they sell them separately so you'll need 8 if you buy them that way. buying the Dorman's from Car Quest i would have only needed 4 pair for around 250.00 with tax but they didnt sell them when i did them originally.

here's what my old > > I searched for info here but found only one person asking if these

It must be cradle bushings I'm referring to, Bill. I looked that up in the service manual and it looks like what I saw. When I stood under the car in front of the transmission pan, if I looked over my shoulder right or left, I'd see the side of a very squashed bushing. Figure 76 on page 2-40 of the 2000 Service Manual lists item one as the part. Unless there's another one other than the mate to this one that looks similar, it's got to be cradle bushings I'm taking about.

Yes; I live in the heart of the rust belt.But this is the only car I've had (I'm in my 60's) where frame members became an issue. I've never seen a car looks so good but make one so uncomfortable. My friends are asking why I want to sell it. I tell them it's unreliable. At 108,000 miles, two door actuators (fortunately I provided the labor), an evaporator, brakes with rotors that keep warping (3rd set), water pump (to be expected), and a computer module that prevented shifting. I keep thinking the slight hesitation I feel shortly after the car takes off (shift to 2nd I guess) is a sign of impending trouble (though this might have been occurring all along and I've simply become paranoid).

Anyway - back to the bushings. What I see from the side is half a bushing gone and rust around the area. The integrity of the cradle doesn't seem to be compromised but I'm not a good judge of that; no frame of reference (no pun intended). What's you're take? Probability of that auto class supervisor finding the area too rusty to risk what has to be a relatively clean replacement in order for him to tackle it?

Judging from the picture I referenced, would it be wise to replace any other components; like the entire tension strut and lower control arm assembly (or just the bushings)?

The Dorman parts are only for the first generation LH cars.

The issue is going to be whether the bolts come loose/out without breaking the nut loose inside the frame rail. The nut inside the frame rail is spot welded to keep it from turning, if the welds break, the frame rail will have to be cut open to make room for some manner of securing the nut to allow full removal of the bolt.

IOWs, no way to know until they try.

There were/are similar problems with the lower control arm bushings (vertical) bolts on the first generation neons, although strangely enough, there is better accessibility to cut an access hole than there is on the LH cars.

It would be wise to investigate any possible causes of the bushings early failure. perhaps the front struts are weak putting added stress on the cradle bushings.

I'm a little confused about the replacement bushings:

1) Dorman & Car - Quest I presume these are two different parts distributors. The vocational center teacher looked recommended I get the parts (top plates, bolts & sleeves, bottom plates, and nuts) from Chrysler. What's the general opinion here about getting these particular parts from secondary market sources other than OEM?

2) >>The nut inside the frame rail is spot welded to keep it from turning...>The Dorman parts are only for the first generation LH cars.

Carquest is a parts distributor kinda like NAPA, they sell a Dorman line of replacement parts. Dorman did not make the bushings the first time i did mine. i needed one replacement due to my steering gear seal leaking so bad the power steering fluid coming out of it ran down on the cradle bushing and caused it to swell and pull apart. i called around and Carquest had them NAPA did not carry them, said dealer only part. It was either buy 2 separate bushings from Chrysler for somewhere around 65.00 each or buy a pair from Carquest for 60.00.

But like AARCUDA said, if they only fit the1st generation LH cars then they most likely wont work on your car and you will need the dealer part.

I'm a little confused about the replacement bushings:

1) Dorman & Car - Quest I presume these are two different parts distributors. The vocational center teacher looked recommended I get the parts (top plates, bolts & sleeves, bottom plates, and nuts) from Chrysler. What's the general opinion here about getting these particular parts from secondary market sources other than OEM?

2) >>The nut inside the frame rail is spot welded to keep it from turning...>The Dorman parts are only for the first generation LH cars.

They are not available from anywhere other than OEM.

There is a small access hole (covered with a plastic patch) on the inside face of the frame rail but access is blocked by the exhaust system. The only way in is to plasma cut an access hole on the outside face of the frame rail and then mig weld it closed when finished. The plastic inner fender shield will need to be removed to do this.

Not recommended.

They quote the job sky high in hopes that you'll trade the car in on a new Charger or 300. The ones with a body shop are equipped, or they farm it out to a body shop if not.

I can only comment that his methods are sound and well thought out. The probability of success is impossible to determine. Some cars that you'd swear are going to fight you tooth and nail don't, others that seem cleaner and less corroded do. Corrosion is random, too many X factors.

Right rear gets the majority of salt spray.

The welded nuts should break loose before the bolt breaks unless the bolt diameter is reduced because of corrosion. Used to see this a lot on the GM X bodies when replacing the steering rack.

Rob and aarcuda answered everything well, except, I think you have some confusion here that hasn't been addressed:

I may be misunderstanding what you're saying here, but, based on where you said "He wouldn't be able to do this if those bolts are welded, would he?", it seems that you thought that when aarcuda said "The nut inside the frame rail is spot welded to keep it from turning..." that he was saying that the bolt is tacked to the nut to keep the bolt from turning. He was saying that the nut is welded to the frame (to keep the nut from turning relative to the frame).

Like I said - I may be misunderstanding what you are saying, but I'm thinking you were confused on that by mis-reading aarcuda's statement about the nut being welded.

Sorry for being thick but I'm still a tad confused about that bolt. If the bolt was spot welded to the frame during assembly, how does the teacher expect to get it out without cutting an access hole? From his list of parts I'll need to buy (I'll have to recheck with him Monday), he included "bolts". Rob's photos doesn't display bolts. I assumed that's because his replacement was clean; the nuts came off without incident.

And back to the possibility of moving the car 10 miles or so in the event one bolt breaks.... surely this wouldn't be recommended BUT - given the circumstances - I've got to assess risk here. What's the potential damage that can reasonably be expected if the car were driven with one bolt broken? After learning what I have here and elsewhere lately about this design, there are probably a few more cars on the road with similar problems and the owners don't even realize the severity yet. My guess is the most probably outcome if I'm forced to drive 10 miles or so is ... zip; nothing. I may sense a shimmy in the wheel a tad but probably little else. That's my guess using common sense, but then .... my experience here is also "zip".

I haven't seen anything about the *bolt* being welded to anything. Only that the *nut* is welded to the frame.

Now that you have a clear understanding of the situation, some of the threads of the bolt stick up above the nut. These threads will corrode and bind in the nut when he tries to remove the bolt. penetrating oil will help but it is not a magic cure all. With patience and finesse, he may get them out without incident.

As for a diagram or picture, imagine a sealed rectangular box, imagine that inside that box is a nut glued/welded/attached to one face of that box. Your job is to figure out how to apply over 100 ft.lb. of torque to that nut repeatedly without it breaking loose and spinning until the bolt is fully removed.

Your mechanic can start by drilling a 1/2 inch hole in the outboard face of the frame rail adjacent to the nut, he can then access the nut and bolt threads with a #2 or #3 welding tip and heat the nut and also burn any corrosion off of the bolt threads. This should help considerably. The hole can then be mig welded shut,there will be no structural concerns as long as the weld is done properly (not too hot) as I believe the unibody rails are HSLA type steel.

.. > I haven't seen a picture of "the bolt", only the nut on the bottom of

Got it! The instructor/mechanic did mention drilling a hole but I thought it's purpose was merely to sqirt penetrating oil. He has no welding equipment... or if he does, he made it clear he wouldn't be doing any welding. Thus my search for athe backup. Sounds like I'm going to need his personal skill with the bolts... and a little bit of luck.

g... > > I haven't seen a picture of "the bolt", only the nut on the bottom of

The instructor/mechanic was able to crack 3 of the 4 nuts. Surprisingly, the one with the best bushing (best shape) is the one that's giving the most resistance. He had the students squirt a good amount of penetrating oil onto the bolt from the top and told me to bring it back next week. He's optimistic it'll free up and I'll be able to replace all four bushings/mounts.

That good news lead me to decide to keep the car and sink more into the suspension system... which raised more - but far less serious - issues. I've spelled them out in a separate posting. I could use some more advice please. Thanks for helping with the mounts. "Best Struts/shocks - 2000 Concorde 110K Miles"

Hopefully, you all headed to the Casino... ;-)

Know what you mean... I love our 98 Intrepid, thing is, stuff is always failing like power window motors/switches, AC compressor/evaporator, steering rack (horrible clanking on bumps) HVAC controls. But it's fast, roomy, handles like a go-cart, roomy, great drivers seat, smooth, roomy. Being a mechanic, the repairs don't hurt financially as much as they would a layman.

it must be roomy. you put that in 2 times.....lol

Reminds me of a Checker.

Did I mention that it's roomy?

as yes....working on a checker was fun ......NOT!