Technical Sway bar & shock bushing 63 Impala question

Hey so i installed all new front suspension on my 63 impala. It feels bouncy. It has new springs & shocks. How tight are the nuts on the sway bar end links and shocks supposed to be?

 

You have to tighten the sway bar links at least enought to compress the rubbers. I don't see any compression in you photo, but lose sway bar links will not make the car feel bouncy.

Is the picture of the shock taken with the car on the ground or in the air? If it's on the ground, you need to compress the rubber more by tightening. Shocks are the thing that will make the car feel bouncy.

 

Yeah that was on the ground. The shocks are KYB gas adjust. So I guess the tighter I make the nuts the less travel the shock will have?

 

The rule of thumb for most of those type bushings especially on shocks has been to to tighten until the bushings are the same diameter as the washer.

 

We just took some new, months old KYB’s off my Daughter’s 64 El Camino that were junk.

I lowered the front by cutting 2 coils and put the KYB’s in. They were shorter and worked with the lowered suspension. The first pair blew the seals out the first time I put the car on the ground and leaked the oil out onto the floor.

We returned them and got another pair right away and they were fine. Drove the car for a couple weeks and the car was very bouncy. I was unhappy with the ride. While under the car just checking things out I noticed the shock body was oily and some oil on the lower control arm. I pulled them and they were shot too. Upon further examination while trying to compress them on the work bench. They would compress but not like they should. Almost like the oil was on the wrong side of the piston. I could see why they were bouncy.

Long story short I measured them out and found some Bilstiens that were a perfect fit and we are extremely happy with the results. The car rides really nice. It’s like driving a different car. They were twice the money but I have used them for years on lots of cars and trucks and have always been happy with them.

I think the El Camino and Impala use the same shocks. I can get the part number and information if you’re interested

 

It may or may not have anything to do with your situation, but KYB shocks have had a (much) less than stellar reputation for about forty years.

 

It is not that difficult to remove a shock to check for binding. [or swap in the old ones for diagnostics]
But my guess is it is now "oversprung" [too stiff] with the wrong choice of springs

Poorly lubed bushings also cause binding [loosen them, then lower the car to ride height and re-tighten]

 

Rubber bushings should be compressed to washer size + a little more, they should bulge out slightly past the washers with no gaps between.
A-arm bushings should be tightened with the weight of the car setting on the tires in " as driven position " to minimize twist in the bushings.
Yours are not tight enough.