Lower control arm outer bushing shell removal frustration...

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I've also found it is easier to place the tap in a vise & thread the lca on it. Lawrence

ps- this info came from my 1962 service manual.[/QUOTE]

VDART
That's a good idea.
I never though of that, doing it that way.
I'm going to have to give that a try one of these days.
You taught me something new today.

Ya, screwing a 1 3/8 tap into that bushing shell does require some "muscle" in getting it to bite into the shell, but i have some heavy duty 3/4 inch drive ratchet, and breaker bar tools, and sockets, in the bottom drawer of the tool box.
 
I put the tap in a vise and screwed the control arm on to the tap. Seemed to work well that way. Tap didn't go in very straight, but it didn't need to.
 
So I traded my '67-'72 LCAs for a set of '73-'76 LCAs with swaybar tabs. They came to me "crudely" removed: the strut rods were cut off the car, everything was badly frozen up, and so on.. Only took me two and a half hours to completely strip the arms, including outer bushing shells, using the tap-and-press method. Man, that's a serious time saver.

Thanks again, Jim.
 
I just helped my bro-in-law(Robzilla) do this yesterday. We welded a washer to the bushing sleeve, then a nut to the washer. We used a 1/2" bolt aprox. 6" long and the bushing came right out in a press. For the install we cut a peice of 1 3/4" roll bar tubing aprox. 5" long and used that to press the new bushing in. It worked great and we were done in no time!
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My friend torched it out by cutting a slit in bushing shell. Came out quickly but he's been doing this for over 30 years.

I also use the torch to gently burn a groove in it and then an air chisel to knock it out. You have to be careful, but it's a 5 minute job once you've had practice.
 
mopardude318 said:
THIS little guy was the BEST damn tool I've EVER bought for this job....Takes literally seconds, I've done about 6 LCA's with this little guy.....WELL worth the money in my opinion....Sure glad I have it!

http://www.americanmuscle.biz/23501_Lower_Control_Arm_Bushing_Sleeve_Remover_ABE_p/23501.htm

you will also need this guy to use the above tool, the piece of 1/2-13 all thread and the metal cylinder:

http://www.americanmuscle.biz/Upper_Control_Arm_Bushing_Remover_Installer_A_B_p/23471.htm
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I dont know if I could trust a company that doesn't use spell check....
 
At our shop ,we remove that inner shell of the L.C.A. bushing with a tip called a muffler splitter after first removing the inner sleeve and rubber portion.You can remove the inner sleeve easily by taking the heating torch and warming up the iiner sleeve.What generally happens is the rubber smokes like hell(not E.P.A. approved) and may catch fire but it softens and the sleeve just drops right out.Then take a sharp tool and push out the remaining rubber ,preferrably while it's softened.Mac tools makes a muffler splitter tip which you insert in the end of your air hammer and it slices it like butter. Mopars are awesome -and after 36 years ,I still love rebuilding the front suspensions!
 
All i did was run a few quick mig welds radially in the inside of the sleeves and tack a few ''tits'' on the outside and tapped them out.
The welds shrink the sleeve and the ''tits'' give the punch something to grab on to.
They came out so easily that i barely had to hit the punch with the hammer from the other side.
Don't weld too much though, you are trying to put some heat in there so it will shrink, not build a pipe line!
Let it sit for 5 minutes after welding and they almost fell out with no harm to the inner surface at all.

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Just pulled mine . After reading all the hard ships of getting the sleeves out and destroying everything. First I couldn't find just the shells anywhere so this led me to try and save the shells. I put the control arm in the vice and used my drill with a small drill bit . I drilled into the rubber all the way around. Keep doing this until the rubber starts to come out in chunks, then I take a screw driver and pry the inner sleeve out. If your careful you won't damage the sleeves. Mine were a little scratched but nothing a fine file can't dress up.
 
This is great info.
I went the other way and am replacing my LCA bushes and pins.
I have opted for the energy suspension bushes reusing the outer shell and using the greasable LCA pins from Firm feel.
Will let you all know if they are good or not. :)
 
If you're leaving the outer shell in place for those poly type bushings... burning the OEM rubber out works. Butane, propane, charcoal, whatever is handy.
 
If you have a die grinder you can cut a groove in the shell in about 3 minutes. Roll the lip over just a bit and tap it out from the back side.
 
hemi71x said:
Back in the early 1960's when Chrysler invented these suspensions on their line of cars, the factory maintenance manuals had you use a 1 3/8 inch tap screwed into the bushing shell, to then press it out.
I use one of these big taps all the time in my suspension rebuilding business, and also that American Muscle Tool Co, remover tool another poster wrote about.
Both of these methods work well, along with the welded washer method.
I don't own a welder, so i can't use that method.
Whatever works for you, go for it.
If you had to go and buy a 1 3/8 tap now-a-days its gonna cost you some big $$$$$$$ to get one.
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This is the same thing I use. Works great.
 
airgrabber said:
Put the washer inside the shell of the LCA bushing outer housing. Then take an air chisel and fold over the outer edges of the lca bushing shell (the lip that keeps the bushing from pressing all the way thru the lca) in towards the center of the shell, thereby capturing the the washer. Then you can press it out, and you don't ruin the washer by welding on it.
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this worked great for me thanks!
 
just bought the american muscle tool that removes the bushing on the LCA and UCA
never used it yet i ordered it come in a couple days (all the way to canada)
cost 76 for both but it cost 99 dollars to ship then another 23 buck to UPS
200 dollars for a 75 dollar part
theres got to be a better way
 
I didn't even mess with shells. I ordered some polyurethane bushings from summit racing. I had to use some grease for lube. I lightly tapped the bushing into the control arm, then I tapped the pivot shaft back in and Presto! It was super easy, only took a few hours. But that was with me being in a hurry cuz I was outside freezing.
 
It took me about ten minutes to split it down the middle with an air chisel and then lever it out.

 
Id have to agree with the air chisel method. You press the rubber out or use any method of your choice, but get the rubber center out. Then collapse the press fit of the shell and work it out.
 
Fisher said:
So this is a mess then can you just buy refurbished lower control arms anywhere?
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I'm sure you can buy them somewhere. But don't let the horror stories scare you off. Most of them just aint that difficult to get out. Some are stubborn, hit em a little harder. I found it really wasnt that bad..
 
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