Lower control arm outer bushing shell removal frustration...

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Will order the bushings from rock auto i guess and take to local machine shop he is a mopar guy and who i bought the duster from.
 
I must have got lucky when I did mine, press the shaft out, run the air hammer right down the side, fold in, grab with pliers and pull out. Whole thing took less than 10 min;)
 
Getting to the point where i am going to lite this thing on fire and burn it to the ground on principal.
 
Just flipped through this thread again. Gotta give Andrev8 cudos for those cool welding pics.

Someone mentioned needing a 1 3/8 bolt as if this were to be used after the tap. No bolt is needed. Thread in the tap and use it to push the bushing out. Works nicely. Cheap solution for those without a welder as they can be found on EBAY for under $20.
 
Thanks Ben. My bushings actually look and feel good only 20,000 miles on this stuff so shouldnt need replacing. I did the oil pump mod today on the K member, and have strut rods and LCA ready to go to sandblaster tomorrow.
 
I found a machine shop to do it for low bucks. They welded in a steal plug and then pressed it out. Big time saver. nice work. Apex Bensenville, IL. Several others refused the work before I found this one. They also did Two sets of 340 x heads and a 416 stroker motor for me. Such nice work.
 
Some of yall sure do make this hard. lol By the time yall drag your welders and whatnot out and get all set, I would have the shells out layin on the floor with my Snap On air chisel. There's really no better way. Literally five minutes each. Or less.
 
I used a gear puller and a tap on the right side...
I got a shop press to do the rest.
The press comes in handy for a lotta other stuff.

:burnout:
 
One shade-tree tool is a length of all-thread, a short length of pipe, and a thick stack of washers. (Use your imagination.) But that only (usually) works from a clean start. The right tool to remove the outer bushing shell by itself is a 'muffler tool'.

(A 'muffler tool' cuts open old tailpipes to install new mufflers. It looks like a chisel at a steep angle. An automotive tool store will have one. Not pricey.)

Three caveats: 1. Keep torches the hell away from lower control arm ends! These are high-strength steel. They support the whole front end. Don't chew them up or kill the temper, or you get to rustle up new ones.
2. Some urethane bushings are sized to fit inside the old outer shell. (They figured you couldn't get it out anyway, so why not.) Did you read their directions?
3. Once you get the old muthahs out, you're only halfway. The new ones have to go in, just as tight. I've done a few of these, but only with a serious hydraulic press, the one we use to push out big-block piston pins. Make a friend somewhere.
 
Thread tap in
Press bushing out
Cut shell with wafer wheel
 

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dont even need to fire up the compressor. Cut a slit down the side, then tap yourself a little tang off the side and grab it with some needlenose vicegrips. Turn in like your opening a can of sardines. My Lexus rear LCA's are the same to repair, cut out bonded rubber and sand smooth, tap in poly bushing with some KY and a hammer, assemble. The Lexus arms could be removed with a bolt an a nut through the center and then just turn it with a ratchet, it will rip itself out.
 
jtolbert said:
So I tried welding a washer to the outer bushing shell and pressing it out...Twice. Both times the welds pulled chunks of the bushing shell off with the welds, so now there's not much of a rim left to weld to. :wack: Any other suggestions? How thick is the metal in the walls of the bushing shell?
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First remove the pin and the rubber from the outer portion of the bushing.Once these are removed, roll outer edge of inner inward and cut it down with a panel cuter about 2/3 or more if needed down into control arm. This will allow you to remove it. The cutter can be used with air tool or hammer stile if no air. The inner can be removed from the pin by hammering on it. This will expand the metal and it will just slide off. If removal dose cut into the control somewhat, just clean it up with hand grinder so it will not damage the new bushing when installing. don't use any lube on new parts. Have replaced many this way. It's quick, easy and gets the job done with no fuss. Good luck. Jack Arnew Suspension Systems
 
I bought the American tool and it worked perfectly. I do not have access to air chisels or welder. If I were where I grew up on the farm. I sure would have used the other methods. It is what it is
 
Thank you to hemi71x for your idea on removing the LCA bushing shell
I am in the process of doing this.
Just pressed out the bushing and inner sleeve and ready to go!


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purplehazenils said:
Found a great how on this to by Steve Dulcich the guy on roadkill garage and engine masters.
Tips and Tricks for Rebuilding Lower Control Arms

Was also wondering if anyone could tell me if the outer bushing shells are included in a kit like this pst one or do you have to buy them seperately? Because you cant exactly re-use them..
Performance Suspension Technology
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That's the thing with poly bushings (and part of the reason why a good portion of people choose not to use them), you have to reuse the original shell...you can reuse them if you extract the factory rubber insert...either that or you buy a new set of rubber bushings and remove it...or make your own shells.

The problem that can arise with using poly bushings, as explained elsewhere in this site, sometimes the bushings are too big to reasonably fit the original bushing shell due to mfr'ing variance and sometimes have to be turned down to fit correctly...or so I've read. I know there are people on here who've broached that subject before...some careful searching should give you a better answer.
 
I got the deluxe LCA repair kit. It has greaseable shafts bushings and shells. Everything fit together nicely.
 
txstang84 said:
That's the thing with poly bushings (and part of the reason why a good portion of people choose not to use them), you have to reuse the original shell...you can reuse them if you extract the factory rubber insert...either that or you buy a new set of rubber bushings and remove it...or make your own shells.

The problem that can arise with using poly bushings, as explained elsewhere in this site, sometimes the bushings are too big to reasonably fit the original bushing shell due to mfr'ing variance and sometimes have to be turned down to fit correctly...or so I've read. I know there are people on here who've broached that subject before...some careful searching should give you a better answer.
Click to expand...

Thanks alot, did some more reading and missed that somehow. Its seems that PST bushings usually fit without problems so will probobly give them a go.
 
Pressing or pushing them out did not work for me the welds or metal that you weld on just kept breaking. Hammering them out with a metal rod worked great though.

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The washer Technic works better because it fits inside for better penetration.

Glad you got it out.
 
skep419 said:
The washer Technic works better because it fits inside for better penetration.

Glad you got it out.
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I used a pipe nipple, ready rod and washers
Pushes the bushing right out. I used a small drill bit to cut away rubber. They are a pita to get out.
 
Fisher said:
Getting to the point where i am going to lite this thing on fire and burn it to the ground on principal.
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When I was young...that what I did, I'd lighter fluid the rubber and light it a blaze ....then push the center out, hack saw a groove and pry out.
 
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