Lower control arm outer bushing shell removal frustration...

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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!

MOPAR AMERICAN MUSCLE 23501 Lower Control Arm Bushing Sleeve Remover A, B, E

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

MOPAR 23471 AMERICAN MUSCLE Upper Control Arm Bushing Remover/Installer A, B, E,
Click to expand...

I took your suggestion and purchased these tools
Worked GREAT and made my job much easier on my A66 Challenger vert front end rebuild.

 
I've always hit the outer lip inward at four places with a washer inside, then pressed them out from the other side with a vise, whatever socket fits for a receptacle, and another socket to push with. This process relieves a lot of the interference fit, and surface area touching the arm. Since the lip is gone, you may try picking at the edges until there's enough to hit. A flat pin punch would probably work better than a chisel for this. Relieving the pressure really helps. To the left of the vise, you can see the old sleeve with the edges pushed towards the center.

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VDART said:
do any of you have an recycle tool store from big industry? In Wichita we have a place called the yard, it sells obsolete aircraft tools & all kinds of other stuff .

I bought my 1 3/8 nf12 tap for less than $10--
place a thick washer in before tapping-- or you might chip the tap!!

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.
Click to expand...
I buy from the yard all the time. Good tools. I have a huge box of 1/16" and 1/8" cleco pins for my sheetmetal jobs from there. Doubtful they will have a tap that big though.
 
Well, I just completed replacing the bushings in my lower control arm. I followed the instructions from this article in HOT ROD MAGAZINE online and it went flawlessly. The only thing I did differently from the article was that instead of welding the washer to the bushing shell, I inserted the washer into the shell then collapsed the sides inward in a couple of spots. Then pressed it out.

My neighbor friend has a press so I brought along my parts and cold case o' brewski...
I realize there are many ways to achieve success but this worked really great and the press is the only special tool used.
It would be nice if this article was made into a sticky.

Tips and Tricks for Rebuilding Lower Control Arms

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Dartnut said:
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.
Click to expand...
I just did the same thing, worked, but not without a bit of a fight.

I have the greaseable poly bushings from pst, they do have an outer shell already pressed on the bushing.
 
I just finished doing this very job. Once the rubber is out of the way I grab my die grinder and a round carbide bit. Carefully grind a vertical groove up and down the bushing shell. Then collapse it with a chisel. It falls out. Yes it is possible to grind too deep and groove the inside diameter of the LCA. But being careful you may leave a small witness mark [line] in the LCA. in either case, there is more than one option for doing this job. I like reading others ideas...this is my technique.
 
I have watched my dad with a cutting torch take them lower control arm bushings out
all my life. He told me this is the fastest and easiest way to do this job.
 
375inStroke said:
I've always hit the outer lip inward at four places with a washer inside, then pressed them out from the other side with a vise, whatever socket fits for a receptacle, and another socket to push with. This process relieves a lot of the interference fit, and surface area touching the arm. Since the lip is gone, you may try picking at the edges until there's enough to hit. A flat pin punch would probably work better than a chisel for this. Relieving the pressure really helps. To the left of the vise, you can see the old sleeve with the edges pushed towards the center.

View attachment 1715017402
Click to expand...
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That's an upper control arm.
I think a wafer wheel works best on them.
 
Quite a few years have past since i made them videos, i no longer use a the cold chisel to remove the shell on the pin, instead i just use a ball pein hammer in the same fashion. Oh and i came across an old pair of lower arms that the rubber was vulcanized to the shells.
 
dodgy said:
... i just use a ball pein hammer in the same fashion...
Click to expand...
Even easier. I never would have though of just beating on the shell to expand it slightly. Sounds like a machinist's trick.

I replaced the LCA bushing years ago. I recall first pushing on the rod with my hydraulic shop press which pushed the innards out, shearing the rubber. I then recall cutting an axial slot in the outer shell to peel it inward using a hammer and punch. Can't recall how I got the inner shell off the pivot bolt but probably cut a similar slot. Energy Suspension sold a polyurethane LCA bushing, but appears to have dropped it. Likely because many pointed out that since it slid between the metal shells, the only thing keeping the LCA from sliding backwards was the T-bar and its little wire clip in the end.
 
Using my homemade press I  used the 1 3/8 tap...came out real easy. The hardest part is screwing in the tap, which I got used off of eBay, it was $35 with shipping and money well spent. I'm never going back to the smash, curse, cut, and leaving gashes method ever again. I use the assortment of short pipe nipples, bolts and washers on the right to remove and install UCA bushings. Using little hot sriracha oil helps the job go a little easier too.

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