Front control arms bushing removal

[84_svo]

What is the easiest way on getting the old bushings out? I got new ones from maximum motorsports.

[etc1006]

Hey Adam, good to see you found us!

[Robertosvo]

The way I do them
Put the arm into a vise. Use a hole saw that corresponds with the size of the bushing you wish to remove (two different sizes) sink it into the rubber as far as it will go.
Next step take a drill and some old drill bits ( cordless drills usually dont have good enough power for this) drill into the rubber alongside the bushing shell and allow the drill to walk around the circumference of the shell and the rubber will be disconnected and come out
I then take a cupped wire brush that will just fit into the shell (again two different sizes) and use it like a hone to remove all traces of the remaining rubber

*Disclaimer* I have done a bunch of these and can do them quite easily.....you may break a few drills "learning" this technique

Hope this helps

[84_svo]

thanks roberto. im going try this on the a-arms that came off of my car. then go to the ones that had the ball joints done on them.

[oneowner88lx]

We light a fire in an old grill we have laying around and burn them out. Then clean up the hole with a wire brush in a drill. But I like the hole saw suggestion, that sounds like a good idea.

[MIKE'SVO]

Torch them out and clean up the cups with a coarse sand paper until no rubber is left.

[turboj74]

The way I do them
Put the arm into a vise. Use a hole saw that corresponds with the size of the bushing you wish to remove (two different sizes) sink it into the rubber as far as it will go.
Next step take a drill and some old drill bits ( cordless drills usually dont have good enough power for this) drill into the rubber alongside the bushing shell and allow the drill to walk around the circumference of the shell and the rubber will be disconnected and come out
I then take a cupped wire brush that will just fit into the shell (again two different sizes) and use it like a hone to remove all traces of the remaining rubber

*Disclaimer* I have done a bunch of these and can do them quite easily.....you may break a few drills "learning" this technique

Hope this helps

This technique works great! It can also be used for the upper control arm bushings on the rearend housing. Plus you don't have to smell that nasty old rubber burning.

[MIKE'SVO]

This technique works great! It can also be used for the upper control arm bushings on the rearend housing. Plus you don't have to smell that nasty old rubber burning.

That's the best part. It's like when a roofing company is putting down a hot tar roof. MMMmmmmm.

[Chalky]

Neil Knutson and I developed a technique when we were doing the rear control arms in my '83 Capri. It's covered in the rebuild thread over on FEP http://vb.foureyedpride.com/showthread.php?t=90184&highlight=capri&page=2. You need a big vise, some metal pipe and a socket set. Some heat helps but is not necessary. The sockets, long ones, need to be the same diameter as the inner metal sleeves on the bushing you are replacing. The metal pipe needs to be larger than the OD of the outer sleeve of the bushing.

Basically, you use pressure from the vice to shear the inner busing from the rubber and then use a bigger socket to remove the rubber from the outer sleeve. Clean the outer shell with a barrel roller, lubricate and fit new bushing. Job done!!!