Technical 1949 Ford Front Suspension Issue

I'm completely rebuilding and upgrading the suspension on my 1949 Ford Tudor. In the process of replacing all front suspension bushings, rebuilding the kingpins and mounting 3-inch shorter springs I ran into a rather nasty issue.

On the upper suspension arm there is a bushing that connects the steering knuckle ***embly to the arm. As part of that bushing there are two rubber "seals" that keep the grease contained and dirt from getting in. My buddy an I tried multiple ways to install these two seals, but the bushing is a really tight fit between the bosses in the arm that hold the seals. See attached picture. The seals are part 3075 (circled in red) and the bushing is part 3046.

Has anybody done this before? Is there a special tool needed? Is there a special magical chant you have to say to get it to go together?...

This suspension design was used on all Ford cars from 1949 through 1953.

Any insight is welcome!

 

Go to shoebox-central.com and talk to Chris. 405-259-9222

 

Very similar to the 49-51 Merc. set up. As I recall, you have to
first slide the rubber bushing onto part # 3046 and then patiently install it. I have 4 of those rubber pieces if you need more.

 

I use a spray on Silicone liberally on those then slide them on item 3046 and roll outter lip up and slide into place. Yep, they are a ******.
The Wizzard

 

I finally broke the code on installing these upper seals, and got both sides done.

Using other tricks to lubricate the seals, etc were tried with no success, but I noticed an interesting thing while trying these approaches. If you can install the seal on one side and then compress it, it leaves a significant gap on the opposite side. You can then "fold" the other seal and force it down into the gap with a rounded tool, that can expand it to overlay the boss on the upper suspension member.

It is not a "simple" process as it requires some details to how you use the pinch bolt on the knuckle support and then readjusting the center of the bushing. But, I could do this within about 20 minutes on each side. It requires a special tool as shown below that was made out of an old bushing bolt.

I am creating a do***ent with steps and photos on how this works for anybody interested in the process.