Yah, I know IFS is not traditional, but it was on the car when I bought it. I have torn the front end apart and bought new bushings for the control arms. First time at rebuilding a front end, so I'm learning... Is there a special tool I need to get the old bushings out? Tried hitting them with a hammer clamped in the vice and NOTHING.
ummmm do not clamp too tight in vice, it will break the jaws of the vice. i done that before. it sux. LOL. just beat till it starts out.
Nope thats how you do it. A shop isn't that expensive to get them out and press them in. Air chisel works good There are two peices there ,Just start swinging A hammer and a axe works good .I did this along time ago on the garage floor .Holding a arm straight up and using sockets .Best to pay a shop to do If not equipped .
If it's MII we're talking about, you'll pretty much wreck the delicate control arms trying to press out the bushings. And yes, I did make some fixtures to support the right places as I pressed. The solution I found was to take the time to drill out the majority of the rubber so that you can drive out the inner sleeve. Now you can weaken the outer sleeve and pop it out. Fun?..... not so much.
Air hammer with a chisel. It helps to collapse the outer steel shell of the bushing a bit by hitting it parallel to the shell and dimpling it in. Then catch the chisel point under the outer lip of the shell and pry it out. Works best to do the uppers on the car or with the cross shaft mounted in a vice.
Why all the difficult advice here? Just use the loan-a-tool service at the parts store and get a control arm bushing press. it is FREE to use. just put a deposit to get the tool and get it back when you are done.
That's were I bought the bushings... They have actually been helpful to me and I plan on using their ball joint press when I get to that point. That's why I was baffled when I got the "deer in the headlights" look from them. I just ***umed that they didn't have the tool... that's why I started the thread.
maybe it is a ball joint press that they rent. i cant remember i used to work there. oops. i guess i would fall in the catagory that dont know what im talking about. LOL
after doing auto work seince 1963 when my M2 controll arms had loose bushings I did the easy thing, I bought new speedway ones with the plastic bushings, they have not worn out yet seems to be OK quality even if made in India!! used a air chisel on some of my old stock car ones, sure does not work like it shows in the books
So what you are telling me is that they had the tool, they just didn't know it... I was kind of thinking the same thing, but I don't know what I don't know, if you know what I mean...
most of the guys i worked with when i was there did not know what was going on anyway. they did not know what it took to do what or anything like that. but some of the guys were great and could help people out a lot. so it might be a tool for all of them.
Like some of the other guys, I burned mine out the finished em off with the air chisle....and thats not the first set I've done like that....call me hard headed but I honestly though that that was the only approved method of doing that job! (I've always hated rebuilding front ends for that simple aspect alone)
try checker/shucks/kragen, they have a poster board with pics of tools just point to it and ask for it, no reading necessary. i just used one from the a few months ago, along with a ball joint press too. if you want to buy one harbor freight has them too
yup if you dont have access to a press.. burn em out a cheap propane or map gas torch will work wonders. I would suggest doing it over a coffee can or metal bucket to help keep the mess to a minimum.
the best method i've found is to use a 6" cut off wheel. you cut the center out flush with the a arm then use a punch it tap out the ends.
I have done many sets and have tried about all ways possible. I would reccomend Not using fire.. It makes one hell of a mess of everything. A good air chisel works great with a vise. if you collapse them ever so slightly on 3 or 4 spots around the diameter the air chisel will knock them out effortlessly. CJ
To get the rubber out use a 1/4" drill bit and drill a hole through the rubber and let it catch. It'll roll right around and tear the rubber loose. That smoke is bad ****. Then to get the steel part out a air chisle works good. You think it's a ***** getting them out, wait until you start putting them back in. A wall mounted arbor press, and funny looking peices of pipe is what I use.
Here's the process a buddy of mine put together using a home-made socket/threaded rod arrangement. http://www.imperialclub.com/Repair/Suspension/Uppers/index.htm Works like a charm and you can't wreck your arms. When you're done, you can still light the rubber on fire if you want!
hold with a vise and remove with air hammer .use same vise and large socket to install new bushing.this is what has been working for me and the guys at our lincoln dealership for the past 21 years.
I am trying to get the lower control arms off the frame of a 63 Ford Gax. XL but can't figure out how to get the bolt thru the old bushing on the frame, need a answer help
EXACTLY, there was a post on here just a few weeks ago with a video and it works flawlessly. I found it... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=656467&highlight=bushings+drill
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