I'm trying to finish up my front suspension and I've pressed out the bushings on the lower A arms but I don't know how to press them out on the upper arms without destroying the things, can anyone help with this? Thanks in advance for any help.
well do you care if you damage the looks of the control arm? i used a air chisel to do mine , works like a charm and pops them right out . ****s them right in with out removing the arms from the car.
I used a saber saw to cut through one side. Then they press out easy. I used plumbing pipe fittings to help press the new ones in, an extra hand is almost required.
Both ideas sound great, but I still have the upper control arm shaft in the bushings and I don't know how to get that out. According to the suspension manual from 54, I'm supposed to press one side out using the control arm shaft but it feels like the whole control arm is bending. I don't really want to damage the control arm since I've spent too much money on the suspension already. Basically I'm asking, whats the proper or best way to do it without damaging the arm or the shaft?
I don't know if you read this link earlier but some good info is here: http://www.webrodder.com/article.php?AID=310&SID=8&CID=11
I did see this, and while its great information I don't have an air chisel to remove the bushings and I'm not really into buying one at this point of money conservation. Is there another way to do this that doesn't require me buying more tools?
spend the 150 buck and get a weekend warrior bearing/bushing press, can buy a decent one through SUmmit racing, nothing more than a bottle jack with a press rod attached to a frame, or just take the arms to a local shop and have them press the old ones out and put the new ones in.. cost about the same. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-917030/
54HotRod this won't put you in the poorhouse: http://www.harborfreight.com/air-impact-hammer-kit-92037.html I have had mine for 5+ years and does the job fine there are also available a pair of pickle forks for around $10 to fit it which works a lot better than the "bang with a hammer" kind.
Jeff thanks for the information, I actually decided to open the wallet again and I bought one almost the same as what you show here for $15.00. The air hammer worked great and only took about an hour to do both arms. I didn't get a chance to press the bushings in because I was making sure the Headman headers that you guys suggested a few weeks ago fit with the steering box, and I was sand blasting the suspension arms along with painting them so they don't look like **** or rust away. Hopefully this car will be on the road again by the end of July and under repairs again for another six months to a year when I decide to do more work. Next Weekend I will be picking up the fenders and hood that I bought from Rocky and another step closer the car I want it to be.
i say this because it happened to me, but make sure you put the new bushings in the same way they came out. i had installed my bushings in the wrong way (rookie mistake) i was following the webrodder article and in one photo he has them shown going in the wrong way, then down a little further they are the other way. so i had to press mine out carefully. luckily i didnt damage them so i could reuse them! just sharing my experience to save another!!! Jason
Thanks for the advice. I've been sand blasting and repainting the arms so I haven't come close to pressing the bushings. I have the original suspension booklet and the 52-54 manual so I think that I will use that as a guide.
You can also rent a bushing press (tool) from Advanced Autoparts. I think it's $100 to rent but you get all the money back when you return the tool.
The good thing is that I'm in the military and the car is sitting at the base auto hobby shop, and they have a press there. For me there is no more cost than the storage of the car itself. The Advanced Autoparts thing is a great idea for someone that doesn't have the advantage of a military hobby shop though.
For those of you that helped me my questions and whining may be happy to know that I am completely done with the front suspension and I will only be handing out the information that I learn by doing this daunting task. So, thank you very much for all the help, it was great inspiration to have the guys of this group throughout the entire learning experience when I needed a question answered. As you can see, I've moved on to more growing pains with the rear suspension and brakes. Fun, fun, fun never stops on a car like this one.
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