While trying to replace my lower ball joints last weekend I came across several torn bushings that will also need replacement. I am wondering if anyone has used aftermarket front lower control arms instead of spending the time to remove the factory lower control arm then take it to a shop to push in new bushings. I am looking into my options but with this being my daily driver the easier method is typically the best for my situation. The bushings look like this on both sides of the car. I will have new struts in sometime early next week so I am trying to just hammer it all out. I still need to install the new ball joints but a rusted bolt held up the process & will need to be cut off the lower ball joint to get the old one out & new one in.



Hard to see in this picture but this bushing has light cracking around it & is the same on the driver side.

 

Whiteline and Energy both sell polyurethane aftermarket versions. Very popular mod. If you have access to a press, a 29mm socket should take care of those.

 

Here's what it looks like with poly.

 

Thanks. In my personal experience on other car's I have not had the best experiences with energy suspension bushings. They didn't last very long on past rides. I will check out whiteline. I don't have a press but its something I have been considering picking up for quite sometime. Just a simple press from harbor freight since its something good to have but not used often. I think that might be my only option as taking the parts into a shop to get the old pressed out & new pressed in might take longer than expected & ill be charged per bushing most likely $25-$50 a pop.

Thanks for the info.

 

If you get a press, be sure to get the 12ton. The 6ton would work if you got it perfect right away, but its not enough to dislodge one if you accidentally start going sideways.

Also, you're gonna want to do the compression rods at one point too, and they won't fit in the 6-ton with the dies.

 

I swear every time I upgrade anything on one of my car's the garage tool collection gets bigger lol.

Thanks, I am glad you mentioned that as I was looking at the 6 ton. The 12 ton is still considerably cheap when you factory in a shop charging $25+ per bushing after you remove the hardware etc.

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-ton-...ess-33497.html

 

Yeah, you can find 20% HF coupons all day too, so it usually turns out to be about $100.

Just for future reference, and anyone else reading:

LCA bushing race can be pushed out with a 29mm socket (both positions)

Compression rod needs a 1-11/16 socket to push and a 2-3/8 socket to receive.

 

For future reference as well

Whiteline Lower Inner bushing - W52991
Whiteline Shock Absorber W52992
Whiteline Compression Rod - W83389

I will add a torque spec list once I find it as well. I ended up buying the silver 12 ton press. I am gonna add some caster wheels to the bottom of it so its easier to move around the garage. There is a nice full push/bushing replacement kit on amazon for $60 that has nearly all the sizes.

 

TQ for the compression rods is 65ft/lbs on the 14mm subframe bolts and about 160ft/lbs on the two big bolts directly under the compression rods. Use a good TQ wrench. Rent one if you have to.

 

i have same issue with control arm bushings. i am wondering if its easier just to get new control arms or replace the bushings?

 

It would be easier to just swap parts but I didn't wanna use oem bushings. I believe you can get replacement arms for around 50 on carpart. The only thing I wish I had was a spare set so I could have my whiteline bushings in already and just swap arms out.

Or if I had a loaner set of arms I could have installed my bushings into then returned my lca's as a core.

Anywho it's not a hard process, I'm going through it right now actually. I'm also doing struts and some por 15 coatings so time consuming but not hard.

 

Anyone have any good advice for how to press out the rear bushing where the shock mounts onto the spindle, without having to take the spindle off and put it in a press?

I went ahead and got the OEM bushing style with the metal outer sleeve. I've already built a threaded rod rig using some washers, nuts and appropriate sized sockets - anyone have experience with this method, and will this even work on the bushings with metal sleeves?

I've had these stupid rear shocks sitting around for months now, just been to timid to try my contraption out as I'm going to have to take a sawsall to either the shock bolt of one of the forks of the shock itself, which will leave me stranded in the garage if I can't get the old bushings out. (The rubber has completely detached from the sleeve and is spinning with the bolt.)

 

I used Energy bushings for my compression rod (AWD) and am not really that pleased with them. They're pretty harsh on crappy roads, and tend to clunk when it's colder. I did enjoy them when new and when I was on perfect blacktop, though.

 

LCA and UCA bushings from Whiteline are great. Firmer than OEM but not at all punishing like Poly, and quiet. Just make sure to grease the heck out of them when you install them.

 

If i had to do it all again I would have bought some used arms cheap & had the new bushings installed before hand so I could straight swap them out. If you have the right tools pushing out the new bushing is easy but finding a 29mm socket locally ended up being a pita. Everytime I found a 29mm socket it was part of a massive kit for $50+ that i did not need. I finally drove some distance and got one from sears.

The next issue I have/still have is pushing the new bushings in. You cant just use a flat piece as you will destroy the bushing. You need a hollow pipe with 1.5" ID and a plate at one side. Being sunday there are 0 machine shops open. I am going to go out tomorrow and see if a local shop can make this for me. I already have a press. If i had the installer piece and 29mm socket before hand its an easy job. Without these its a pita. It seems to me it would be pain in the *** to try to install with them on the car. Its really easy to remove the lower control arm, its just 3 nuts/bolts. I say easy but I also have air tools that powered them off instantly. With hand tools expect to need a breaker bar,

I am replacing the struts, & all the bushings up front so I was planning on removing them either way. I am also doing some slight por15 coating while I am down there with most of everything off the car to kill some rust from spreading.