fridayman
Well-Known Member
This has been the most trying job that I have tackled on my truck so far. I've been putting it off for a few weeks, but the knocking is getting quite bad when I brake, so I decided today was the day. I only wanted the do the left front lower bushes today. I started at 10 this morning and by 4pm I was bleeding, aching, swearing, and crying a little bit. Actually I'm quite knackered now, so here is the short version in case anyone else is thinking of doing this themselves:
Front up on axle stands with wheels off ground
Left front wheel off
Steering rack bolts all undone and pull steering rack back as far as it will go on the left side
Undo 4 bolts holding lower ball joint on
Undo drop link
Undo lower shock bolt - lower control arm should be able to swing down now
Then the grief started...
The rear camber adjuster and control arm bolt came out east enough - very tight but deforming the steering rack boot allowed me to squeeze the bolt out.
However the front camber adjuster had corroded onto the bush. Twisting the adjuster one way with a spanner and pushing the control arm the other way didn't do much. Hitting it with the bfh didn't do much. A few other things didn't work either. Then I realised the flat bit of the adjuster can come off the tube part - so I made a type of screw compressor with some 12mm threaded bar and some steel tubing. Success! Control arm finally off.
I tried to make a similar (but bigger) gadget to push the old bushes out - I bent and stripped a few things, but the bushes didn't even move. So out when all else fails, get the blow torch. This didn't really work either. Next I sawed the ends off both bushes. Then more fire. A lot more fire. Finally I could pull the centre shaft out of the bushes. Then more fire (the rubber sort of crumbles away). At this point I hadn't realised I was wasting time trying to get all the rubber out. Taking a break I got the new poly bushes out and realised that the metal I was trying to clean was actually the outer part of the old bush - that has to be pressed out... I've read that it is possible to get these out without a press, but I am just going to take the arm somewhere tomorrow to get the old ones pressed out and the new ones pressed in.
Front up on axle stands with wheels off ground
Left front wheel off
Steering rack bolts all undone and pull steering rack back as far as it will go on the left side
Undo 4 bolts holding lower ball joint on
Undo drop link
Undo lower shock bolt - lower control arm should be able to swing down now
Then the grief started...
The rear camber adjuster and control arm bolt came out east enough - very tight but deforming the steering rack boot allowed me to squeeze the bolt out.
However the front camber adjuster had corroded onto the bush. Twisting the adjuster one way with a spanner and pushing the control arm the other way didn't do much. Hitting it with the bfh didn't do much. A few other things didn't work either. Then I realised the flat bit of the adjuster can come off the tube part - so I made a type of screw compressor with some 12mm threaded bar and some steel tubing. Success! Control arm finally off.
I tried to make a similar (but bigger) gadget to push the old bushes out - I bent and stripped a few things, but the bushes didn't even move. So out when all else fails, get the blow torch. This didn't really work either. Next I sawed the ends off both bushes. Then more fire. A lot more fire. Finally I could pull the centre shaft out of the bushes. Then more fire (the rubber sort of crumbles away). At this point I hadn't realised I was wasting time trying to get all the rubber out. Taking a break I got the new poly bushes out and realised that the metal I was trying to clean was actually the outer part of the old bush - that has to be pressed out... I've read that it is possible to get these out without a press, but I am just going to take the arm somewhere tomorrow to get the old ones pressed out and the new ones pressed in.