Bushing Replacement

[paulrowe]

Hey guys I'm looking at replacing all of the bushings on my truck as their kind of warn out. I was wondering if you think energy suspension is the best way to go or if there's a better cheaper option for me. I'm looking to get away from the rubber stuff as it seems to deteriorate too quickly. Any advice you guys might have I'd sure appreciate. Also is there a better option for shackles? The ones on my truck seems to be quite weak looking.

 

[Jarhead79]

Energy suspension is the best route

 

[Jrgunn5150]

Well how long did it take for the rubber one's to wear out in the first place? lol.

There are a few different shackles out there, ORD has some that may fit your need's, that one wasn't very specific.

 

[smoothandlow84]

I just rplaced all of my control arm bushings and front sway bar bushings, bumpstops front and rear. The control arm bushings are a pain in the ass to remove, but patience is the key. I found that the best way to remove the oem rubber bushings is to cut away the outer rubber flange pieces using a sharp utility knife. Once the flanges are gone, drill out the rubber bushings while in the control arms. I used a 1/4" drill bit to do this. The key is NOT to destroy the outer metal flange that is pressed into the control arms. Once I drilled out as much rubber as possible, I then used a propane torch to burn out and further weaken the rubber. Lastly, I used a flat screwdriver and a center punch to dig out the leftover bushing pieces. I was able to replace all 8 control arm bushings AND replace all 8 with polyurethane units in 8 hrs. The 8 hours also included teardown and reassembly as well. The polyurethane bushings went in a lot easier than removing the rubber ones for sure. The front end is definately tighter and more responsive. Polyurethane doesn't wear out nearly as fast as the rubber and it doesn't flex like rubber either.