Control Arm Bushing Installation

[Ronno6]

I thought having a hydraulic press would solve all my problems.
Maybe it would if I knew how to properly use it.
Even using the (so I thought) proper size sleeves I wind up bending the flanges and causing
more problems than I am solving.

How the heck do you press, or pound upper and lower control arm bushings into the arms without doing damage to the bushing flanges?
Do you put the large outer washers over the rubber and press on them?

 

[C10MixMaster]

Pressing against rubber usually doesn't work well. You need to us old bearing races or pieces of pipe to push against the metal part of the bushing.

 

[Ronno6]

I have a set of sleeves supposedly for the job. I have sleeves which contact the bushing flanges
immediately outside of the rubber insert flange.
Yet the flanges deflect when the press is used.

I must be doing something wrong....

 

[bucket]

It's been a while, but I believe the last time I did bushings in control arms, I just used a ball joint press.

 

[Blue Ox]

You need to put something between the flanges of the control arm to keep them from collapsing together and binding the bushing. It needs to be a snug fit to prevent any deflection. Also, everything has to be supported square and straight in line with the press ram.

 

[Rusty Nail]

y u no haz ne pix?

 

[Bennyt]

Couple solutions:

Mount the control arm back on the truck and use an air hammer to pound them in/out one at a time.

Ride tech and others sell a bushing press. Use an old lower bushing cup and cut it to fit in between to support.

Bring the arms to a suspension shop and probably pay 1-2 hours labor to have them do all the press work.

Do what Blue Ox suggests and make sure it's properly supported and in line.

 

[Rusty Nail]

I thought you were supposed to FREEZE them first?

 

[Bennyt]

I thought you were supposed to FREEZE them first?

You could try that but I doubt it's dense enough to make a difference. Used to freeze cranks, and warm up the timing gears in the oven and they would slide right on by hand.

 

[Rusty Nail]

It's no biggie, let dude keep beatin on em.

All we can do it hope for pix...

 

[Ronno6]

Like so many other facets of this project,
I finally figgered out how to do it...................AFTER I was done!

 

[Rusty Nail]

You put em in the freezer huh?

 

[Ronno6]

You put em in the freezer huh?

Didn't have to.....it got down to 28° when I pressed 'em in...
and a spacer to keep the control arm sides from moving helped too!

Moral of the story is, this is a job for the dead of winter.........

 

[Tonyg123]

Take the arms and bushings to your local mom and pop garage and have the pressed in and out. Cant cost that much and will save alot of tkme and aggravation

 

[WFO]

After freezing the bushing, I use a couple of sockets that fit tight inside the channel to keep it from collapsing. Then use all thread, washers, nuts, and a short piece of pipe or a coupling, big enough to go around the small end of the bushing, then draw it in.