Installing swaybar eyelet bushings the hard way.

[cptsnoopy]

Apparently, like some others have done, I bought new MOOG K6655 swaybar eyelet bushings. They look simple enough to install, that is until you try it. The diameter of the bushings is about a quarter inch larger than the diameter of the swaybar eyelets and pressing them in with the metal sleeve in it did nothing but deform the rubber. I pulled the metal sleeve out and used some soapy water to install just the rubber and that went ok. I then took an original metal sleeve from the rotten bushing and ground one end to a nice taper. I tried pressing that in and the rubber simply squeezed back out of the eyelet. Apparently the soapy water was too slippery. I pulled the rubber out of the eyelet and washed off the soapy water lubricant and then cleaned out the eyelet bore as well. Next I installed the rubber dry. It was difficult and time consuming, I ended up using a worm style hose clamp around the rubber to keep things from deforming so much. That allowed me to get the dry bushing started and then it took another 20-30 minutes of massaging the rubber into place. After that, I tried using the tapered metal sleeve, the swaybar 3/4” mounting bolt along with a nut that fit and liberal amounts of grease and I was able to draw the old tapered metal sleeve into the bushing. Then, I pulled the mounting bolt out and slid the new unaltered metal sleeve onto the bolt and put the bolt back into the old metal sleeve that was now in the bushing.
I could have used another threaded bolt to draw the new metal sleeve into the rubber but I did not have a long enough one handy. So, I used the harbor freight 20 ton press to slide the new sleeve in while it pushed the old tapered sleeve out. After a couple of minor adjustments to get the new metal sleeve centered, it’s ready to bolt up.
The point of my post is that it’s not impossible to install the original equipment style of eyelet bushing but you can save yourself a lot of time and effort by buying the two piece bushings.