PatD Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 Recently had a shop press out my front control arm bushings. Went to go put in my new stock rubber bushings and they slid right through. I still had the old stock bushings that were pressed out and when I went to seat one of those, it also fell through. It doesn’t look like they damaged the control arms when they pressed the bushings out, but i’m not positive they aren’t damaged. Am I missing something here? Also, when compared side by side the bushings seem to be the same size. This is for a 78’ 280z. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverado22c Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 There are no new rubber stock bushings, most likely you are using polyurethane bushings with a separate internal sleeve. Is the fitment excessively small or allowing the poly to slide thru by simply placing the bushing in? If you were to use stock style, then you would be having the same shop press new bushings in. To me, nothing is damaged. Just fit the bushings in and put back on the vehicle. Please provide photos of the bushings and control arms, that way we can give you better answers to help you out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatD Posted October 30, 2019 Author Share Posted October 30, 2019 11 hours ago, silverado22c said: There are no new rubber stock bushings, most likely you are using polyurethane bushings with a separate internal sleeve. Is the fitment excessively small or allowing the poly to slide thru by simply placing the bushing in? If you were to use stock style, then you would be having the same shop press new bushings in. To me, nothing is damaged. Just fit the bushings in and put back on the vehicle. Please provide photos of the bushings and control arms, that way we can give you better answers to help you out. I will be happy to post pictures when I get home. I don’t believe they are poly and if they are, they are being sold as rubber. Unfortunately, when I went to press the bushings in they slid right through the control arm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverado22c Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 If it is top left, those are poly. If it is top right, then they are stock style and need to be pressed in. The item that is having something pressed in or out should not be damaged, if done correctly. So, need to see pictures to tell if they used the wrong die to press out the old bushings and possibly increased the diameter of the control arm opening on accident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatD Posted November 19, 2019 Author Share Posted November 19, 2019 @silverado22c I apologize for the delay, but I finally got some pictures. Can confirm I definitely have stock looking rubber bushings. Not sure if the picture will really tell you much. The new bushing also slides through like the old stock bushing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhm Posted November 19, 2019 Share Posted November 19, 2019 Yes, those definitely appear to be OEM-style rubber bushings. Where did you source them from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverado22c Posted November 19, 2019 Share Posted November 19, 2019 Really need someone on the forum who has dealt with the front suspension to speak up, as I have not. I am wondering, as the poly bushings simply fit in the control arm only being spaced by a sleeve, if the fitment needs to be tight for the stock style bushings? You state the new and old bushings slide thru, which should not occur with pressed in style bushings. I the spacing excessive or close enough where you really need to push the bushing thru. On second thought about the polys, it looks like that step up is a lip to keep the control arms centered. I'm thinking really your cheapest way to move forward would be poly bushings. As you don't know if new stock style will be slightly larger to fit correctly or will be the same and slide thru. Then it is cost prohibitive to go with other control arms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 19, 2019 Share Posted November 19, 2019 Stock bushings need to be pressed in. If they're loose, that's not going to work. Probably the wrong bushing. Poly should be tight in the control arm. The idea of poly is that when you tighten the bolt down, the sleeve that goes through the middle of the bushing gets pinched in the crossmember and stays stationary, and the poly slides on the sleeve. IME the Z bushings are way too wide, so that when you bolt it all together there might be 1/8" or 3/16" of bushing sticking out past the sleeve. If you tighten the bolt down enough to pinch the sleeve in the crossmember, the way it should be, the bushings are so compressed that it makes it damn near impossible to move the control arm. What would really help here is taking the bushings to a belt sander and removing some of the extra bushing material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatD Posted November 19, 2019 Author Share Posted November 19, 2019 16 hours ago, jhm said: Yes, those definitely appear to be OEM-style rubber bushings. Where did you source them from? I bought the rubber bushing kit from zcarsource. Little expensive, but I think it will be worth it. @silverado22c thank you for your input. I appreciate you trying to help! @JMortensen So both bushings slide right out of the control arm, the old stock bushing and the new one. I’m thinking when the shop pressed out the bushings they ended up messing up the control arm hole where the bushing sits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZHoob2004 Posted November 19, 2019 Share Posted November 19, 2019 Sounds like the shop might have used too large of a press tool and it expanded the sleeve in the control arms. When I pressed mine out in the rear a chunk of the sleeve actually broke off and came out with the bushing because of how stuck it was. I replaced that arm and cooked the rest out before using the press. What part of AZ are you in? I might have a pair of front control arms sitting around, if I can remember where I left them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grannyknot Posted November 19, 2019 Share Posted November 19, 2019 2 hours ago, ZHoob2004 said: Sounds like the shop might have used too large of a press tool and it expanded the sleeve in the control arms. This. You might want to go back to the shop and show them, they owe you a pair of control arms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 20, 2019 Share Posted November 20, 2019 I believe I have an extra set if you need them. Dunno what they're going for, but I'll offer them for $50 and cover shipping. PM if you're interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatD Posted November 20, 2019 Author Share Posted November 20, 2019 (edited) @ZHoob2004 i’m in the west valley and @JMortensen really wish I got this ball rolling sooner on here. I already purchased some control arms and they should be here today. Thank you both though i’ll post up on the forum next time I need something. Think i’m gonna use the burn and saw method on these guys. @grannyknot that’s what i’m thinking. Edited November 20, 2019 by PatD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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