niceguy678us Posted December 27, 2004 Share Posted December 27, 2004 I am installing poly bushings on 280z A-arms. I sandblasted them, primed/painted them, pulled the spindle pins, slid the hub/shock assembly out, cut out the old bushings, rediculously greased the new bushings/installed them, go to slide the hub/shock assembly back in there and #$%^?@!!! it won't fit in there with the new bushings, and there will be no prying/sliding it in there either (I tried already). Anyone experience this? Have any thoughts of what to do? ROSS C????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted December 27, 2004 Share Posted December 27, 2004 Did you cut out the shells? The stock bushing is 3 parts. The outer shell which is a thin steel cylinder, the rubber, and the inner shell which the spindle pin goes through. If you cut out the rubber and didn't remove the shells, you are never going to get the new bushings in... Take a hacksaw and cut through the shell (cut straight towards the control arm so that any groove you cut isn't in a sensitive area). Once you cut through the shell you can just pop it out with a hammer and punch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted December 27, 2004 Share Posted December 27, 2004 I believe his problem is the distance between the installed bushings is narrower than the width of the strut housing that slides in between the bushings. I've heard of this problem repeatedly, but can't remember what the solution was. I believe a stiff puddy knife is used as a "shoe horn" to slide the housing between the bushings, which in effect, compresses the lip of the bushings as the strut housing is forced into position, and then the knife is pulled out from between the two. I'm sure someone will chime in and correct me as this appears to be a common problem with the poly bushings used outboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strotter Posted December 27, 2004 Share Posted December 27, 2004 I ended up using a thin, flexible putty knife to get them started, sort of as a "ramp" for the rubber bit. Putty knife (well lubed) onto the frame, one side of the a-arm *just* engaged on the frame, other a-arm jammed onto the blade, rubber mallet beating ensues. A third hand would be helpful when starting the arm onto the blade, keeping it an a ramp-like attitude. Also, don't put "first" a-arm too far into the frame at first, as you'll "cock" the bushing at too much of an angle, increasing the interference. Illustration follows: http://album.hybridz.org/showphoto.php?photo=955 [EDIT]: WELL, ALL THE TIME I SPENT GETTING MY LOVELY ILLUSTRATION TOGETHER, BOZ BEAT ME TO IT. SIGH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted December 27, 2004 Share Posted December 27, 2004 I used 2 putty knives a tow strap and a floor jack to get mine back together. I put 1 putty knife on each side of the hub, put the tow strap around the shock tube and the cross link inner pivot point so the hub wouldn't move outward and then jacked the outer end of the crosslink up until the hole in the bushing was pasted the hub then pulled the putty knives out. Make sure everything is greased really well or you'll never get the knives out without taking everything back apart (ask me how I know) and use knives you don't mind busting as they will bust if they aren't flexible enough ( I broke one on each side). 2" wide knives is a good idea also. Wheelman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted December 27, 2004 Share Posted December 27, 2004 I too used a putty knife to assemble mine the first time. Then, someone advised me to grind (or file) the strut in such a way as to 'channel' the strut between the bushings. This works very well. With the strut and a-arm bolted to the car, I just have to hold the a-arm up and push the strut into place in the a-arm. I hope I've described this properly. You don't need to remove much material from the strut. Just enough to create an angle so that the bushings doesn't hang up on the strut. One problem I found using the putty knife approach is that while you may get the bushing started ok, the hole in the center of the bushing gets caught on the strut and it may fold the bushing back. I didn't see this happening when I assembled it. It wasn't until I had to take it apart again that I noticed that the bushing was deformed around the hole. Nigel '73 240ZT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niceguy678us Posted December 28, 2004 Author Share Posted December 28, 2004 blue oval z, strotter, wheelman, and nigel thank you for your replies, that's exactly what I was looking for. You guys are the best on the internet!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 Nigel, Thats why I used 2" wide putty knives and left them between the bushing and hub until the edge of the hub was past the bushing hole. I saw this starting to happen as I assembled the first one and took it back apart to reposition things to prevent it. Wheelman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 Wheelman: I'm glad you were able to spot it during assembly. Like I said, I didn't. But if you grind the strut like I suggest, you wont have to worry about that happening, or even have to use putty knives at all! Nigel '73 240ZT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niceguy678us Posted December 28, 2004 Author Share Posted December 28, 2004 Last night I got everything together on both arms/hubs, screwed up two bushings a little bit, but they're still fully functional just not pretty anymore. I'm glad I can always count on you guys "in a pinch" here at hybridz. Happy new year everyone!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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