My thoughts on uerethane bushings:

[veritech-z]

"how hard can it be?"

"where did I leave my torch?" (why does the slap guy look so much like Ronald Reagan to me? Am I the only one who thinks that?)

 

"what the heck is this made of?!"

"Seriously, what is this made of?!?"

 

:willy_nil "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHH!!!!!"

 

Finally, mustache bar bushings are in....now for the spindle pins...

 

I've discovered that a hole saw works better than a torch, for anyone who is interested and hasn't done this yet...Also, if you use too much of the goo they include, the bushing wants to come squirting back out of the hole after you press it in. Speaking of presses, have at least a shop vise handy to put the new bushings in, and it really helps if you have an actual press around. I'm doing mine at the dealership where I work, so I get to use the big compressor to power my air tools, and the bearing press to squish out the old bushings and compress the new ones. That helps too: go get a job at a dealership before you attempt this operation so you can use the cool stuff they have laying around in the shop!

[JMortensen]

You might think about installing zerk fittings into the outer end of the control arms. It's easy to do when everything is apart and then you can lube those suckers up from time to time. I installed them on the inner side too, that didn't work out so good because the inner bushing caps don't seal all the way around, but the outside worked well enough that when I wanted to pull the bushings back out I was able to hydraulic them out with a grease gun.

[gearheadstik]

I'd like to see a pic of the fittings installed if you get a chance...sounds like a good idea to me...

[veritech-z]

What's the advantage to lubing them up besides ease of removal down the road? I haven't started the control arm bushings yet, I think I'll wait for the pin puller. Did we ever figure out if using a large bolt in place of the spindle pins is a workable idea?

[JMortensen]

The large bolt is a viable idea was what we finally figured out. The advantage is being able to lube the bushings later on. These bushings have a hell of a lot of stiction and they squeak when they dry out.

 

I think you can do the same basic thing in the front too. I bought a package of zerk fittings from HF for ~$5. I did also "notch" the bushings so that there was a clear area around the zerk on the inside.

 

Here a pic:

[veritech-z]

that is one crazy sway bar link setup you've got there, Jon! Sounds like a plan, when "while I'm at it" goes right, right?

[savageskaterkid]

I believe you lube them so they don't sqeek.

[JMortensen]

Yeah, they do come with a little packet of lube. But how long does that last? I just pulled off my sway bar bushings a while back, and the teflon tape around the bar and lube was LONG GONE. If you install a zerk, then you can lube them up whenever you lube the rest of the chassis, and they're really easy to install.

 

Veritech, the swaybar project was pretty involved. Started out as end links and adjustable bars, ended up with all that crap. Looks like it's going to function GREAT though, so I'm excited about that...

[boodlefoof]

I agree on the lube. The higher amount of friction between the bushing and bushing housing due to the poly bushings will reduce the suspension's ability to rotate freely around that mount point. If the suspension can't move freely, a bump in the road is transferred to the chassis rather than absorbed by the spring and shock.

[veritech-z]

So did you just butt the bushings up, and drill a hole where the zerk was going, or did you make a groove down the length, or around the circumference? I'm not really clear on that part...Also, what thread pitch are those things to tap the LCA, does it say on the package? I'm glad I posted this before I got that far, this is good stuff!

[JMortensen]

Exactly, butt the two together in a vice and drill a hole. Then when you put the bushing in you just make sure that they go in so that the hole fits around the Zerk.

 

I don't remember tapping the arms. I think I just drilled a hole and forced the threads on the zerk into it.

 

The HF Zerks are metric threads, so it wouldn't be too hard to figure it out if you did want to tap the arms.

[a8ksh4]

What do you use for lube in the bushings? Won't regular grease degrade them after a while?

 

The zerk fittings seem like a great idea. One of my coworker's warned me about the squeaky poly bushings the other day. I'm going to start rebuilding my suspension next weekend or shorly thereafter.

 

--Dan

[JMortensen]

I had heard the "regular grease degrades the poly" myth too. I called ES before I installed the zerks and they said that the normal old grease works just fine and won't eat the bushings.

[boodlefoof]

When I bought poly bushings for my '68 Camaro, they came with "white lithium grease."

[veritech-z]

I'm kind of wishing I'd put this in the suspension forum now, I wasn't expecting it to have any real tech value, but you never know what can happen here on Hybridz. I'll probably get started on the LCA bushings on Wednesday since I've got a day off, and my wife doesn't, which means I get to play with my toys without too much interruption.

[boodlefoof]

I've got a day off, and my wife doesn't.

 

Always the best time to work on the car.

[veritech-z]

Why didn't anybody tell me that you have to press out the old outer bushing sleeve on the front LCA?! Note to self: don't tell anyone else about this either, that way I can revel in their frustration...heh heh heh...Oh crap, I just posted that! Curses..foiled again...

 

Man what a PIA this operation is turning out to be! Lessons learned today: Do NOT put the inner sleeve in before you put both bushing in. My brilliant idea was to put the sleeve in one bushing, squish that one in, and then try to squeeze the other one in around it, and I think this is the cause of my bushings not going in all the way. This condition makes it EXTREMELY difficult to fit the tranny crossmember back into it's little slots. That took about an hour and 20 minutes by itself.

 

Also, my new tactic to get the old bushings out consists of finding an impact socket that is JUST big enough to slip through the bushing hole, and then just press as much of the old bushing out as it can with the 30 ton press at my job, then wire wheel out the rest of the remaining bushing residue. (this strategy also works for pressing out the outer bushing sleeve on the LCA, but that required the use of a torch to break the rust) I caught on to this the other day, but it took three more bushings to develop the addendum to this strategy: coat the socket with gel-lube or some other spray lube so that it is easier to remove from the hole it will now be wedged in...

 

Progress to date: front and rear sway bar end links, mustache bar bushings, TC rod bushings, tranny cross member bushings, front left LCA bushing and tie rod boot. More as it comes...(it's been raining a LOT here, and I only have one day a week to really get anything done on the car. I'm installing Megasquirt[which henceforth will be known as camo-squirt as it pertains to the zzzap! -you'll see why when it's finished) at the same time, so my time is at a premium)

[JMortensen]

You don't need to press out the sleeves. You can just cut through it with a hacksaw and then push it out with a screwdriver. Cut towards the meaty part of the arm so that if you do cut into the arm you don't weaken it.

[veritech-z]

That was going to be my tactic of last resort, but I was able to get them out pretty easily once I heated the LCA around the hole a little bit.

[veritech-z]

New progress:

Front right LCA is done, steering rack mounts are done, and steering coupler is done. All that's left are the dreaded rear LCAs...I would never have guessed that the steering rack would have been that much trouble. I easily spent 2 hours trying to change those stupid bushings with the engine still in, and maybe another hour at least doing the coupler. The problem with that was that the stupid bolts barely had enough clearance to fit in, most of my time was spent trying to put them back together. I'll probably get to the rear LCA's around next tuesday.