Dan Baldwin Posted November 16, 2001 Share Posted November 16, 2001 I'm replacing the rear inner control arm bushings on my '71. 3 of the old ones slid right off, but the last one won't budge. I've gotten all the rubber off of it and tried to twist it with vise grips, no good. Tried to split it apart with a chisel, very little progress. Ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scca Posted November 16, 2001 Share Posted November 16, 2001 HEAT............ lots of it. then use the chisel when its smokin' hot -- i've never had one stuck that i couldnt get off this way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Baldwin Posted November 16, 2001 Author Share Posted November 16, 2001 Thanks a ton, Mike. I'll give it a shot. If you hear about a Mill building in New Bedford Mass going up in flames, you'll know what happened! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Baldwin Posted November 16, 2001 Author Share Posted November 16, 2001 The going is slow, and my chisels are dulling. I'm not going all the way through the shell for fear of marring the control arm pin. Am I doing this right? I've gone about .5" out of ~2". When done I'll force the split open. Wish me luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Baldwin Posted November 16, 2001 Author Share Posted November 16, 2001 Got it. One tenacious bastard it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scca Posted November 16, 2001 Share Posted November 16, 2001 what i usually do is torch the bushing and then burn a slice into it. then use a airchisel. the airchisel i think is what makes it go easy. if you were doing it by hand and hammer then that would takelonger and the bushing would cool thus making it harder to get off. well at least you got it done.. most cars around here are hard to get off - not too many i have done have slid right off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Shasteen Posted November 16, 2001 Share Posted November 16, 2001 Dan, You did it correctly. Next time, this is what I do, is keep a torch on it till the burning rubber begins dripping(!); yea, makes a lot of smoke & stinks the place up...neighbors if you got em will hate you for it. Once the rubber catches fire you'll want to give the burning & melting/dribbling process a few moments to burn-then push it out w/a scredriver. As far as the metal bushing; cut it w/a hacksaw slowly-then split it w/a chisel to get a ear/flap & put the air chisel on that flap..this way you wont mar the control arm. Or if you turn down the air pressure on your chisel & are very careful you can simply push out the bushing shell...this takes more patience as its easy to go thru the shell & damage your control arm. Congrats on getting them out. BTW: when you're going back w/new bushings...you'll probably need to take your grinder & grind a small bevel on the inside of the outer/top of the control arm. Then, once that is cleaned up; install the new bushings/lube them...and fenagle the control arm back on using the bevel that you've ground onto your control arm. W/out the bevel ground on your control arm you may not get the arm back on(new bushings will be too tight). Kevin, (Yea,Still an Inliner) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted November 17, 2001 Share Posted November 17, 2001 If this is the bushing I think it is... SAWZALL! Slide th eblade in the middle of the shell, fire it up, and then seperate the shell to take it out One of the others I burned out. Just kept the heat on till it expanded and squirted out. When it started to burn I'd put it out - phew! As the rubber got real hot I was able to puch the bushing out. Oh yeah - that's when I needed the sawzall for the outer shell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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