John Greenslade Posted December 11, 2002 Share Posted December 11, 2002 I am trying to re-asemble my rear control arms to the strut tower with the energy suspension polyurethane bushings. I got the drivers side together somehow but am having problem with passenger side. The strut tower spcing , where spindle pin goes through, is approx 5 3/8 inches wide. The control arm opening is about 5.5" but when you put the bushings in the control arm the opening is reduced to 5 1/4 inches. How do you compress the bushing that 1/8 inch to do the assembly. Trust this makes sense. On the passenger side I managed to use a a large clamp to compress one side and somehow got lucky and got it to mesh. No such luck on drivers side. I presume there is an easier way. I have only installed the inner bushings on the control arm and think it is easier to install outer bushing and inner metal sleeve after the control arm and strut tower are meshed; then put spindle pin through unit. I tryed compressing the bushings in the control arm with a clamp overnight in the hope that once the clamp was removed the bushing would stay compressed long enough to install but no such luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted December 11, 2002 Share Posted December 11, 2002 this is going to sound silly but... (and just to clarify, this is the two slots that hte spindle pin that attaches the strut to the control arm we're talking about) ...did you remove the little metal sleeves from factory that are in the holes? You have to remove a similar piece from front contorl arms as well. It's a little metal cylinder on hte inside that's pressed in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Greenslade Posted December 11, 2002 Author Share Posted December 11, 2002 I have everything out of the vehicle - body is stripped to a shell. I have done substantial rust repair and am now tackling mechanical etc. Accordingly don't need jack. The putty knife is a great suggestion. Cursing didn't seem to help so will try putty knife and crow bar. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted December 11, 2002 Share Posted December 11, 2002 I used some really thin shim stock instead of the putty knife. I also had to shorten the length of the bushing, in the large diameter part of the outer rear arm bushings to get them to fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonfly Posted December 11, 2002 Share Posted December 11, 2002 When I did mine my car was in a similar situation as yours but I put the rear suspension in place on the car to support everything. What is funny is how cursing is so uneversaly used but never seems to work (never has worked for me and I try it all the time). Dragonfly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Shasteen Posted December 12, 2002 Share Posted December 12, 2002 From the description I'm still not exactly sure what your are referencing; are you talking about reconnecting the Hub (which houses the spindle bearing) to the Strut Assembly? If this is the scenario you're talking about, as this was the only troublesome part I experienced when I put my poly-bushings on, then you can take a die-grinder & cut a little wedge on the hub where the Strut Assembly Bushings slide on. Grind on the edge of that Hub ear...whatever you call it-hope this is clear. MAKE YOUR GRIND ABOUT AN INCH IN LENGTH; DO NOT GRIND AROUND THE ENTIRE EDGE as you want the remaining 95% of the bushing surface to be flush where it mounts. This little wedge you grind away will allow your bushing to slide over the Hub: as it creates an angle in your favor. It is still a stout fit even with the slight metal you grind away, but that little cut will help put the odds back in your favor. BTW: only grind on one of the Hub's bushing housing ears...dont grind much-just enough to allow the Strut Assembly Bushings to, with some elbow grease, slide on where they belong. Just grind a little at a time then try to muscle the Strut Assembly on. If the Hub/Strut Assembly doesnt go on-then grind a little more and try again. Remember you dont want the parts to go on easily-so dont go crazy w/the die grinder. Hope this helps. Kevin, (Yea,Still an Inliner) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Greenslade Posted December 12, 2002 Author Share Posted December 12, 2002 The inner metal sleeves on the control arms are a major pain to remove but I did. The new bushing fits fine in the control arm but the bushings have an outer rim that extents beyond the control arm about an 1/8 th of an inch. The energy suspension bushings system requires 4 bushings for each outer control arm. Two insert from the outer side of the outer control arm and have an outer poly washer and metal washer that are compressed by the end nuts on the spindle pin. The two inner bushings on the outer control arm are compressed agains the strut tower. It is this compression against the strut tower I am having difficulty achieving. Need to get my digital camera active and figure out how to post pictures to enhance explanations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonfly Posted December 12, 2002 Share Posted December 12, 2002 Here is what I did to get mine in: I used a large pry bar to get past that 1/8" lip then a very smooth and long drift punch inserted into one side to line it up. After it was lined up I was able to push the spindle in through. I also used a floor jack to hold everything "up" while I put the spindle in. Almost forgot one thing, while using the pry bar to get past the lip on the bushing I put grease on both side of a 2" wide putty knife and used that as a surface to slide the control arm over so I would not damage the lip on the bushing. Dragonfly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted December 12, 2002 Share Posted December 12, 2002 forget about any die grinder usage, be patient and tactfully forceful.by the way energy suspension bushings are usually a PITA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted December 12, 2002 Share Posted December 12, 2002 I also found that once the Urethane bushings and inner sleeves are in the control arm, it won't fit on to the strut!!! so the fix is to put only the outer bushing and sleeves in the control arm. Now put a one foot long piece of 5/8" all thread rod through the control arm and put 2 nuts and washers on the inside and spread the opening so it measures 5 1/2" from the inner faces of the control arm (there are no inner bushings). Now once the threaded rod is removed the control arm will spring back some. Using the threaded rod again put the inner bushings in place on each side and with the nuts and washers pull the inner and outer bushings and sleeves in place. The control arm between the bushings now should measure 5 5/16" If you still need to spread the opening some DON'T DO IT WITH THE BUSHINGS IN PLACE the force of spreading the control arm will tear up the bushings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruxGNZ Posted December 12, 2002 Share Posted December 12, 2002 Yup, Energy Suspension bushings are a pain in the butt. I wouldn't go as far as grinding metal away from the hub. If you have to grind anything away, use some sand paper with a block of wood and take 1/32" off each inner bushing until you can force the control arm in place with just a little elbow grease. I personaly didn't have that much trouble with mine. I just used some thin metal putty knives with grease on them to ease installation. Remember to put on the poly bushing lube, otherwise you will end up with unwanted squeeks from the metal rubbing on the poly bushings (I HATE squeeks!). If you end up squishing most of the poly lube out during assembly and it squeeks, then here is what I did. I used a small phillips screw driver and heated it up cherry red. I then inserted the hot small screw driver into the inner poly bushing (between the control arm and hub), making a small slot in the poly bushing. I then used a toothpick and dipped it in the poly lube, and placed the lube in the little slot that was just made. Then you take the whole assembly and work it back and forth as far as it will go, in both directions. This will smear the lube out evenly between the inner bushings of the control arm and the hub. Viola! You will have no more squeeks. On a side note, I don't think that the small slot (the size of a toothpick) in the inner bushing made any difference in it's function as a bushing. Yes, dirt may get in there, but dirt gets everywhere anyways. I just read my post and if you think you will have any problems with squeeking, then make a small notch on the inner poly bushing before you put it all together, so you don't have to use the hot screwdriver method. !M! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Greenslade Posted December 14, 2002 Author Share Posted December 14, 2002 Thanks for all the thoughts. Shaved a bit off outer edge of each bushing and was able to squeeze on. Got the spindle pin through one side but having minor problem lining up the other side. One of those items where a second set of hands is helpful. Anyway gave up cursing and decided to finish tonight. Next step compress new springs and assemble spring strut assembly and then install. Hopefully the balance of the bushings are easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Thurem Posted December 15, 2002 Share Posted December 15, 2002 Dragonfly What is funny is how cursing is so uneversaly used but never seems to work (never has worked for me and I try it all the time). As a motorcycle mechanic I have found that cursing usually helps the most when applied in combination with excessive force. Excessive force can be obtained when using crowbars, big hammers, pneumatic hammers, long wrench extensions, airguns, torches or any combination of the above. When cursing you want to make sure you keep up on your profanity, racist remarks, sexual slurs, e.t.c. e.t.c. Later Thure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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