How hard is it to replace the trail arm bushings?? I have seen a place that sells the bushing with the pin all together so I would even have to worry about cleaning all of the rubber off of the original but I was wonder how I would go about getting it out.....Oh and a press isnt really an option for me dont have nor the access to one unless I sent them somewhere to do it so is it possible to get them out with out a press? Any and all help would help me out a lot!!!!!

 

The bushings you are looking at are probably from ProThane. They require that the old bushing and the metal shell be pressed out professionally to do it really right. You can buy the Energy Suspension bushings and do the clean the pin routine-this is not as easy as it sounds-but not difficult overall. In any case the easiest way to do the trailing arms is to take them off the car. Been there with this one. Since that is part of the plan-do the lower control arm bushings and sway bars at the same time.

 

So then there really isnt a way to do the rear trail arm bushing without getting them pressed out then? How much would a shop charge me to press them out? Oh and they are out of the car I am doing the rear disc conversion on my DX but I have yet to put them in I figured that I would take care of the bushings and the brakes before I go and stick them on.


[Modified by Vinceg99, 5:12 AM 11/3/2002]

 

you can burn the bushing out with a torch, but getting the outer metal ring out will be a pain. maybe a screwdriver, a big hammer and lots of patience will get it out...

i haven't replaced that bushing yet, but i plan to this winter.

 

As I said before-the metal shells need to be pressed out and the new ones pressed in. A shop should not charge more than $20 each for the time involved. It really is very fast with the equipment they have. One other thing-the pin must be aligned the same as when you remove the old one.


[Modified by jc836, 9:41 AM 11/3/2002]

 

First off (as stated above); If you are going to use the factory rubber bushings, you have to remove the outer shell. If you are going to use polyuerathane bushings from Energy Suspensions, you have to keep the outer shell in place and also reuse the pivot pin (all you are doing is replacing the molded in rubber).


A friend replaced his using the factory bushings and described "hammering" them in and out as true hell. I'd recommend that you line up a shop with a press (before starting the job) and just pay to have it done. It will keep your attitude a lot better. A couple things should be noted! In the factory bushings, the center pivot can only rotate a small amount. As a result, when you press in the new bushing, the angle of the pivot pin should be the same as original. If you are loweriing the car a lot, you may want to change this angle. If the angle is off by a lot, then the rubber is "preloaded" and will break out early.

I replaced my bushings with the Energy Suspension bushings. Regardless of the fact that their instruction sheet says that you can do it with-out totally removing the arms and don't need a press (they recommend a section of threaded rod and large washers), just find a press and do it the easy way. Removing all of the rubber from the shells was real time consuming and dirty. I used a small sanding drum on a Dremel tool to do it. When doing this (as noted in the instructions), there is an "inside" and "outside" orientation to the pin.

Wes.

 

I guess as long as you can take out the trailing arm from the car you can pretty much do it yourself, but pay a few bucks for a shop to do it is much easier