A suspension question for engineers

[D Farms]

it would be nice if you could get those inner sleeves as a separate piece. I suppose it wouldnt be too much work to turn them on the lathe if you had the right stock to work with.

 

[1985taylor1925]

I recently went through the same ordeal when changing to poly bushings.

Yes you leave the outer sleeve in the arm. You must press apart the inner collar (it has a press fit washer on one end) then remove it and torch or scrape out the rest of the rubber.

Use this thread and scroll down to when he starts talking about the lowers:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-replace-upper-lower-control-arm-bushings.280375/

Thanks for the link.

So instead of doing it the way the thread above shows, can I just press from the inside out using the bottle jack, pushing the whole thing out? It looks like the inner washer is small enough to push straight through the housing.

 

[4-Ripcord]

Thanks for the link.

So instead of doing it the way the thread above shows, can I just press from the inside out using the bottle jack, pushing the whole thing out? It looks like the inner washer is small enough to push straight through the housing.

You can, but the poly bushings reuse the outer collar.

 

[1985taylor1925]

You can, but the poly bushings reuse the outer collar.

My brother and I ended up pressing out the entire units. So now we're trying to find a good way to get the washers off and press the inner collar out. Rust has made this job a nightmare. I.e., when I went to remove the coil/strut on driver side, the lower mounting bolt was seized so bad in the bushing collar that I had to cut the bolt on both ends. This was after sitting two days in penetrating oil, heating, pounding, and attempting to press it out in a vice. Now have to try to drill out the remaining piece of the bolt, or just press out the entire lower bushing and get a new one from Bilstein. I absolutely DETEST rust

Anyway, as an alternative option, do you know if anyone sells the inner and outer metal collars without the bushings installed? Ive been searching and all I can find is the entire unit pre-assembled. We're going to try to separate them first, but there is quite a bit of rust and pitting on the outer collars. Might be better for me to get new metal, if its available

 

[4-Ripcord]

My brother and I ended up pressing out the entire units. So now we're trying to find a good way to get the washers off and press the inner collar out. Rust has made this job a nightmare. I.e., when I went to remove the coil/strut on driver side, the lower mounting bolt was seized so bad in the bushing collar that I had to cut the bolt on both ends. This was after sitting two days in penetrating oil, heating, pounding, and attempting to press it out in a vice. Now have to try to drill out the remaining piece of the bolt, or just press out the entire lower bushing and get a new one from Bilstein. I absolutely DETEST rust

Anyway, as an alternative option, do you know if anyone sells the inner and outer metal collars without the bushings installed? Ive been searching and all I can find is the entire unit pre-assembled. We're going to try to separate them first, but there is quite a bit of rust and pitting on the outer collars. Might be better for me to get new metal, if its available

I don't, but you can get new aftermarket bushings for like $10 a bushing.

Or if you want to scrap the whole idea, you can get a complete new arm with new OEM bushings for like $150 an arm. Would still solve your problems with steering feel

 

[1985taylor1925]

I don't, but you can get new aftermarket bushings for like $10 a bushing.

Or if you want to scrap the whole idea, you can get a complete new arm with new OEM bushings for like $150 an arm. Would still solve your problems with steering feel

Yeah, I considered that. I would love to throw on brand new control arms. But I cant spend that money right now. And I do want the rigidity of the poly bushings.

I'll get them out with my brothers help. He's a better mechanic than me.

 

[jedijesus]

Mine does the same thing, wanders all over the place. I've rebuilt plenty of suspension, control arm bushings are the #1 issue when you get wandering like you describe and I'm feeling. Next is lower ball joints.


I'm not an engineer yet, but I am going to school for ME and have been a mechanic working on and building Italian cars, motorcycles, and race cars for a few years.

 

[1985taylor1925]

A little late to the party. Something is definitely wrong with your runner! It sounds like you might have it figured out. If you really hate the rack you could do a rear swing-set with a box like this Tacoma!

That's pretty awesome. I wonder how difficult it would be. Do you have a link?