Replacing Control arm bushings?

ray moore · May 24, 2006

Need help!

68 camaro
I have the upper and lower control arms out. I borrowed a lower ball joint press from AutoZone. I have no clue how to use it but I guess it will be self explanatory once I start using it.
On the control arm bushings!
I have read in other posts that you can drill out the rubber and chisel or pound out the old bushings.
Once their out how difficult is it to get the new bushings in??
AND on the upper control arm there is the rod that goes through the bushings with threaded studs on the ends.
How do you deal with that? What is the procedure for removing the upper arm bushings/rod assembly and replacing without damaging.

Thanks
Ray

importkiller69ss · May 24, 2006

you dont need a ball joint press...wack it out with a big as* hammer....the easiest way i found to get teh bushings out is to melt them out and press them in...the metal rod stays in there when you press them in

JimM · May 25, 2006

I'm not sure "whacking" front suspension parts with a big *** hammer is a reall good idea. The next day you could be one of those who've aksed "why won't my power control arms go back on?"

Any shop that does front end work will have a press that will get them off and on. They don't charge a heck of a lot to do it.

I have in the past used a peice of pipe bigger than the bushing to support the control arm, and an air hammer to beat the old one out, but even then I had a shop press em back in.

Joe Harrison · May 25, 2006

$50.00 at a shop is money well spent. if you screw up something you will spend twice that and then pay it anyway.

Joe

HwyStarJoe · May 25, 2006

One piece of advice I'd give you BEFORE you do anything to them is to measure the distances between the control arm flanges that the bushings are in. Measure in a couple different places and write the figures down.
Then, after the old ones are out and the new ones are in, you can check to make sure the flanges stayed where they were when the arms were removed from the frame.

You could bore a hole slightly larger than the bushing flange in a piece of 2x4, lay the bushing over the hole and 'wack' them out. Squirt a little PB Blaster around them first.

A bushing press would obviously be the best choice.

ray moore · May 25, 2006

I called a local machine shop and they wanted $12 a bushing/ball joint to remove and press in. With 2 in each arm and two ball joints that's about $150. That's one of the reasons I was going to try and do it myself. I think I'll call around and try to get a better estimate. Sound like trying to press the bushings back in myself is not a good idea. I wanted to clean them up and paint also. Should I do that before I take them or wait after?

Thanks
Ray

dragon0123 · May 25, 2006

Wait until after.. theyll just scratch them up anyway.. but taking them in is the safest way.. you could find the correct tools around to do it, but itll be a pain...

R-Dawg · May 25, 2006

Ray,

I've just installed tube a-arms in my '68. I purchased a 12 ton
press at : http://www.harborfreight.com/ for $109.99. You'll need
receiver tubes also. They're just 2 1/2" tubes made of steel, pipe,
or a big *** socket. Save yourself some money and and add a tool
to your collection!

R-Dawg

go2fast · May 25, 2006

I did the ones on my current '68 with a hammer, a hacksaw, and a balljoint press. The '67 I did a few years ago I paid a shop to do and they bent the control arms all to hell doing them.

Silver69Camaro · May 25, 2006

importkiller69ss said:
you dont need a ball joint press...wack it out with a big as* hammer....

Yes, you do need a press. Those control arms are very prone to cracking. :sad:

When it comes to suspensions, DO IT RIGHT! If you don't know what you're doing with brakes and suspensions (by using a hammer as a ball joint remover), you are a danger to yourself and everybody on the road.

ray moore · May 25, 2006

Thanks for all the input. After all the advice I figured I DID NOT know what I was doing. I picked up all the parts, took them and dropped off at the machine shop. They said they would be ready tomorrow. Without this forum I probably would have attempted it and hacked something up.
I've attempted and done most everything else on my car but some things I let the guys with the knowledge and proper equipment (machine shop) handle it.

Thanks again
Ray

Joe Harrison · May 25, 2006

The right tools for a job make it so much easyier and nicer in after it's completed.

Joe

pdq67 · May 26, 2006

I used my CHEAP trusty, HFT $10 air chisel to remove mine and then I installed them using a length of 1/2" Al-Thread rod and a bunch of different sized washers and a couple of nuts, some lube and a combination wrench and my 1/2" ratchet and needed socket!

About 2.5 or so hours later and I was done!!

He, he!! Gotta big blister in the palm of my hand tho!! Hair ain't gonna grow there for a while!! he, He!!

Oh, and a couple of short 3/8" or 1/2" sockets that will fit on the back of the flanges to keep from callapsing them and a short piece of stout wood 2x stock and a 3 pound FT!!

You use the piece of 2x as a throat spacer to keep from callapsing the throat as you finish the job with the 3 pound "BFT" with the shaft in place!!

Easy, but time consuming! And yes, they wanted about a "C"-Note to do mine!!

pdq67

PS., AND don't forget the shaft!!

Ask me, just ask me!!!

arocars · Oct 15, 2014

I know this is an old post but thought I would add to it anyway. I recently removed my upper and lower control arms. I was able to remove the ball joints myself with a hammer. I wasn't planning to reuse the ball joints, so I wasn't concerned about damaging them. It was a fairly straight-forward procedure. I then brought the arms to a local machine shop to have the bushings removed. They charged me $30. .... When I got home, I scraped and then sand-blasted the arms. Then primed and painted them. ... I will bring them back to the same machine shop to have new bushings pressed in. .... I assume they will damage the paint to some extent, but it should be easy enough to touch it up. It's not a show car. ... I definitely wouldn't try to clean and paint the control arms with the bushings in.

onefiness · Oct 15, 2014

Silver69Camaro said:
Yes, you do need a press. Those control arms are very prone to cracking. :sad:

When it comes to suspensions, DO IT RIGHT! If you don't know what you're doing with brakes and suspensions (by using a hammer as a ball joint remover), you are a danger to yourself and everybody on the road.

Amen to that. From what I have read on here, I'd say you'd be risking your life riding in 20% of the cars owned in here. Thank god there's guys like BPOS, Steiner, and Matt to talk some sense into the people on here. $150 bucks for something you'll never pay for again. You own the car for ten years that's $15 buck a year. I think your budget can afford to do it right.

Happy_Dan · Oct 16, 2014

I borrowed the tools and did my own on my 73. I bought a press but couldn't fit the a-arm in there to use it. I am sure if I thought it out, I would have found a way.

Put the bushings in the freezer overnight and press them in.

I haven't done the uppers yet, but I will remember the shaft!! THANKS!

Replacing Control arm bushings?

ray moore

importkiller69ss

JimM

Joe Harrison

HwyStarJoe

ray moore

dragon0123

R-Dawg

go2fast

Silver69Camaro

ray moore

Joe Harrison

pdq67

arocars

onefiness

Happy_Dan

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