Anyone replaced the lower control arm bushings without having to go to a machine shop to get the old ones pressed out? I bought the Enegy Suspension kit and have the car apart but I can't get those buggers to budge. I have the big C clamp bushing & ball joint press. Any tips?

TIA!

 

I took them to a machine shop, because it was worth the $40 for my sanity.

Do you need to reuse the sleeves to install the bushings? If not, then I have seen where people removed the rubber (by torch or liquid nitrogen) and used a hack saw to cut through the outer sleeve (be careful not to cut into the cast iron control arm). Then you bend out the outer sleeve to get it out. I tried the press that you are talking about, and it didn't budge the bushing.

For installation: Put the bushings in a freezer to shrink them, and use either the press that you have, or a large hammer to knock the new bushings into place.

 

Hey thanks for the reply! I'm taking my hubs in to the machine shop to get my new bearings installed so I'll just take these along. Good call on the freezing method to get them in, never thought of that!