SC Rear Trailing Arm Bushing Replacement
 

Is it necessary to remove the arm to replace the bushing or is it possible to detach the spring plate and shock, lower the arm down and back and make the replacement.

If not is there anything that makes the job easier I should know?

Replacing the trailing arm bushes with new OEM parts is quite difficult with the arms still on the car.


The inner steel part of the bush is a press fit into the arm and it's removal is quite challenging.

If you try to do this with the arms still attached to the car I think you will really struggle.

You can buy a PU replacement - which I would never recommend - that re-uses the steel parts of the bush and these are easy to fit but I just don't think that they perform very well.

This type of replacement leaves the steel inner in place and is a slip-in replacement and it is this aspect of the bush that stops it performing very well.

It is better than a worn out bush and could serves as a temporary replacement.

I just did this last weekend, looking for clever ways to do the job in the car. I do have a mid-rise lift and air tools, but after a few wasted hours realized that I was on the wrong path. Even after you disconnect the arm from the spring plate to allow its liberation from the torsion tube mount, you are still left with the challenge of extracting the old bushings (I got that far on one arm) and pressing in the new ones (that's what caused me to admit I was being a nitwit).

My advise is to pull the arms off, which means pulling the caliper and brake rotor, to allow the disconnection of the e-brake cable. I left my halfshafts connected to the arms. I should note my car currently has the engine and trans removed. I then took both arms to a shop where they let me use their hydraulic press, to push in the new bushings, which I bought from Chuck at Elephant. I followed his instructions in regards to how to press in the bushings without damaging them or the arm. The press made easy work of the installation.

Getting the arms out of the car allows for much more focused and sensible application of the forces needed to remove the old bushings and the installation of the new ones. For me, trying to do this in the car was a false economy. I had once broken an aluminum casting in a transaxle Alfa, in a similar situation, using too much brute force to replace a bellhousing bushing, and that memory allowed me to take a breath and do this job more in a more intelligent manner. I hope that helps, John in CT.

You will save significant time and aggravation by removing the arms from the car. The split metal sleeve that presses into the arm and houses the bushing is a real bear to remove even with the arm out of the car. Once you have one half removed, the other can be easily pressed out. You then need to press the new one onto place. Remove the arms.

Remove the arms - best way to do this right. Also get a chance to clean up the alum. with some Bleche White or similar grease-eating substance.