Front A-Arm bushing install tool

[casor]

I bought a set of Uro rubber bushings from our host for the fr A-Arms of my '74 Targa. The quality of these seems OK to me and they even come with instructions noting to use a press to install them after heating them up to 200 deg. My wimpy press was not deep enough so I made a tool to do this. Probably overkill, but my wife had the raw materials laying around in the kitchen.

I say "overkill" since the fwd bushings/cups went on w/o any drama and, since I greased them up with both synthetic grease and liquid soap (the latter also in the inst), they could be pushed on by hand due to the bottle nose shape of the A-Arm end out front. I bet this would work even cold.

The aft end was a different story since the A-Arm is a constant dia tube out back. The press would push them on about 75%, but the end of the rubber bush would get pinched at the corner of the tube and bind up. The bush's get compressed and elongated during this process and so they are prone to hang up on the corner.

With the idea of making the aft end emulate the fr end for this process, I turned an alum slug on my wife's lathe that slips into the end of the A-Arm tube and whose OD is no larger than the tube itself. I also tapered the slug slightly at a gentle angle and then filed away the resulting corner.

The alum thingy was the key to the process and you might get away with just making one of these things instead of my elaborate press.

[casor]

One more note - pay no attn to the orientation of my fr bushing sleeve. While the flange of the sleeve must go against the corresponding section of the bushing (I have this right), my sleeve is upside down in the photo. The welded on "washers" on the mounting tabs of the fr sleeve go against the car's mounting points, not against the covers. This was verified by looking at the Bentley manual. No biggie, as the assembly will rotate 180 with some effort. Somewhat of a ditto for the rear as I don't have the angle exactly right here. As long as I don't wait too long and let everything atrophy, the angles can be adjusted.

Perhaps some of you can comment, but the inst say to remove any grease on the A-Arms. Seeing no downside, I disobeyed and greased everything in sight with synthetic grease. The grease will atrophy later and the assembly cannot possibly slip out when installed.

[TheSt|G]

You can remove the grease when you throw away the terrible URO bushings. Use liquid soap in the future to install.

Tool looks good.

[casor]

LOL - What bushings do you recommend instead?

Everything is still off the car so no biggie to use something else....

[RSTarga]

elephant rubber are the best but more expensive

[Steve@Rennsport]

Originally Posted by RSTarga

elephant rubber are the best but more expensive

Oh hell yes.

Personally, I haven't found anything that URO makes to be any good at all.

ER A-arm bushings also come with the installation tool, to boot.

[Last911]

From my research;
Elephant Racing - expensive and good. Loved by many. $260
Polyurethane - good compromise. Endorsed by a decent number of people. $75
Uro- cheap, bare bones replacement. $30

[RSTarga]

IMHO, the labor involved is more than the difference in the bushings. I didn't want to have to do this again in many years. I've had the elephants on for over 3 years now and they are still great.

[uwanna]

watch this video comparison of Elephant Racing bushings verses Brand X (assume URO)
it will make your choice very easy!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X03h2gE4Rao

[Last911]

I would like to see a comparison video between Elephant Racing rubber and the Powerflex bushings.

[casor]

That's fairly telling video. So, I get it now, slippage is no good and the cheap bushings slip all over the place and stretch too much. Thanks for posting

[Tidybuoy]

Originally Posted by casor

Probably overkill, but my wife had the raw materials laying around in the kitchen.

A couple of comments:

1) Your jig may seem like overkill but I think it looks great. I used a pipe jack to do mine and I wish I had done something like yours as it's hard to hold everything still.

2) I can't comment on the quality of URO but I have been very happy with my Elephant Racing bushings.

3) I hate to ruin your day but I do not think you should be using grease at all. Instead, dish soap should be used as it dries in about 24 hours. The grease is likely to stick around for a while and the rubber bushing sort of weld themselves to the metal and then the rubber flexes. Ureathane bushings do use grease as those bushings are made to twist around.

4) Di you say your wife had these things laying around in the kitchen? That's funny.

I'm not sure if this was posted in the thread but ER has a great tutorial video:

[casor]

Tidy - thank you for your post and comments. It's even funnier if you knew my wife - completely inept mechanically with a squeaky voice. Same as me actually, except for the voice.

After unturning all these facts and issues via this post, it seems to me that the smart play is to get the ER bushings. While not a major project to redo if I discover I don't like the Uros, I would rather spend my time fixing something else. Plus, while I don't race or autocross, I am traditionally not easy on suspensions and brakes. The extra cost is marginal at this point - I never focused on getting the ER's since I didn't realized they were rubber coming from a "racing" co and I didn't want poly. The parts are still spread out in the living room next to the car, so not a big deal to redo now.

My wife hasn't noticed it yet, so don't spill the beans.

[Tidybuoy]

Elephant Racing sells good stuff. I replaced my fronts a few years ago and I just did the rear (including the center trailing arm bushings). My fronts were worn out and the rears...the old bushings virtually disintegrated as I pulled them out with my fingers.

Although I rarely auto-x, I drive like I'm driving a race car almost every time I get in the car and the suspension bushings made an enormous difference in the stability and ride control of the car. I think it was probably my best investment yet.

[sugarwood]

For those of us who don't have wives with lathes, can you just take your removed A-arm and bring it to a local shop to remove and replace the bushings? Not any press will work, however? If I make calls looking for a place, what exactly do I tell them I need done?

[TheSt|G]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

For those of us who don't have wives with lathes, can you just take your removed A-arm and bring it to a local shop to remove and replace the bushings? Not any press will work, however? If I make calls looking for a place, what exactly do I tell them I need done?

It's really pretty easy to do yourself.

[sugarwood]

Originally Posted by TheSt|G

It's really pretty easy to do yourself.

Unfortunately, building that wacky tool looks more complicated than any mechanical project I've done to date. It's hard to even figure out what it does. My ability is limited to remove and replace, not to fabricate tools.

[casor]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

For those of us who don't have wives with lathes, can you just take your removed A-arm and bring it to a local shop to remove and replace the bushings? Not any press will work, however? If I make calls looking for a place, what exactly do I tell them I need done?

I agree this is not a particularly tough job. I bought the ER's in the interim and will advise as to how hard they are to install.

To answer your question, yes, I think any press will work as long as it is deep/high/long enough to accommodate the combined lengths of A-arms plus the cups/sleeves. Note further that any fixtures used to hold the parts in the press - like a large socket at ea end - have to have an open end to allow the ends of the A-arm to poke through as the bushing and cups slide home. Since I will probably be doing this job again or for somebody else, I built the contraption shown above.

One more note, will advise but for the job I already did above, the alum end slug was a key component. 10 mins on a lathe so it's easy to make and probably cheap if you get someone else to make it. I will see if the ER's need this thing....

[TheSt|G]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

Unfortunately, building that wacky tool looks more complicated than any mechanical project I've done to date. It's hard to even figure out what it does. My ability is limited to remove and replace, not to fabricate tools.

I just did this, you don't need to fabricate any tools. The ER bushings come with the installation tool, and beyond that you just need a screw driver, digital level, hand soap, and an I bar clamp.

I touched on it briefly in my thread:
30 Year suspension overhaul, street spec


Also watch the video linked before.

[Arne2]

A full suspension refresh is next item on my list, and I plan to use Elephant rubber throughout, probably with a digressive re-valve of my stock Bilsteins. I'm thinking that should be a really great street choice.