Control Arm Bushing Install Made Easy !!
 

I looked and looked for a method to install the control arm bushings on my 87 coupe and could not find any. there were plenty of write ups on how to remove them but not on actual installation. two different local shops flat out told me they didn't feel like doing it. so i was on my own.
so i got to thinking - i remember having made a puller for the install of my rear wheel bearing and figured hmmm, there might be a solution there.
so i got out the puller and had a eureka moment. i went to home depot and bought a 36" x 5/8" threaded rod, a 2" x 1 1/4" pvc reducer, some 3" square washers and nuts to fit. actually i accidentally bought one nut so i had to improvise with a vise grip.
i used oem rubber bushings since my car is for street. the instructions say to heat the bushings in boiling water and i used liquid soap to lube them.
these are the parts:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1349126891.jpg

bushings before they went on:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1349127773.jpg

i tried to slip both ends at once but that became a hassle so i ended up doing one end at a time
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1349127889.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1349127130.jpg

the pvc slips over one end as one of the washers holds the other (yes, i should have used another nut but it was late and h.d. was closed)
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1349127338.jpg

you need to be quick about it because once the rubber cools off it will stick and become difficult, which is exactly what i was trying to avoid.

and viola. here is the end result. really pretty easy and quick to do
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1349127549.jpg

i really hope this helps at least one pelican out there :)

Are these the URO parts bushings?

Wish I had seen your method before I installed mine this past spring, prefer your method to the one I used below. The threaded rod idea will keep the load naturally centered as the bushing is pressed on.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1349132694.jpg

Yes those are uro's

That's brilliant!! I'm about to do this exact same thing with Elephant Racing rubber bushings and this is perfect!

Great idea and thanks for posting!

Cheers,

- Craig_D

Use a deep-well socket and an impact wrench at its lowest setting and brrrrrrrpppppppppp -- installed before cooled off.

Just to clarify...you put the rubber bushing in bracket and then put both on the A Arm as a single unit? I bought the stuff to do it with clamps but this looks better. How did you account for the angles? Isn't it critical to get them on at the correct angle...or does this fix itself. Obviously no need to glue the A Arm bushing on, correct? Just ready to do this myself after working for weeks to get the darned balljoints loose. What a major PITA....

+1 on the ball joints.
Yes, i put the bushing in the bracket but only half way. Used lots of liquid dish soap for lube. I guestimated the angle of the brackets. Regardless they do still spin on the control arm if enough force is applied so i figured i'll make final adjustments at installation time. No glue required.
Just remember to be quick or the bushing will stick to the control arm as it cools off causing the bracket to slip past the lip. I had to take one of them back off and reheat it. But that was the first one. After that they all went on easy. When it was all said and done i felt kinda foolish for stressing over it when i couldn't get a shop to do it for me. For less than 20 bucks i made made own press and did it myself which seems to always get me the best results.

Nice job....I did this a couple of years ago on my 71E, using DIY clamp, etc..............your way is much easier. excellent.

regards,
Al

Thanks drola and Flat Six...great write up. Everything went somewhat smooth. I think I made some of the same mistakes, but I kept reading and was able to adjust properly. :)

That's way smarter than the 2x4 / large hammer method I used.

I used a hydraulic press when I installed my ER rubber bushings.

I found that although the instructions say to let the parts dry overnight, it's better to go ahead and install the a-arms immediately onto the car, and let the parts sit overnight without the struts installed. This is so that you can go ahead and align the mounting tabs while the parts are still soft.

I used the same technique to install my bushings, thanks for that!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1402571731.jpg

Drola,
thank you for this method. Found everything at home depot. Install went fairly smooth.

If you know someone with the Elephant installation tools, you can just whack the mounts onto the control arm with a dead blow hammer.

great write up, does anyone have the specs for the angle

Go to the Elephant Racing site
 

If you look at the rubber bushings they have an installation video where he uses a digital level to set the angles. I believe it's 15-16 degrees on the rear mount and 20 degrees on the front, but check me on that.

OK thanks RD911T

That looks like a great way to do it. I used a pipe clamp when I did mine and it was very difficult to keep everything together with everything soaped up.

By the way, I saw this post after I had done mine but I remembered it and used your method this weekend when I did my rear trailing arm bushings. Thanks!

So, this method seems like a really good way to go. However, I can't put a threaded rod through the control arm because I still have the caps on the front end of my control arms. Gonna have to use the pipe clamps...

Wouldn't you want to pop those caps off and take this (hopefully) rare opportunity to clean up those splines in there and re-grease? I used the pipe-clamp method and while it worked, it was a little fiddly, but I already had pipe clamps on hand and was looking to avoid another trip to Home Depot. You do need a very stout clamp; I don't think most bar clamps will do.

Another reason why these Forums are so outstanding. Though I am happy with my Rebel Racing bushings, I went with them primarily because a local shop wanted almost as much as the price difference (as well as buying new elephant rubber bushings) to press new bushings on my A Arms. I was able to do it myself. Had I thought of this, could a saved some coin.....

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...ee62987f37.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...476bb0ef11.jpg.
I ended up using a very similar approach but I was fortunate enough to have the elephant racing tool which made the job a breeze.
Another one done!!

Those table legs look really familiar Url, are you in the UK by any chance?

I had those exact same table legs on a printer table that kept when my employer (Galileo Int. in Swindon England) threw it out.

Nice solution Dro!

It also helps to heat up the metal parts a bit with a hair dryer or adjustable heat gun, so the metal doesn't draw the heat out of the bushings as quickly. No need to get the metal super hot, you just want to reduce the differential between the metal and the pre-heated bushing temperature so you have more time to work with it.

Drola or Pelican please submit this method to the DYI how to section so more people can see this.

As far as indexing the mounting brackets to the control arm goes, if you don't want to fiddle with a bevel gauge or digital level (like we've all got one, eh?) I found a pretty fail-safe way. If you remember, prior to removing the brackets from the original bushing material set them on the bench, take a hacksaw and spot a nice easily visible place on the flanges, and hacksaw a kerf notch through both the control arm flange and the bracket flange at the same time, maybe a 32nd of an inch deep or so. Then smear some white putty, correction fluid, a bright crayon, anything that will contrast and be easily visible into the notch and wipe off the rest... voila, matching index marks. I used one notch on the right arm and two on the left arm so it's impossible to mix up the brackets when you go to reassemble.

Excellent idea, Donagain1

Just install the a-arms onto the car with the soap still wet. Leave the struts off. The next day, the a-arms are perfectly indexed. Any marks or angle gauge will just get you almost there, but not dead nuts on.

around here we use brake fluid for lube

Quick question regarding the caps on the end of the control arms: You can just pop those off right? I'd like to use this method but wanted to double check first.

Thanks!

They just pop out from the inside. I did put mine in the freezer to reinstall. Made it so the go back in super easy.

I'm mailing the ER install tools back to Ayles tomorrow. He was kind enough to lend them and (for a change) I was smart enough to take him up on his offer...I went with the Uro heavy duty bushings, followed their instructions to the letter, and pushed them right on with no issues. I put the Rennline two ball joints w/nuts, spring washers, and cotter pins incl. kit for $150 bucks, the $42 buck KYB-G-Excel shocks in my Boge struts, new stabilizer bar bushings, and the Lemforder OEM tie rod ends in, and except for the #%^#ing sway bar reinstall everything was a piece of cake. Just got the car realigned today and I can't believe how tight the front end feels. I don't know how long they'll last, but those shocks sure dampen any bounces well.

Good to hear that it all worked out!!

awesome thank you!

Glad the install went smoothly Don! Did you take any photos while you were working on it?

Dmitry at Pelican Parts should be adding these new bushings to their site shortly, they currently only offer our "soft" OEM-durometer bushings. Our "HD" performance Front Control Arm Bushing Kit 901 341 421 02KHD is about 30% more firm than OEM durometer rubber bushings. These HD bushings require heat (boiling water) and some kind of press arrangement to install, and are definitely not a "slip-fit".

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1545867210.jpg

We also offer an HD version of Rear Spring Plate Bushings 911 333 009 00BHD, which is 80-85 Shore A durometer rubber (vs the 55-60 Shore A rubber used for OEM bushings).

Nope, no photos to share, Drew! My hands were too messy and far too busy to get things in place before the bushings cooled. I liked the firm/dense feel of the the new HD bushings, and that they translated to a nice responsive ride when all was said and done. Naturally, no one can stipulate to even a ten year longevity and resistance to the inner bore deformation at this point, but time will tell. I'm curious whether the Uro control arms sold here on Pelican are now factory pre-fit with the new bushings. It'd be a bummer to sell out existing stock which might have the old, softer formulation and jeopardize any good will generated from selling the new HDs in individual sets. One more thing, it was a pleasure doing business with you.

What I like about the OP's workaround to not having access to a hydraulic vertical press technique is that it eliminates the need for a third hand to steady the fixed end of a pipe clamp while turning the screw end. As I recall, even the Elephant how-to video mentions the desirability of having a helper during the process, and we don't always have someone available. I didn't see this thread until after I completed the task otherwise I probably would have jammed down to Home Depot for a length of threaded rod and the rest of the hardware, probably a ten buck investment.

Thanks Don! Our control arm 911 341 901 01 is actually received as a complete assembly from a large control arm manufacturer, which we suspect is the very same source used by another well-known aftermarket brand offered by Pelican. Being complete assemblies, these do not have our HD bushings. We haven't heard of any issues with these control arms, but they're not a big seller and we've discontinued them. There are only a couple left, and when they're gone, they're gone.

This pic is awesome!!