Front Control Arm Bushes - DIY or not?
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Just ordered my Daizen steering rack and control arm set,once delivered,how hard are the bushes to fit DIY,i've got a good knowledge of cars (fitted coilovers,turbos,exhausts,brakes etc etc),how hard will this be and how long does it take?
Any guides as i've not seen any threads
thanks
Any guides as i've not seen any threads
thanks
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yep seen that one already but cheers for posting it anyway,that one seems easy its the other i'm worried about,well more worried about shredding bolts
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#6
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Remove the suspension and take it to a machine shop that has a 30 ton press and they'll be able to press out the old bushing. Remember that there is a sleeve inside of the control arm bushings that need to be removed before the daizens can go on. What ever you do, do not heat up any suspension components to remove bushings. Have the machine shop with the right attachment press them out. Lube them sucker up good with the supplied grease and you'll be good to go. I've installed mine over two years ago without any problems. You'll love it.
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Emil, okay here is the deal as I just spent half my day doing the lower bushings..
Yes, they can be done by a DIY person.. A lift, the correct tools, time, and patience will be the keys to success..
A couple of pointers are below..
1) Pressing the bushings out were the easy part of the job.
1a) The way I did it (worked great) was to press the middle rubber out of the arm with a press and a large socket. A vice may work too if you can create a jig for it.
1b) After the center rubber is pressed out you should take an air hammer with a chisel bit and remove the metel sleeve in the arm. You can barely see where the sleave ends and the control are actually begins but it is there. There will still be rubber pieces attached to the metal sleeve but don't worry about them. Start seperating the metal sleeve from the control arm and you will see how it unfolds into two seperate pieces. You can press this metal sleeve out as one piece with the rubber but you will need a very precise diameter press pin. I am sure a machine shop would be happy to make one for a pricey figure. It probably would save that much time anyways. It takes about 15 minutes per bushing to press out the rubber then air chisel the metal piece out.
2) Go to the dealer and get an extra (or 2) Camber adjusting bolt/kit. This is not something I thought of until I got to the RH side of the car and the little F'er was frozen. This bolt has a metal sleeve (in the OEM) that it rides in. In my situation the bolt was frozzen solid to the metal sleeve. If I had an extra one I would have got it out a lot easier b/c I would not have worried about damaging it.
3) When putting the lower arm 2 back on (the one that points to the rear of the vehicle) do not put the metal sleeve in the bushing until you have both front bolts threaded in and almost tight. It is very difficult to thread the two bolts in with the bushing already installed.. If your at the dealer you may want to pick up a couple extra lower control arm 2 mounting bolts. Mine threads were damaged when trying to put them back in, these things should have some type of center guide or sholder to them (ugghh)...
4) removing and replacing the arms are the most difficult part. Pushing out the old bushings is the easy part.
5) If you are not replacing the camber bolts, make sure you mark them with a chisel on the essentric and the strut bracket so you can put your alignment back to almost normal. Even if you think you are right on, You still should take it to an alignment shop to get adjusted.
Hope this helps...
p.s. I did mine b/c my car has 140K on it and it was making a popping in the left front floor board on turns/braking... Noise is now gone and it seems to right tighter.
Yes, they can be done by a DIY person.. A lift, the correct tools, time, and patience will be the keys to success..
A couple of pointers are below..
1) Pressing the bushings out were the easy part of the job.
1a) The way I did it (worked great) was to press the middle rubber out of the arm with a press and a large socket. A vice may work too if you can create a jig for it.
1b) After the center rubber is pressed out you should take an air hammer with a chisel bit and remove the metel sleeve in the arm. You can barely see where the sleave ends and the control are actually begins but it is there. There will still be rubber pieces attached to the metal sleeve but don't worry about them. Start seperating the metal sleeve from the control arm and you will see how it unfolds into two seperate pieces. You can press this metal sleeve out as one piece with the rubber but you will need a very precise diameter press pin. I am sure a machine shop would be happy to make one for a pricey figure. It probably would save that much time anyways. It takes about 15 minutes per bushing to press out the rubber then air chisel the metal piece out.
2) Go to the dealer and get an extra (or 2) Camber adjusting bolt/kit. This is not something I thought of until I got to the RH side of the car and the little F'er was frozen. This bolt has a metal sleeve (in the OEM) that it rides in. In my situation the bolt was frozzen solid to the metal sleeve. If I had an extra one I would have got it out a lot easier b/c I would not have worried about damaging it.
3) When putting the lower arm 2 back on (the one that points to the rear of the vehicle) do not put the metal sleeve in the bushing until you have both front bolts threaded in and almost tight. It is very difficult to thread the two bolts in with the bushing already installed.. If your at the dealer you may want to pick up a couple extra lower control arm 2 mounting bolts. Mine threads were damaged when trying to put them back in, these things should have some type of center guide or sholder to them (ugghh)...
4) removing and replacing the arms are the most difficult part. Pushing out the old bushings is the easy part.
5) If you are not replacing the camber bolts, make sure you mark them with a chisel on the essentric and the strut bracket so you can put your alignment back to almost normal. Even if you think you are right on, You still should take it to an alignment shop to get adjusted.
Hope this helps...
p.s. I did mine b/c my car has 140K on it and it was making a popping in the left front floor board on turns/braking... Noise is now gone and it seems to right tighter.
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that is an excellent reply masitaly17 thank you very very much! can i be cheeky and ask for pictures?
i haven't got a lift just the usual jack and axle stands,thinking i might get this done at a friends garage instead,but i'm going to see how hard it is while doing the steering rack bushes for sure!
i haven't got a lift just the usual jack and axle stands,thinking i might get this done at a friends garage instead,but i'm going to see how hard it is while doing the steering rack bushes for sure!
#9
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I did not get any pictures, I have seen pictures on this site before..
A lift would make the job easier because you can get in there with more clearance.
The job would have been a lot easier if the bolts did not give me problems (frozzen to bushing and stripped out).
A lift would make the job easier because you can get in there with more clearance.
The job would have been a lot easier if the bolts did not give me problems (frozzen to bushing and stripped out).
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