The urethane bushings are a snap to install.
FYI:
About one year later I will get to do it again (front and rear) - on the
same car!
Why? I followed the book closely (for traditional bushings) that did not
mention Teflon grease. The telltale squeak of worn bushings is already
rearing its head. I'm also going to tap and re-thread the trailing arm
where the hub bolts in for safety reasons, as I didn't have much confidence
in the threads last time I did it. The consolation prize is that I happen to
have a full set of front and rear bushings on hand already, and I put new
hardware in front and back - no frozen bolts and nuts, like last time.
Cheers and good luck on your re-bush.
Keith Meinhold
66 Marston Avenue
San Francisco CA 94112
4 1 5 5 8 5 5 9 9 8 H
4 1 5 2 5 4 9 9 0 8 C
www.navyboy.com
email: keith@navyboy.com
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-6pack@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-6pack@autox.team.net]On
Behalf Of Mark Hooper
Sent: Sunday, March 09, 2003 5:08 AM
To: 'Steve Hanselman'; 6pack
Subject: RE: Trailing arm bushings, help
Accursed typoes, Let my try again.
Steve:
When I installed the bushings I found a decent sized bench vice and some
dish soap were all I needed. Lube each bushing and corrosponging mounting
ring with a litle soap and use the vice to just push the bushing into the
mounting ring. You will also need to use a short piece of plumbing tubing or
a large socket to act as a spacer to get the final positioning. It's about
40 times easier than removal which involved drilling out enough rubber to
allow lubricant to be injected between the rubber and trailing arm metal.
It's most important that the mounting ring be really clean and smooth before
installation or the bushing will bind. The trick is that once it starts
moving, keep everything aligned and do not stop turning the vice handle. The
bushing will just slide right in.
The rubber bushing is not supposed to turn within the ring during the normal
suspension travel as it would wear rapidly. Hence the use of soap that will
dry up as opposed to teflon grease etc. that would allow the bushing to
turn. I understand that the urethane bushings must be lubricated as they are
too stiff to avoid turning without breaking up.
Good luck.
Mark Hooper
-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Hanselman [mailto:tr6@kc4sw.com]
Sent: March 9, 2003 12:43 AM
To: 6pack
Subject: Trailing arm bushings, help
Well I tried installing one of my new rubber bushings in the trailing arm.
Needless to say I'm ordering another new one to replaceit.
When I asked about what to lube them with Bob came up with a great one, the
problem was I should have asked for the secrets of putting them in. I have
seen info on the list about "C" clamps and other tools and couldn't do it
with my vise.
One of the web sites talks about the "C" clamps and PVC. From what I saw is
the PVC a "wrapper" to keep the rubber from expanding as you push it in?
Any words of wisdom greatly accepted. Given the lack of info on this task I
think I'll take some pictures and put it up on my web site when done
THanks for any help
Steve
tr6@kc4sw.com
www.kc4sw.com
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