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TR4/4A badly stuck suspension sleeves

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Dash

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The pic is of the lower steel suspension bushing and yep it's beyond bad. The car had been sitting out for years without any suspension pieces attached. When I had the chassis sandblasted and repaired I forgot to have the shop address the steel sleeves as all 4 have pretty much welded themselves on..can't budge 'em..I think the only way I'm gonna get 'em off is to cut a horizontal slice just deep enough to get a chisel in and hit it to try and rotate them. Whudya think?
One concern is I don't know what I will be trying to rotate them on..these sleeves slide over a solid bar right?

lower steel suspension bushing.jpg
 
Yup, cut most of the way through (a Dremel with abrasive cutoff wheel works good but be sure to wear eye protection), then break with a chisel & BFH. It's a solid shaft underneath.

If necessary, the shaft can be replaced (106196 @ TRF), but new ones have to be accurately located and welded in.
 
Thanks for the assurance Randall..Worked fine..one off 3 to go.. back ones may be a little tricky to get to but shouldn't be too hateful..I doubt I'll have to do this again in my lifetime unless I procure another fixer upper but seems to me the tolerance is so tight to begin with that this method is par for the course?
 
Dash,
I am guessing that a couple of mine were not as bad as yours. My success was found by using a big pipe wrench after heating the bushing with a propane torch.
Charley
 
charleyf said:
Dash,
I am guessing that a couple of mine were not as bad as yours. My success was found by using a big pipe wrench after heating the bushing with a propane torch.
Charley
Click to expand...
I did that same. They are very hard to get a grip on.
 
I got 'em all off using the dremel..wasn't too bad actually..helps to use a worn down cutting wheel though. A full size wheel won't let ya get close enough to the bracket the sleeve butts up against but the worn down one will let ya get in at a sharp angle. Have to be careful and cut just shy of all the way through.Took lots of angled whacks with a chisel and hammer but once it split and started to rotate a little I was able to get a screwdriver behind it and pry them off. I tried using the pipe wrench after cutting but oddly enough it was easier to pry them off...Fortunately the shafts are in decent shape...whew!
 
I use a 4-1/2" body grinder and grind more of a flat than a cut. When the flat looks about right i rap it with a chisel to split it open. It takes less than 30 seconds per sleeve.
 
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