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Lower wishbone bush replacement.

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Jeepster

Jeepster

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I have spent the past few hours trying to remove the pins that hold the lower wishbone arms to the main chassis frame.
From looking at a few previous posts it seems that this is a commo problem, that the pins sieze inside the old bushes.

previous posts recommend that the best way to remove the pin is to cut through it at both sides with a reciprocating saw.

I don't own this type of saw but will purchase one tomorrow. If I do cut the pin, will the arm then come away from the chassis and the bush be easy to remove?

Secondly, I'm looking to replace the bushes with polyurethane. Will the refitting process be easy enough or does this usually end up being a PITA?
 
Jeepster said:
I'm looking to replace the bushes with polyurethane. Will the refitting process be easy enough or does this usually end up being a PITA?
Click to expand...

I used Poly bushings on a previous car and they certainly do tighten things up but I hated them and will never use them again. Be sure to use lots of grease on them because they will squeak like crazy!!! I will never use Poly bushings again if I can help it. Rubber bushings are flexible for a reason. They have a certain amount of give to them which allows the suspension to move. Poly bushings are rock hard. The only movement they allow is if they are free to turn inside their frame hole. This is why grease is so critical and if the grease dries out or washes out then you get a very noisy suspension as well as added stress on your frame. Just keep this in mind. Sorry to rain on your plan. I know other opinions will probably be different but this has been my experience and I know I'm not alone.

Chris
 
Jeepster says:

"I have spent the past few hours trying to remove the pins that hold the lower wishbone arms to the main chassis frame".

Did you first soak em good with KroiL?

N when you replace the new pins slather em with Coppa-Slip.

Chriss, Pointed you in the right direction regarding the bushses
 
Thanks, I take your point about the problems with poly vs standard. I have replaced all of the rear suspension bushes with the standard type for the reasons you state. I was tempted to try poly on the front as a lot of people seem to rate them. I may have a re think on that one - poly or standard?

irrispective of which bush I go for, is it much of a job to refit them after I have managed to remove the old pins? They have been soaked in penetrating oil but they are stuck fast.
 
Mine were badly rusted but I was able to loosen the nut to the end (I don't think it was a castle nut) and hit it a few times. Worst that can happen is you destroy the bolt. Cutting it would be even worse! Good luck.
 
I have poly bushings on the front and they squeak/groan until warmed up. The only inconvenience with the rubber ones is you need to support the suspension with a 2" block when you jack the car up. Having said that, next time, the rubber bushings go back in.

PS - I replaced the poly bushings on my Panhard rod with the stock rubbers when one of them disintegrated.
 
Hi Jeepster, you can saw the bolts off and that will work or you can also use heat. A standard home hobbiest propane torch will provide enough heat to loosen things up. I have not needed to do this on a Healey but I have done it many times on Corvettes. Here are some pics of cutting the bolts out of the pivot on the rear trailing arms of an early corvette. I almost always have to cut the bolts with a SawZaw blade on the Vettes because the bolts are shrouded by the body and impossible to drive out with a hammer. In the one pic you will see the white blade cutting the bolt hidden inside the rear dog leg of the rear frame rail. (use a long blade). Another pic shows the trailing arms on the floor after I cut the pivot bolts. The one trailing arm still shows the cut bolt stuck in the pivot. Cheers.
 

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Regards poly bushings: I put a set from British Victoria on my '60 BN7 anti-sway bar two or three years ago and haven't heard a bit of sound from them. I'm sure I greased them lightly before installation.
 
RDKeysor said:
Regards poly bushings: I put a set from British Victoria on my '60 BN7 anti-sway bar two or three years ago and haven't heard a bit of sound from them. I'm sure I greased them lightly before installation.
Click to expand...

I suspect those would require much less movement than the lower suspension arms would. That's probably the difference.
 
Jeepster said:
I have spent the past few hours trying to remove the pins that hold the lower wishbone arms to the main chassis frame.
From looking at a few previous posts it seems that this is a commo problem, that the pins sieze inside the old bushes.

previous posts recommend that the best way to remove the pin is to cut through it at both sides with a reciprocating saw.

I don't own this type of saw but will purchase one tomorrow. If I do cut the pin, will the arm then come away from the chassis and the bush be easy to remove?

Secondly, I'm looking to replace the bushes with polyurethane. Will the refitting process be easy enough or does this usually end up being a PITA?
Click to expand...
I changed out my A-arm bushings recently and luckily they weren't stuck but I would have tried heating them up with a torch had they been.

I had planned on using poly bushings and after reading on here about them possibly squeaking I greased them heavily and I fought trying to keep them squeezed in to reinstall the A-arm. I finally gave up and went to plan B, order rubber bushings which installed MUCH easier. I did use poly bushings on the upper A-arm and sway bar with no installation issues.
 
I used a hacksaw blade and a cloth to form the handle, after removing one like that, I visited machine Mart and bought an air driven recip saw, the job was done in a fraction of the time, can't say that I have used it since though, but I am sure that it will come in handy again one day.

:cheers:

Bob
 
I have used poly bushings in only 3 places, none of which require a turning motion:
  • the anti-sway bar links,
  • the Panhard rod end bushings, and
  • the transmission tie-rod bushings.

In all cases, the bushings are in a compression/decompression mode and don't squeak.

I recall that I used penetration oil to loosen the bushings for removal and anti-seize upon re-assembly, assuming I would have to take them apart some time in the future.
 
Gotta ask ... If you cut the end off the bolts, how do you drive the bolt out of the bush? That's where they get stuck. I've used a crowbar to lever them out; yes, you have to re-flatten the big end of the bolts/pins before reinstalling.
 
They are talking about cutting the bolts between the A arms and the mounting bracket. If you do that then the arm will come right out and you never have to drive out the bolt.
 
Csarneson said:
They are talking about cutting the bolts between the A arms and the mounting bracket. If you do that then the arm will come right out and you never have to drive out the bolt.
Click to expand...
Chris, that's correct, but you may still have the problem of getting the frozen bushing out of the A arm. On my car, the bolts on every single bushing on the car except for one had to be cut with a sawzall (heat did not work at all), but the bushings remained completely stuck in whatever part they were in. Every one of them. The disassembly process on my car was brutal. I solved the stuck bushings problem, along with a lot of other problems, when I shipped it all off to BRC and let them return a perfectly restored car! But the disassembly process made me intimate with my car, as did the welding of the major parts like sills and shut pillars. Fun...until it wasn't!
 
Yes you still have to remove the bolt from the moving part, if you are going to keep the part. With the trailing arms out they can be supported on an anvil and blocks and with heat they can be driven out. usually if you torch the bushing enough it will fall out. In some cases with the Vettes the trailing arm is trash anyway because of rust and new arms are attained. The trailing arms on the Vettes are only formed stamped steel, rust eventually gets to them. I am confident that the bushings on the Healey suspension points can be driven or torched out.
 
Bob_Spidell said:
you have to re-flatten the big end of the bolts/pins before reinstalling.
Click to expand...



Ohhhh Noooooo

You buy new ones

And if the bushes and the remainder of the bolts are lodged in the wish bone, drive them out or push them out with a vice and a large socket and a smaller one or piece of steel to act as the mandrill

:cheers:

Bob
 
I changed mine yesterday. It took all day. The passenger side pins came out hard. The drivers side was easy. I guess there is something to be said about a leaky steering box. I compressed the springs using all thread. Does someone make an original style spring compressor?
 
Update-

the new suspension units and wishbone bushes are now installed.

The wishbone bush bush bolts were a real pain to remove and only possible due to the purchase of a reciprocating saw. Even with this it took hours.

I decided to install poly bushes and following a quick test at a local car park, the car feels much tighter and handling seems improved. I've not taken it for a proper test drive as yet as I've a few other jobs to get one with.
 
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