Radius arm clean-up and bushings

[tdskip]

Any tips on cleaning these up, getting the old bushings out and the new ones in?

Thanks guys - hope everyone is having a good weekend.

 

[Colin8]

Looks to me like the bushing is welded in. Sand blast or wire brush to be sure. If welded, you'll have to grind off the weld bead before pushing out the bushing.

 

[Colin8]

I just noticed listing 180424035565 on ebay: https://tinyurl.com/ylc7udg. Looks like those bushings are welded also.

 

[TexasSprite]

As I recall, the bushings actually fit into the welded tube shown in the picture. After I knocked out the rubber, what was left was the outer metal shell of the bushing stuck inside the welded tube. I split the bushing shell carefully with a hacksaw in several places then knocked the pieces out with a cold chisel. A quick cleanup and the new bushings knocked in with a bit of effort.

A tip I read while reassembling the refurbished radius arm to the car was not to tighten up the bolts holding the radius arm until the suspension is setting at ride height. If you tighten everything up while the suspension is hanging off the car, when it gets lowered, the rubber bushing is likely to get sheared (or fail a lot earlier) as it gets put under a lot of torque as the suspension settles into the road position. Could be just a old wives tale, but I thought it made sense at the time.

 

[Nelson]

The bushings are not welded in. I used the hacksaw and chisel successfully on my radius arms. They get rusted very solidly into place. When you press the new ones in use antisieze compound. It will act as a lube and make it easier to remove the next time which ,hopefully, won't be necessary.

 

[Whitephrog]

Flat screw driver and a hammer worked for me.

 

[cdsmith]

When I replaced my bushings I just had the shop (where I bought the bushings) press the old ones out and then press the new ones in... It was worth the extra few bucks not to have to hassle with trying to do it myself.
cd

 

[tdskip]

Thanks guys!