1971 HLS30-14938 "Lily" build

[Patcon]

I really don't want to use heat. All the parts have been painted. "Cart before the horse" sort of thing. Unfortunately I will probably chip them up some. I have a 20T press but I do recall some people having problems crushing them.

[grannyknot]

The hacksaw methods only drawback is it is very hard to keep the blade level and easy to cut into the control arm metal. After you get the cut fairly deep you take a small sharp chisel and start peeling the sleeve in toward the center, then when the sleeve is knocked out clean up any nicks or cuts with a round file and press in the new bushing in. Just remember that the two control arms have to be  mirror images of each other and not identical, I'm sure I'm not the only guy who had to go buy a third bushing after screwing it up

[Captain Obvious]

If you use the proper backup method with the correct sized supporting anvils, you should be able to press those things in and out all day with the hydraulic press without damaging or crushing anything. Having a lathe helps.... 

My PO did the bushings in my car. He burned the rubber out and put so much heat into the arms that they went blue. Then he hacksawed through the outer bushing wall, and into the control arms a little. In numerous locations. And then he pounded the remains out with a cold chisel and cratered and upset the metal on the inside of the control arm hole.

All four were junk by the time he got done with them and I replaced all of my arms and started over.

[sweatybetty]

5 hours ago, Patcon said:

I also need to press new rubber bushings in the lower control arms for the front and the spindle pins for the back. Any tips on doing this or pitfalls to avoid?

i used a hole-saw to cut through the rubber, then a sawzall to cut the outer. piece of cake

[Patcon]

I figured I would use some large sockets as anvils, but if that failed I would use a hole saw to cut the bulk of the rubber out. Then I have an assortment of rotary cutting dies and a body saw that I figured would do the trick to thin the shell down and collapse it in. I may try to work on it some tomorrow...

I knew the bushings weren't symmetrical to each other but which way is the bushing supposed to extend, to the rear?

[Namerow]

here you go...

[Patcon]

Thanks Namerow

[Captain Obvious]

I also found a tiny bit of asymmetry with the rear spindle pin bushings as well. I don't know if it was designed that way, or if it was an accident, but I found a slight difference in the distance the metal collars stuck out of the new rubber bushings. One side was longer than the other, and all of them were consistent (as though it was done on purpose and not an accident).

I put all four of them in such that the smaller distance was inward towards the strut body and the longer portion was on the washer and nut side. I found that with the bushing pressed into the center of the control arm recieving cylinder, the distance between the two bushings worked out to almost exactly the width of the strut knuckle casting.

I found that if I reversed the bushings and centered them, I ended up with a gap where the strut knuckle fit. Of course, it was a small gap and would have easily clamped down as I tightened the spindle pin nuts, but I figued if I didn't have a gap in the first place, that would be better. Also, putting the longer end on the outside allowed more room for the rubber sealing washer.

Don't know if all the aftermarket bushings do that, but I bought Raybestos 570-1030 - There are two bushings per box, so two boxes per car.

If you squint right, you can see the asymmetry in this pic. See how the center sticks out farther on one side than the other:

[Patcon]

I bought Nissan bushings, I will see if they have the same offset. So you turned the "small" side in, correct?

[Patcon]

Ok, did the front control arm bushings today

New bushing. Manufactured the beginning of this year evidently

Pressing the old on out. A piece of 2" pipe with some rubber on top and an impact socket to press it out

Sorry for the blurry picture. I guess I moved. Both old bushings out. I was surprised there was very little rust but the car spent most of it's life in the South West

Pressing the new one in

 

 

Done. The first one didn't take very long. The second one took 7 minutes start to finish. No real problems...

Now the new problem is the rear control arms. I have a socket that would be large enough to press against but there is really not a good way to set the arm so you can press against it. How have others done it?

The original bushings are offset on the rear control arms like the Captain said.

About .014" to the outside and .010" on the inside

You can see it on the new bushing too

 

[Captain Obvious]

Yes, I turned the small sides in. I found I liked the fit better with the short sides inboard towards the strut body.

I found that if I reversed the bushings and centered them in the arms, I ended up with too small of a gap where the strut knuckle fit between the two bushings. Of course, since it's just rubber, I could have forced the bushing centers apart a little and forced the strut body between them, but I figured if things lined up naturally without having to do that, it would be better.

With the small sides in, when I centered the bushings in the receiving cylinders in the arms, it worked out almost perfect such that the distance between the two bushings was very very close to the width of the strut housing. Seemed to perfect to be coincidental.

So I don't know if they were really designed to be that way, but it worked for me. And if you're seeing the same small difference on  OEM bushings as I saw on aftermarket MOOG, then I'm starting to believe it really might be intentional. Hark... Did I stumble across something that isn't even in the repair manuals??  

If you haven't already pressed your old rear bushings out yet, measure the distance between the two of them, and compare that to the width of the strut body.

As for how to fixture the press... I've done so many press operations over the last few years that I don't remember specifically what I used, but it was probably a long bolt passing through one of the bushings to press against the other bushing. Either that, or I managed to fit the control arm down between the parts of the press and straddled the anvil? I don't think I have enough room on my press to fit the arm down inside, so it was probably a long bolt. Something just a little smaller OD than a spindle pin.

[Captain Obvious]

Forgot something... About the rust (or lack of it), with a press fit of that caliber, it's pretty much gas tight.

No oxygen, no rust.