Fierce Legend

Im haveing an issue with the lower Control Arms. There is only enough space for the outside washers not the inside washers. You know.. The one thats knurld. Do I bend out the tabs the cam ajustment bolt and nut sit against? Are you even supposed to use the washers with the poly bushings?

Fierce Legend

bump!!!

RustBucket

iTrader: (1)

YES! You need to keep the outside and inside washers (the convex ones with the knurling).

I had the same difficulty with one mounting "ear". I just persuaded the extra washer up in with the rest, mm by mm. A few different sizes of prybars will help.

You could also try to bend the offending tab out.

Fierce Legend

Theres 2 much bushing to fit those inner washers on. When I pressed the bushing into the control arm the the inner sleeve in entirely inside the bushing and the were the wsher used to be wont fit anymore. I left the outside washers on and just pressed them in and there 2 different sized bushings between the rubber and the poly.

the poly is harder. couldnt it just rub against those tabs on the one side? It still has the washers on the outsides holding it from back and forth grinding.

RustBucket

iTrader: (1)

Are these the washers you're talking about?



There should be a big one and a small one on either side of each bushing. Their ID matches up with the ID (~16mm) of the inner bushing sleeve that the bolt goes through.

RobD

I ended up having to carefully pry those washers off, cleaning out the old bushing from inside the control arm, then cleaning all the bushing material off those steel sleeves, since I had to reuse mine. To put the washers back on, I pressed them on, then used a small ballpeen hammer to reflare the inside of the sleeve so the washer would stay on.

Not sure if it was the right way, but it was the only way I could get it to work.

erock13

Yupp, I tried leaving the knobbed ones off, alignment didn't stick at all, rotated all over the place even at full torque, they are a major pita, just gotta work em however way you can, I used a flathead, a crowbar, and a hammer.. i pryed open the tab with the crowbar, stuffed the washer up there as far as I could get it, smacked it with the hammer till the center hole showed through the tab, and used the flathead to pull it up through the tab..

Fierce Legend

ok so I got done the entire front end upper and lower contol arsm all galvanized and painted with por 15 new upper and lower balljoints and poly bushings with alot of the supergrease.

I took a big cresent wrench and ajusted the outside tabs so that the outside of the control arm slid in. Then I used the wrench and bend the inside tabs so there was more rooom. Then I stuck the washer in space and hammered it in with a punch and now I got all the washers in and everything is perfect. I just need to align my front end now wich is going to cost me 100 bucks .

rj radar

Hey there Im doing new prothane poly bushings in my 93 4x4, lower control arms. The guy down at the machine shop pressed the entire bushing out of the arm, and according to prothane your not supposed to do this, there suggested method is too burn the old bushing out and press the new one in. If the outer metal shell is removed you have to replace the entire bushing kit, is this true? Seems like it might be cause the outer metal shell is pressed in to begin with and the alignment may have issues all the time. I've already paid for the bushing itself so to have to buy the whole kit again is pretty lame. Any suggestions besides not going to that machine shop again? Heard alot of opinions but cant get a concrete answer.

erock13

All you need is the sleeve and the washers on the sides, how the bushing is removed doesnt matter as long as you have the sleeve.. As far as i know, even with the bushing out, youll still have to burn it or cut it off the sleeve, since the rubber is glued/molded to it..

erock13

rereading your post, i read it wrong.. when i did mine there was no outer sleeve, only the inner sleeve, so im not too sure now, i would think that as long as you can fit the bushing through it then you should be fine, polyurethane bushings are meant to be free to rotate, unlike rubber which have twist resistance.. try calling them possibly?

rj radar

Thanks for the information, I didnt know about the poly bushings rotating, and the rubber ones not. The directions and diagram from prothane show the outer metal shell not being removed, it's in direct contact with the arm, my gut says it's pressed in one time and cant be repressed as it would lose it's pressure molded fit. Although I'm gonna call prothane again just to be sure.
thanks again erock.