is it hard or easy to change out the upper bushing for the control arm? mine are toast and in need of replacing

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Nothing to it. Vice and hammer. Get the new ones for a few bucks, take a look at them and you will see . Hope this helps Don

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'72 Duster /6 with turbo build up
'03 Ram 2500 4x4 w/HEMI 5sp 4:10 posi
My Twister Page

i've been thinking it's easy with a BFH " Big F--ken Hammer. my parts store has them and the look like the would go in easy. but the manual says i need a tool to get them out but yet again it says i need a special tool for every thing. i dont have a vise yet so would there be another way?

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The upper bushings are easy to replace IF the sleeves have not rusted to the bolts in the old ones. If they have, you will get real friendly with a torch and air chisel.

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

My simple suggestion: take them to a machine shop, and let them do it in the press. For me, it was $5 each, for a total of $20 at the local machine shop.

Also, buy the better camber fixer bushings ("problem solvers" is the official title) from Moog, and search on this site as far as how to install them to give yourself better handling.


Greg

The right tool makes this a simple and easy job. I regretted not having got them sooner. Feel free, however, to go ahead and struggle with vises, hammers, chisels and presses. I did too. Never again!

http://www.americanmuscle.biz/parts.lasso

23471 Chrysler Upper Control Arm Bushing Remover/Installer.

my buddy has a press, so I bought the moog bushings and went over there. It was almost impossible to set the damn things up in the press without taking way more time than it would have been worth to make a fixture to hold everything and press against the right surfaces. I was fiddling with deep sockets and steel bars and needing three hands to pump up the ram...

I think I ended up supporting them in a vice, or maybe supporting a socket in a vice to receive the old bushing, then using a hand sledge while my buddy held the control arm at the right spot. The new bushings pressed in easy enough in a big vice. They have stamped sheetmetal pieces that press in to the ends- these never stuck on hard enough that they wouldn't pop off a couple times before I put them in the car, but it wasn't a big deal.

To put them back on (I was working on a 73 swinger) It took a little trial and error to figure out that they can be tapped in to their grooves from the top, again with gentle persuasion from a hand sledge. Make sure to check all the welds on the sheetmetal pieces that receive the uca's- mine had popped a couple welds and I couldn't heal a banging sound when changing from Drive to Reverse until I welded it up. I kept replacing bushings and scratching my head!

good luck

Kevin
in philly

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madam im adam

That's the tool to have! Too easy to bend a control arm in a press.

If all you have to do is take out the rubber to slide in a poly bushing that can be done with a propane torch and a screwdriver, but getting the steel out is another story!

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Joshua

No vise no problem. wd-40 and your big hammer. I just said vise for the surface to hit on. Knock them out beat them in. No money and very little time to do this. We have done over 50 sets like this with no problems. Hope this helps Don

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'72 Duster /6 with turbo build up
'03 Ram 2500 4x4 w/HEMI 5sp 4:10 posi
My Twister Page

Beating steel shelled bushings in or out is a good way to make the new ones come loose and ruin the arm at the same time. They almost never line up as they should too. Sure plenty of shops do this, it's not their car!

I have a C-frame type of tool for this, but on these cars a vise with a short piece of steel pipe and a socket is very quick and easy if the arm is off the car.

With the tool, you do not even have to remove the ball joint from the spindle. I was getting my upper bushings cooked on a turbo car and the tool made life much better. If you are looking at paying a shop for the presswork, I would try to buy the tool instead. I bought the one I have here. It is a good strong tool, some of the cheap Chinese ones are junk. Just be sure to grease the threads.

http://www.mytoolstore.com/astro/asthan14.html[url][/url]

I'd rather just use a hydraulic press...

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'74 Duster w/ HEI ignition, beat to snot suspension, A904, 8.25" 3.55 SG rear, still being tuned up and gets 17 MPG

Know how they always build a better idiot? That's me

Anothersix,
You might check your link, I think it's broken. At least it is for me.

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There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity.
Ignorance is not knowing any better.
Stupidity is knowing, yet doing it anyway.

I agree with what dudley said. Right tool for the job! Makes doing this type of stuff fun and the tool is relatively inexpensive to boot. I've used it myself, soooo easy. No press, machine shop, hammer or chisel.

All those newer suspension tools work great. Essentially you could rebuild your whole front end in a few hours.


Greg

The thread is correct, but does not work for me either. I think it is the " URL" that is added twice at the end. You could type it in without that or just search for the tool on the site. It is made by astro pneumatic. The Mopar specific tools would work great too, but this one will do cars that have a upper shaft too, as well as some lower and rear bushings on non Mopar cars.