Replacing the rear front control arm bushing

[Mattdog]

I've searched for the past hour and can't find what i'm looking for. I need to replace the rear bushings on the front control arms. All I really need to know is how to get the bushing out of the control arms. Can I just use something like a ball joint press? I've already purchased replacement moog bushings from rockauto. In the past i've replaced the bushings with energy suspension bushings only to have them wear out 2 months later. After that I replaced the entire control arms for about $150. Those lasted maybe 30-40K miles.

[neonjr]

I've searched for the past hour and can't find what i'm looking for. I need to replace the rear bushings on the front control arms. All I really need to know is how to get the bushing out of the control arms. Can I just use something like a ball joint press? I've already purchased replacement moog bushings from rockauto. In the past i've replaced the bushings with energy suspension bushings only to have them wear out 2 months later. After that I replaced the entire control arms for about $150. Those lasted maybe 30-40K miles.

return the moog lca bushings, purchase poly bushings. Either Energy suspension or Prothane. I prefer installing the Prothanes. Just requires a real torch to burn out the rubbers.

[darthroush]

I've had my Prothane LCA bushings in for some time now, and they are still fine.

[wheels04sxt]

ive heard of people using a ball joint press too remove the bushing. i put the control arm in a vice then took a center bunch and a BFH and knocked out the horizontal one, carefully lol and used a propane torch to melt out the vertical one. just get it burnin and use something to scrape away the rubber as it melts.

and as mentioned return the moogs and get these:

http://www.modernperformance.com/protha ... -1618.html

ive had mine in for a few months now and theve held up great

[hansken_yo]

burn em!

[sidepipe87]

I've searched for the past hour and can't find what i'm looking for. I need to replace the rear bushings on the front control arms. All I really need to know is how to get the bushing out of the control arms. Can I just use something like a ball joint press? I've already purchased replacement moog bushings from rockauto. In the past i've replaced the bushings with energy suspension bushings only to have them wear out 2 months later. After that I replaced the entire control arms for about $150. Those lasted maybe 30-40K miles.

return the moog lca bushings, purchase poly bushings. Either Energy suspension or Prothane. I prefer installing the Prothanes. Just requires a real torch to burn out the rubbers.

wow... did you read any of what he posted?

[Mattdog]

So nobody has tried pushing the stock bushings out?

[fixitmattman]

I just cut them the last time I needed to get them out. The centers pretty much fell out, then just hacksaw the shell, when you're through it goes POP! and if it doesn't fall it you can get it out easily.

[occasional demons]

I'm not sure the metal shell will come out unless you can get the driver to just hit the shell, and still clear the bore in the LCA. It will be tricky, as the shell is not that thick. The rubber would press through for sure, but it may not be pretty. Like fixitmattman said, you may still need to hacksaw it to get the shell out.

[darthroush]

So nobody has tried pushing the stock bushings out?

I did push mine out, actually, but there was still some rubber left stuck to the metal that had to be burned off.

[Mattdog]

I will give it a shot. I'll probably rent a ball joint press to put the new bushings in.

[hansken_yo]

You won't need them to put the new ones in IIRC.

[occasional demons]

If the new ones come inside the metal sleeve, they will need pressed.

I can't imagine the oem style not being in the sleeve.

[hansken_yo]

Oh is he doing OEM replacement? I may have over looked that. If you were to get Prothane LCA bushings you wouldn't need a press to get them in.

[Mattdog]

The Moog bushings have metal sleeves. They look like decent bushings. I'm just not sure why they wear out so quickly. All I do with the car is commute 80 miles per day on the highway.

[darthroush]

Moog makes great stuff, don't get me wrong. If you only want to do it once, return them and buy Prothane poly bushings. They should last MUCH longer than regular rubber bushings.

[fixitmattman]

I'm just not sure why they wear out so quickly. All I do with the car is commute 80 miles per day on the highway.

Because it's a shitty design, and the rougher the roads the worse it lasts. I replaced mine with spherical bearings and I still have to replace them every 1.5 to 2 years. Although the fact I do a bajilion miles a day, drive over a lot of horrible roads doens't help, that and the car operates in sand half the year.

[Mattdog]

Moog makes great stuff, don't get me wrong. If you only want to do it once, return them and buy Prothane poly bushings. They should last MUCH longer than regular rubber bushings.

They might outlast my neon... If I planned on keeping the neon a long time I would put the prothanes in...

I rented a ball joint press today from autozone. It looks like it has the correct size cups to push out the old bushing and push the new one in.