Help Needed: Installing control arm bushings

[jerry]

i did the obligatory forum search. nothing found in 7 pages of looking

i am fighting with my rubber bushings for the control arms. after mangling the PVC tool i had, i replaced it with galvanized pipe fittings. much better but still not getting it done.

i swab the hole with glycerine and am able to get the bushing 90% of the way but the outward edge just mashes up and makes it impossible to squeeze the rest of the way.

it's like a 'chinese puzzle' the more i push the harder it gets.

i've tried boiling the rubber to make it more pliable. no dice.

i'm thinking of putting the control arms in the oven at 300F and the bushings in the freezer.

What have you folks done? i do not want urethane bushings, btw

[Guest Anonymous]

You won't like the answer Jerry -

Throw the bushings away and get complete new control arms. I've tried, other BMW professionals have tried - and I have yet to see (in 20 yrs) these little bastards installed without damaging them. Either that or go Delrin / urethane....really ....I wouldn't lie about this tortuous experience.

Paul

[jerry]

you're right, i don't like that answer, but i am thankful for your experience and advice.

i have access to a hydralic press at work that won't take no for an answer but using it really makes my shfincter (sp?) pucker...

how the heck did the Bavarians do it?

i'm gonna try the heat/freeze combo and report back.

[Pinepig]

I had some problems once also and fixed it like this.

Take some bailing wire and wrap it around the part that keeps do the chinese puzzle trick on you. A nice even coil is what you want. unwrap one coil at a time as you press the last bit in. It works, no shit.

[jerry]

now that sounds like a clever solution. i can't wait to try it. brilliant indeed. thanks

[Zenon]

i swab the hole with glycerine and am able to get the bushing 90% of the way but the outward edge just mashes up and makes it impossible to squeeze the rest of the way.

Dr. Ruth says: "loob-rrree-kay-shon!"

Use lots and lots and lots of lube. So much, in fact, that, when finished, you will look like you just had a great sploshing session. I have done it using glycerin and dish soap. Dish soap is better. Palmolive is nice on the skin.

Another thing is to make sure your press setup is only bearing on the center tube of the bushing and not the rubber very much - I used a nut with no washer on my home-made all-thread and pipe nipple contraption. It should then pull through without compressing/expanding the trailing edge of the bushing.

I also found I had to pull the bushing quite a ways past the final installed position (into the ~1.5" ID pipe nipple) to make up for the rubber flex and get both shoulders seated properly. It only seems abusive; the bushings are very tough.

regards,

Zenon

[PeterVarga]

instead of glycerine/dish soap use wire pulling lube

found at contractor grade electrical supply. It is slicker than

...

[colorobo2002]

Use lots and lots and lots of lube. So much, in fact, that, when finished, you will look like you just had a great sploshing session. I have done it using glycerin and dish soap. Dish soap is better. Palmolive is nice on the skin.

Another thing is to make sure your press setup is only bearing on the center tube of the bushing and not the rubber very much - I used a nut with no washer on my home-made all-thread and pipe nipple contraption. It should then pull through without compressing/expanding the trailing edge of the bushing.

I also found I had to pull the bushing quite a ways past the final installed position (into the ~1.5" ID pipe nipple) to make up for the rubber flex and get both shoulders seated properly. It only seems abusive; the bushings are very tough.

Ditto, just have to push the bushing a little farther through and back it out a little so that last lip seats properly on the control arm. Email me if you want to see pics of my bushing tool.

[Mike Self]

base auto hobby shop...most automotive machine shops have big presses and will do the job for a few bucks if you don't have access to a press...

mike