How to change control arm bushes in your shed if youre not fortunate enough to own a machine shop or a 10 tone press using only basic tools.
The following will work on a GJ - GN sedan with factory original bushes, this may work on other models as well, I dont know as i have not worked on the other models suspension components to be able to confirm.
- hack saw
- hammer
- punch
- using a vice could help
first step is to obviously pull the control arm out of your car
piece of shit
step 2 using a hack saw blade or jigsaw if youre game cut what ever is left holding to the inner rubber part of the bush
once youve done that you have more room to better use the hack saw with the blade threaded through the end to cut a slit in the outer ring of the bush
obviously dont cut too far, only cut enough to weaken the bush outer ring
any nicks you can clean up with a file or sand paper later
once youve cut a slit in the ring use your punch on both sides of the slit then flipping the control arm over and doing the same on the other side, in my case the rust was doing a fantastic job of making this process very difficult, having said that the tool I used were extremely basic as well
as you can see the rings come out totally destroyed but who cares
if you want you can now paint the control arm(s) but dont paint the inner surface the bush is going to be making contact with, also make sure its free of dust and rust
heres the nolathane part number for the upper control arm bushes. one kit will do one side only.
parts supplied in the kit
heres the instructions- follow steps as per instructions and you wont get squeaking and groaning from your bushes
when greasing the contact surfaces of the bush, keep in mind that you should clean those same surfaces on the car and grease them as well, all that is left now is to fit it back into your car.
there are better methods but this is what you get with a hammer a hack saw and a punch - i didnt use a vice but you can use one to hold the control arm while cutting the rubber and outer ring/bush.