Cradle bushing replacement... (Page 2/7)
theogre NOV 07, 01:39 AM

quote
Originally posted by wftb:
To get the rubber out I just use a drill with a 1/4" bit in it.Drill in between the shell and the rubber and it will just "walk" around the rubber and separate it from the shell. Clean it up with a rotary wire brush. Poly is a total waste of time get solid mounts. The 88's have solid mounts for a reason, you do not want any movement between the cradle and frame. I have a set of poly mounts I will give them to you for the price of the postage. And that is more than they are worth.

I did try that but had problems and wasn't any faster at getting sleeve out by heating in cave method. Couldn't find wire brush to fit the hole at that time for a drill. Hole is too big for "Dremel" w/ most common attachment to clean when have a lot of leftover rubber. (Note: Many "Dremel" including some real Dremel can break w/ sideways loads from cutting wheels etc. Is mainly shaft bearing(s) that fail.)

Metal is "ideal" but polly works and cheap for most users.
Night/day diff w/ polly vs rubber cradle set and that's 20+ years ago when most Fieros still had descent cradle bushings.
Blacktree NOV 07, 01:40 PM

quote
Originally posted by theogre: I can and have done them in the car following directions in my cave by only heating the middle sleeve to push or pull it out. Again, Bushings near bottom in "Shell Games." Rubber will not transfer core heating to the shell enough to matter.


I agree with this. Removing the center sleeve will make your life easier. As Ogre explained, aim a torch through the center of the sleeve, until the rubber around the sleeve starts to melt. Then the sleeve will easily push out (it might even fly out with a "pop" after you get it started). With the metal sleeve removed, it will be much easier to work the rubber loose. So you won't need to burn it, and make a big mess.
Dennis LaGrua NOV 07, 04:20 PM

quote
Originally posted by Blacktree:

I agree with this. Removing the center sleeve will make your life easier. As Ogre explained, aim a torch through the center of the sleeve, until the rubber around the sleeve starts to melt. Then the sleeve will easily push out (it might even fly out with a "pop" after you get it started). With the metal sleeve removed, it will be much easier to work the rubber loose. So you won't need to burn it, and make a big mess.


I can see the center sleeve being removed easily but then you still have to heat the center rubber to get it out. If we burn it out we just set fire to the rubber and allow it to burn away. The cradle would need to get near red hot to destroy the strength of the metallurgy. Then we insert the poly mounts which we have had no problems with. If Fieros handled well with rubber they certainly should improve with the harder poly. Probably not as durable as solid metal mounts but we see no evidence of movement with the poly cradle bushings and the car handles well.

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CSM842M4 NOV 18, 03:00 PM
Thanks to all for the replies and advice. The car is backed in the garage now, and I'm psyching myself up to get started. A couple of questions before I do:
1. My guess is I want to place jack stands under the unibody "frame" behind the rear of the subframe. Is this correct? And, do I need to support the body elsewhere, like in front of the front of the subframe? Does more equal merrier?
2. Should I remove either bolt from the doggone, or will leaving it connected help to prevent tearing up engine and transmission mounts?
I'm trying to think ahead whether any hoses, cables or wiring is likely to be in harm's way, and none leap to mind. I will keep eyes open, however... Thanks again for the encouragement and warnings. Further input is always welcome! - Chris
theogre NOV 19, 03:22 AM

quote
Originally posted by CSM842M4:

Thanks to all for the replies and advice. The car is backed in the garage now, and I'm psyching myself up to get started. A couple of questions before I do:
1. My guess is I want to place jack stands under the unibody "frame" behind the rear of the subframe. Is this correct? And, do I need to support the body elsewhere, like in front of the front of the subframe? Does more equal merrier?
2. Should I remove either bolt from the doggone, or will leaving it connected help to prevent tearing up engine and transmission mounts?
I'm trying to think ahead whether any hoses, cables or wiring is likely to be in harm's way, and none leap to mind. I will keep eyes open, however... Thanks again for the encouragement and warnings. Further input is always welcome! - Chris

Make sure you can loosen all bolts easy before worrying about front bushing.

Cradle...
Back bolts like to break the captive nut in frame.
Front bolts like to "weld" into the bushing core. See my Cave, Bushings

Dogbone etc doesn't need bolts remove most times. Might need loosening so dogbone can easy rotate or move a little.
CSM842M4 NOV 19, 08:55 PM
Thanks, ogre. Read your thread on bushings, very informative and helpful. Got everything basting in penetrant/lubricant until my next opportunity to get intimate with the car, hopefully Monday. Really would like to make sure I've got enough supporting the car so I don't tear anything up while I'm heaving ho at the old bushings and their hardware,...
CSM842M4 NOV 26, 10:11 PM
Well, things have progressed better than i would have thought! The front end of the cradle is almost down far enough for me to start attacking the bushings. The rear bolts even loosened up with hand tools, and only scared me a little bit that they were going to break. I'm almost anxious to see how the rest is going to go! Update maybe by Wednesday...
peterh NOV 27, 08:03 PM
Did this awhile ago, a pain to get the front bushings out, I used aluminum foil and wet rags to prevent problems.
Made a huge difference in handling.
Raydar NOV 27, 09:28 PM
Another vote for drilling the bushing out. Especially the bushings at the front of the cradle.
Use a 1/8" bit, and drill around the inner sleeve. If you hold it just right, it will "walk" around the sleeve, and break the bond between the sleeve and the rubber.
Then do the same with the outer sleeve. Once you make a couple of revolutions, you should be able to push the rubber out, with ease.
(Be prepared to break at least one drill bit. It happens.)
Once you have the rubber out of the sleeve, use a flap wheel or similar to remove all the remnants of the rubber from the inside of the sleeve.
I will never use heat to remove a bushing again.
CSM842M4 NOV 28, 04:25 PM
Thanks, peterh and Raydar. I had toyed with the idea of making a pilot for a hole saw that would allow me to use the inner sleeve of the bushing as a guide, and the hole saw would just clear the outer sleeve, core the rubber out and leave not much to clean up. Who knows, I may try it anyway, just because I can excuse playing on the lathes and milling machines at work as "skill development". Either way, it feels like I'm close on the fronts. I can't see the rears taking very long - may be done by NEXT days off! Update soon...