My excitement of getting my rusty LCA bushing bolts off came to a screeching halt. I bought some Moog K6163 LCA bushings, but they already have the outer metal sleeve on them...and my old metal sleeves will NOT come off my control arms, no matter what I do. There is just too much rust and I would honestly rather buy a new control arm rather than fighting them for hours with a torch.
I know I have seen some people use these bushings from another thread, but I need another option. Are there good quality bushings without the sleeves somewhere out there?
As far as I know, all the stock-replacement rubber bushings have metal sleeves. So if you want to install rubber bushings, those old sleeves need to come out. One trick I've seen people use to remove the old bushing sleeves is to crush it with a press or an air chisel. I've also seen people saw them in half with a hacksaw. But the new sleeves will need to be pressed in. If you don't have a hydraulic press, you may want to "farm out" that job to a machine shop. It shouldn't cost much.
That said, urethane bushings usually don't have sleeves. They're meant to be installed into your existing sleeves, after the old rubber is extracted. Of course, the urethane bushings are stiffer than rubber. Some people don't like that. You can buy Prothane urethane suspension bushings from the Fiero Store, or Summit Racing.
As far as I know, all the stock-replacement rubber bushings have metal sleeves. So if you want to install rubber bushings, those old sleeves need to come out. One trick I've seen people use to remove the old bushing sleeves is to crush it with a press or an air chisel. I've also seen people saw them in half with a hacksaw. But the new sleeves will need to be pressed in. If you don't have a hydraulic press, you may want to "farm out" that job to a machine shop. It shouldn't cost much.
That said, urethane bushings usually don't have sleeves. They're meant to be installed into your existing sleeves, after the old rubber is extracted. Of course, the urethane bushings are stiffer than rubber. Some people don't like that. You can buy Prothane urethane suspension bushings from the Fiero Store, or Summit Racing.
Thanks! I decided to get angry with a hacksaw and a cold chisel. I got them out. Just wanted to make sure, since new Fiero parts aren't exactly hanging off of shelves.
Originally posted by Steven Snyder: Rubber bushings are bonded to the inner and outer sleeves. Wrong. CA bushings are not bonded to outer shell, or both.
You can't replace them separately. Mostly true. Depending on car... Many Rubber bushings are made as whole item, come w/ inner sleeve and outer shell. Some (a few 88 rear) had inner sleeve only.
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
My excitement of getting my rusty LCA bushing bolts off came to a screeching halt. I bought some Moog K6163 LCA bushings, but they already have the outer metal sleeve on them...and my old metal sleeves will NOT come off my control arms, no matter what I do. There is just too much rust and I would honestly rather buy a new control arm rather than fighting them for hours with a torch.
I know I have seen some people use these bushings from another thread, but I need another option. Are there good quality bushings without the sleeves somewhere out there?
you'll need to find a local machine shop with a hydraulic press that can press them out... OR, you can burn them out with a torch and replace the rubber with Polyurethane bushings like i did just requires a propane torch, the bushings themselves, lots of lube, and a rubber mallot or a hammer with a piece of 2x4 to hit against