Those look like typical bushings for domestic vehicles . . . ?
Mopar upper control arm bushings, 1960’s/1970’s.
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Have you ever replaced just the rubber part & reused the metal shells?
Note the flange is there to push the bushing assembly IN. It is in the way if you want to push it OUT.
Often the rubber is bonded to the inner sleeve but a good press can usually shove it out. Or you can burn it out.
Then you can saws-all the can to relieve the stress so you can beat it out. Don’t damage the control arm. If it is in a folded and stamped control arm you will need inner supports (correct length angle iron) or the arm will deform.
Pushing poly bushings back in are easy. They are harder so don’t need so much compression to make them work.
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Is there a reason you can’t push it out in the opposite direction?
The lower control arm bushings you gave as an example, the outer sleeve is trapped in a somewhat of a blind hole, the edge of the outer sleeve in inaccessible.
Small upper control arm bushings can be knock out with one strike of a hammer.
A press is needed for large lower control arm bushings used on modern vehicles, these are pressed in as tight as wheel bearings.
Yes, the flange. It gets in the way of being able to press against the arm. A bearing splitter can help but it can get in the way of the arm itself. And the arm itself interfers with the press when pushing the bushings in that direction.
All of this becomes very apparent when you try to replace bushings on your first A or L shaped control arm.
I think there’s some confusion about which flange. I thought you meant the flange on the inserts shown in the photo, post 43. But from what you say I’m now thinking you were referring to the flange on the metal outer shell.
It’s time for you to replace some control arm bushings and ball joints
don’t miss out on all the fun!
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He would really enjoy trying to figure out older upper Mopar ball joints, unless he studied up on them 1st…
Planned as a summer diy’er job for my truck. Surprisingly for a 50 year old truck, the original ball joints (of which there are 4 total) remain ok; but the bushings where the control arms attach to the front axel tube, and the other end where they attach to the chassis, the rubber bushings are asking for attention. Maybe this is common for solid-axle 4WD, but truck’s front suspension is a little differently configured than most vehicles. The control arm doesn’t attach to the steering knuckle, instead to the solid-axle. The end of the axle tube has two flanges which exactly fit the ball joints, so the ball joints are what attach the steering knuckle to the axle-tube.
The bushing at the axle-tube sort of wraps around the axle-tube, so it looks pretty simple to replace, no press needed. The control arm clamps to the axle-tube (similar to how a connecting rod clamps to a crank-shaft), with the rubber bushing in between. The puzzling thing I’m still trying to understand is that the company that supplies the bushing offers a bushing version that supposedly allows you to make a change to the front camber. I don’t understand how that’s possible, because the front axle has to remain horizontal to the ground, and the camber is defined by the orientation of the two flanges welded to the end of the axle. It seems like if you wanted to change the camber it would have to occur at the ball joints.
Sometimes when decide to try something that I shouldn’t, I get halfway through and just scrap the whole thing. Always keep that as an option.
It is Ford’s Twin I Beam suspension. Not one of their better ideas. It was a stop gap between a solid axle and a proper double A arm independent… but Ford’s marketing convinced the public it was sooo good, engineering couldn’t change it for some 40 years.
And any 50 year old rubber bushing would be the consistency of a charcoal briquette.
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Very true. The engine mounts remain functional, but will be needing some attention as well!
No control arms, you have a solid axle (twin I beam 4x4 came later,1980 I think) with radius arms (front to back) with radius arm bushings at the rear/frame and C bushings (front) that wrap around the solid axle housing…
Rear radius arm bushings
Front C bushings
Pretty much expected you’re going to be cutting or torching the attaching hardware around these parts…
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I just figured I’d follow up. I did bring it to the shop for this. Too darned hot and no lift access. I told them since I was bringing it to them, it was up to them what/how to do the work. But just added my preference for at least keeping the original A-arms with the new-ish ball joints in them.
So they did that, and just installed new support brackets with the pre-installed bushings. Fine by me. I doubt anyone wants to mess around with the pressing and whatnot if that isn’t necessary.
(And - LOL - another reason I know the upper ball joints are good is that I actually did do those when I did the lowers. That does sound like me, but I forgot all about it. It’s in my records tho’ which is what reminded me. The upper bushings are apparently good for now as it was aligned and nothing was said. But maybe I’ll think about those in the Fall when the weather is nice. They probably are the originals at almost 210K. And they’re much easier than the lowers.)
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