help removing bushing

[jpetropoulos]

Hi Mountain

I had good luck with the bushings from Great Basin Rovers. You won't find them on his site but if you call you can get a set mailed to your house. They are simple molded inserts that you push in from the inner and outer sides of the frame and then push a metals sleeve through the inserts. The sleeve holds the crossbolt that attaches the leaf spring. THey are almost effortless and worth every penny in time, and swear words saved.

[SafeAirOne]

Hi Mountain

I had good luck with the bushings from Great Basin Rovers. You won't find them on his site but if you call you can get a set mailed to your house. They are simple molded inserts that you push in from the inner and outer sides of the frame and then push a metals sleeve through the inserts. The sleeve holds the crossbolt that attaches the leaf spring. THey are almost effortless and worth every penny in time, and swear words saved.

Are they polyurathane bushings? DISCLAIMER: I have no personal experience with Poly bushes, but I understand that these do not fare as well as rubber bushings in the durability department. See: http://www.roversnorth.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6571

[Donnie]

I am working on a 72 series III 88" that has pretty typical rust. I have removed the rear leaf springs but on the rear mount / rear spring / drivers side, the bushing was disintegrated and so the inner sleeve of the bushing came out solidly attached to the nut that goes between the shackles and through the bushing with most of the rubber attached.

The problem is that the bushing's outer sleeve is absolutely snug in the round collet (right word) that is integrated into the frame. I have tried tapping it out but it did not budge. I worked a punch between the sleeve of the bushing and the collet and managed to bend it a bit but it is slow and sloppy going and I am worried that I am marring the inside of the collet and will have difficulty getting the new bushing in (if I get that far!)

Anyone here recognize this dilemma and have the obvious solution for me?

Thanks a lot

Jack

If you have a torch, blue tip special. This is the easy way to remove it
Installing: use a bolt and pull it into place....others have already said that, but It is my favorite way to proceed.....

[Mountain132]

Time for poly front frame bushings.

sanded frame opening, froze bushing, heated frame with torch, greased bushings and opening.......grade 8 bolts snapped, bushing won't install beyond half way. Used a 18mm impact socket the same diameter as the outer sleeve of the bushing to act as a washer and the shackle as another washer. Not budging. Pounded the socket with a 5 lb ballpeen hammer, didn't budge. Used 2 concrete blocks and a scissor jack to try and press the bushing in from between the frame legs and looked as if the bushing sleeve in the frame was pressing outward. Something tells me the diameter of the bushing is > the diameter of the frame bushing sleeve. 3rd bushing down the drain.

I may cut out what is protruding and pound it in the opposite side. Similar to the 2 piece poly bushings. Any thoughts?

[jpetropoulos]

I feel for you.

I scratched my head too many times trying to do the right / original thing. I must admit that I am no pro but those 2 piece poly bushings make things a lot easier. With that said, lots of guys have success with the originals so there must be a way. I just had to work too hard to find it. Snapping a Grade 8 is a sobering moment.

I don't think I would cut off the protruding piece. I would remove it and go with the poly. That's just me.

[SafeAirOne]

On another application I had to do some a-arm bushings and had similar difficulty. I found that the problem was all the junk left in the bore. Even a little rust or scale will make the job impossible.

I had a couple of grinding wheels for my drill, like these, lying around so I wore them down on a piece of concrete till they were slightly larger than the bore I was trying to clean out. Then I just put them up to the hole and applied a little pressure till the last tiny bit of stone was worn off and the wheels entered the bore, perfectly sized.

I ran them through the bores a few times while rusty dust filled the air. After the bores looked smooth, I took an oily rag and wiped the rust residue away and preceeded normally.

Worked like a charm for my application. Probably would here, too.

[disco2hse]

Some graphite grease or copper grease might help too. Helps to stop further corrosion and aids in removal later when they haven't rusted together, again.