cbell3186

Hey guys,

I am in the process of doing poly bushings on my car. Pressing out the old bushings are going well, but the kit stated that I must use the old hardware (energy suspension.) I am assuming they mean the metal caps/washer looking things and the center pins.

How the hell do you get those off? Do they sell just the pins/ends somewhere? Do I burn the rubber to get to the metal part? Wire brush?

apex26

Search youtube for Froggy, he has videos that show how he did the job. A lot more sensible than burning them out--and you don't breathe poison. He has a C5Z.

Rob 02

Cut the rubber off of the end. Lube the area by the "dog bone" with Armor-all or something. Put a pry bar through one of the bolt holes and spin it out.

runner140*

AND, has a number of good YouTube projects done for C5's. Does most jobs with one hand while holding the IPhone in the other hand. Brakes, waterpump, wheel bearings etc.

leadfoot4

I heard he's a "freak of nature", and has 3 hands.................











..............just kidding!!

He DOES post some really good videos!

kirk tarrant

i put mine in metal pan with 1/2 inch of kerosene and lit them with a torch, when its done burning all the rubber is off the inserts and its just needs a quick scuff with a abrasive pad!

cbell3186

Thanks for the input guys, I ended up using a ball joint press kit rental (about 30 piece kit) and pressed all the bushings out. Once out, I used a razor to cut a line from end to end on the bushing so I could peel it off starting there. After, I took a torch and heated the inside metal part of the busing until it was smoking quite a bit. As soon as I took the torch off, I peeled the delaminated rubber right off. It left a black film on there, easily taken off with a wire brush on the drill!

Rob 02

When you get finished can you give a short review of the ride quality.

Thanks, Rob.

alxltd1

Subscribing for results. I have a full set of spare control arms and the bushings set from PFADT but have not yet installed.

kirk tarrant

It seems very popular to install grease nipples while doing the bushings. Some fresh greens now and then will prob keep em quite!

derz_vette

I have poly bushings with zerk fittings.... and bump steer.

My car drives like its on rails, however, it is very unforgiving. My coilovers probably don't help the stiffness.

If anyone is in the bay area and wants to see what it feels like I can take you for a spin.

OP - are you putting zerk fittings on yours?

racebum

inspect the front lower control arm bushings yearly. they are the most prone to wear and will not last anywhere near as long as stock. i have seen poly lower control bushings with play you could feel after only 15k miles. the rest of them.....they were fine. it's ONLY the front lower arms that seem to get hammered

the rest should have a long service life

if anyone makes hard rubber like the T1 bushings i would use those there and poly elsewhere

Caveboy

@derz_vette Could I take you up a ride on your vette?

cbell3186

I'll give ride impressions once I finish it this weekend. @derz_vette, I debated on Zerks, but the set I have is from energy suspension and all of the mounts are solid, messing with installing them was more trouble than expected and having to cut out/notch them for the grease was a task I did not want to add. If I had 2 piece bushings like some other kits, I definitely would have added the Zerks, better distribution of the grease.

American Heritage

If you put in poly I would go with Zerks and notch the poly before install. Its the proper thing to do, plus you (and the next owner) will thank you for it. Much more work/time but well worth it.

http://www.americanheritageperformance.com/

Caveboy

Any instructions on notching the bushings and doing the grease fittings?

apex26

Vorschlag has a C5 build, and has a description of it and a few tips.

alxltd1

Scroll down to post number 95
http://www.corner-carvers.com/forums...t=48825&page=3

cbell3186

Dang it alxltd1, after that post, I might as well Zerk them. They are still off the car and a few hours today could save days later.

alxltd1

I think it is worth the effort long term. I have a set of control arms drilled and tapped for the zerks. I just need to install the poly bushings. They are PFADT bushings and are two piece style, so I will notch them to fit around the zerk to reach the pins. Also drilled and tapped the sway bar clamps for zerks if I install poly bushings for them as well along with teflon tape. There seems to be varied opinions on the poly bushings regarding stiffness of ride, noise, wear, etc. I figured with a spare set of control arms I could try them and if not satisfied, just put back the OEM with rubber bushings. Let us know how it turns out.