I searched the archives and couldn't find anything directy on point. I have removed the front control arms from my '68. I have removed the bushings from the upper and lower a-arms (hole saw method). The outer bushings shells are not in good shape and need to be replaced. I pressed out the outer shells from the uppers with a vise. The lowers are a problem though. Because the cross shaft won't come out without removing the outer bushings shells, I can't get directly behind the ouer shell to use the vise method. I tried a hammer and punch but couldn't get any real movement from the shell. Any ideas? I do have an air chisel/hammer but never had any real luck using it. Thanks for any replies.

 

Air chisel. Get it in behind the flange of the shell and roll it out.

 

I got mine out with a stand up 16 ton shop press.

Warning: They are very powerful. I managed to break a steering box and rack and pinon on a porshce 928. $150 tool = $1000 in damage.

 

OK. So wombvette, you are saying to use a sharp air chisel and get behind the outer part of the flange? I've been trying to drive it out from the inside. Thanks, I'll try it. BTW, what do you mean by "roll it out"?

71 Red Sled, thanks for the reply but I don't have a press and would prefer to avoid bringing it to a machine shop.

 

I asked the same question about three days ago. I got some good responses involving weakening the shell with a saw blade, then collapsing it.

 

Soak the bushings with P.B. Blaster, then use an air chisel on both the outer sleeve and the inner sleeve, alternating between them. The inner sleeves are usually rusted badly, preventing removal of the outer sleeve. I don't think you will be able to remove them without using an air chisel. Noisy and a little dangerous....use ear and eye protection please!

 

I'm Batman, thanks for the reply. I tried the hacksaw method on the uppers. It didn't work for me. These outer shells are original to the car, I believe, and so there is a lot of corrosion between the shell and the a-arm. Of course, I was trying to drive it out from behind instead of using an air chisel behind the flange.

 

what I did, which probably is not the best way of doing it, was to get the remaining rubber out and remove the inner sleeve with penetrating oil and vise grips, then I used the shaft to drive out the outer sleeves. I put a socket over one end of the shaft and put the lip of the other end on the sleeve and worked my way around with a 4lb hammer. Once one is out just reverse for the other side. Lets you get a real straight shot on the shell. I ended up mushrooming the socket(cheap taiwan set) but the shaft survived intact. I did use an air chisel around the sides to collapse it as much as I could too, every little bit helps.

 

This is a paragraph from Lars Grimsrud's front suspension rebuild paper. I'm getting ready to do mine:

Clamp one of the arms firmly in your vice so you have access to one of the bushings. Notice that on the inside of the bushing (the end away from where the bolt and big washer retains the bushing to the shaft) the rubber will be bulging and squeezing out. Using a box knife, cut the rubber away from the bushing in this area. This will expose a small portion of the inner bushing sleeve where it slides over the shaft. The toughest part of getting the bushings off is due to these inner sleeves being seized and rusted to the shaft. Using your air chisel, place the chisel tip onto the inner bushing sleeve at an angle at this location and give it a few zaps. Hitting directly on this inner sleeve in this way will make the inner sleeve start to move off the shaft. Once it starts moving, use your radiused chisel tip at the other end of the bushing, forcing the chisel in between the outer large lip of the bushing and the a-arm. By walking the chisel around this outer lip and beating it away from the a-arm, the bushing will “walk” right out of the a-arm and off the shaft. You may have to alternate beatings between the inner bushing on the inside, and the outer lip on the outside.

 

My shafts and inner shells weren't stuck together - my only problem is removing the outer shells. The shafts are floating loose in the arm.

 

Thanks to all. The air chisel worked. I chiseled behind the outer shell flanges on the outside of the a-arm and they came out. Two came out easy and the other two took a little more work. Overall not too bad though.