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Took lower control arm to local shop to have them pressed in. Rubber replacement - not poly.
Anyway, they are not fully flush with the control arm. The outside flange on both sides is bent to #$@&. The inside bushing is barely showing in the lip of the inside of the control arm.
Question is if they are seated well enough, or am I looking at a potential problem?
Hard to see, the the lip of the bushing is just on the inside of the lip of the inner control arm. Shows the suspect bushing. Note how the flange of the bushing sleeve is caved in. This one seems OK, even though it isn't fully seated.
It looks like the shop allowed an amateur to do this job. The most difficult part of pressing out the old and in the new bushing, is to not damage the control arms. It takes practice or experience with using a press to do it without damaging them.
Since you're in Tampa, I'd take them to Vansteel(12285 West Street, Clearwater) and ask their opinion. Best case they will tell you they are okay, worst case they recommend redoing them. The good news is they're some of the best in the industry and they're pretty close to you. They're great folks to work with and if you haven't met and talked with them yet, I think you'll want to get to know them.
Good luck... GUSTO
Last edited by GUSTO14; Oct 30, 2018 at 11:47 AM.
Reason: sp
The installer should have proper jigs/tools to fit the outside properly while not pressing directly on the arms, and should be using spacers in the center of the arms to keep from bending the basic shape of the arms. I agree they are not correct, and if the flanges are bent you shouldn't have expected to pay for them or accept them as usable. Pretty critical part of the front end. It appears they may have supported the inside of each end of the arm and forced or hammered them in. I would take them in somewhere else and get their opinion / have them fixed or reworked. They should look like the photos posted by aerofix.
The installer should have proper jigs/tools to fit the outside properly while not pressing directly on the arms, and should be using spacers in the center of the arms to keep from bending the basic shape of the arms. I agree they are not correct, and if the flanges are bent you shouldn't have expected to pay for them or accept them as usable. Pretty critical part of the front end. It appears they may have supported the inside of each end of the arm and forced or hammered them in. I would take them in somewhere else and get their opinion / have them fixed or reworked. They should look like the photos posted by aerofix.
I agree. I'm running them to Vansteel tomorrow. They are only like 40 minutes from my home.
Isintampa- not sure what that garage charged to bend your control arms, but for $60 you could have bought the correct GM bushing installation tool and done it yourself.
That is the exact tool I used ronarndt. And as Joe Minnesota pointed out, I fabricated and used spacers between the flanges to prevent them from being bent.
That job is SO simple/easy it's pathetic, for one thing, you need a decent shop vice about 5-6" jaw....a selection of deep well sockets, and then a piece of angle iron you cut off to dimension of inside the arm lips, and then do the obvious....jeez.....
"That job is SO simple/easy it's pathetic". Agreed, yet if you do a search on this forum you find people using chisels, drills and torches to get the old bushings out and a variety of methods to install them. It's not a job that amateur mechanics do on a regular basis, so I guess that explains it.
Went to Vansteel. Just an FYI, the lower arms very often are bent just from hitting stuff while driving. In my case, the arm was at least a quarter inch bent in, most likely from some PO hitting a curb stop or something like a rock, etc.
Dan has a template he uses to measure the arm gaps, etc. I had him make me a copy that I can use when I get around to removing the other side.
In any event, it is possible that the thing was bent before I took it in, or maybe the shop bent it during the process, that point is rather moot. As far as the tool and pressing them out / in, Vansteel hammers them in. They don't use a press or tool at all. Been doing it that way for many years.
Here's a picture of my bent arm lined up (sort of) with the replacement from Vansteel.
I haven't dropped the right side yet. So I don't yet know what I'm in for. At least I have some aid now that will let me know if my other arm is bent or not before I start working on it.
Last edited by lsintampa; Oct 31, 2018 at 01:12 PM.
Well, at least you’ll get them addressed, so best of luck. I know they should be easy with the right tools, but the arms off my 1970 finally went to a shop after I couldn’t budge them with the press equip I had. They actually sonic-bathed the arms first, to remove rust and scale, followed by pressing out the bushings. He said they do a lot of them and mine were a challenge. Not always easy.
Went to Vansteel. Just an FYI, the lower arms very often are bent just from hitting stuff while driving. In my case, the arm was at least a quarter inch bent in, most likely from some PO hitting a curb stop or something like a rock, etc.
Dan has a template he uses to measure the arm gaps, etc. I had him make me a copy that I can use when I get around to removing the other side.
In any event, it is possible that the thing was bent before I took it in, or maybe the shop bent it during the process, that point is rather moot. As far as the tool and pressing them out / in, Vansteel hammers them in. They don't use a press or tool at all. Been doing it that way for many years.
Here's a picture of my bent arm lined up (sort of) with the replacement from Vansteel.
I haven't dropped the right side yet. So I don't yet know what I'm in for. At least I have some aid now that will let me know if my other arm is bent or not before I start working on it.
Looking at this tool, I don't see how it work for the lower control arm on the side with 2 bolts instead of 1. I also saw somewhere a list of cars it was for and it listed chevelles and camaros but not corvettes. Did you use this tool on the lower control arm? I have everything off the car and am replacing all the rubber. This is stumping me. I got the tool from advance and it worked for the upper, but not the lower.
Lower Control Arm Bushings
The most difficult part of pressing out the old and in the new bushing, is to not damage the control arms. It takes practice or experience with using a press to do it without damaging them.
