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Still working through my front suspension refresh. Thanks so much for the advise that has gotten me this far. I was able to disassemble everything slowly but safely. Made my own spring compressor, burned out the old bushings, cleaned and painted everything on one side for now. I purchased ball joints and poly bushings from Corvette Depot. I have a couple of issues. When I slide the bushings on the shaft the clearance between shaft and metal inner liner is looser than I’d expected. Just a little wiggle but definitely not tight. Is that normal?
Also there is no way I can press the new bushings into the control arm by hand. I saw a vid of a guy doing just that but even gingerly trying to push it in with my vise isn’t having much effect. Are they normally a super tight fit? I am trying to avoid buying a press but if that’s the only way I guess I can pay a shop to do it. Here’s a photo so you can see what I am working with. There is a layer of Teflon tape on mating surfaces, a tip I read about to prevent squeeking. All advice appreciated.
Please let us know what you have discovered. Thanks
okay, it’s a bit embarrassing but hey, I’m learning. So it looks like the original outer bearing sleeves are still intact. I burned out the rubber thinking that was job done but now realize that I still have some sleeves to press out. I will take the arms to a shop who can deal with that for me rather than purchase my own press.
I am still wondering how tight the bearing sleeve should be on the shaft. Don’t have a micrometer. There isn’t a lot of visible wear on shaft but the wiggle room it does have concerns me. there are some limitations to rebuilding an old Vette with very few tools but so far I’ve been able to make things happen.
okay, it’s a bit embarrassing but hey, I’m learning. So it looks like the original outer bearing sleeves are still intact. I burned out the rubber thinking that was job done but now realize that I still have some sleeves to press out. I will take the arms to a shop who can deal with that for me rather than purchase my own press.
I am still wondering how tight the bearing sleeve should be on the shaft. Don’t have a micrometer. There isn’t a lot of visible wear on shaft but the wiggle room it does have concerns me. there are some limitations to rebuilding an old Vette with very few tools but so far I’ve been able to make things happen.
Control arm bushings
