Front control arm bush advice needed
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,972
Likes: 243
Front control arm bush advice needed
Hi all,
Two years ago I rebuilt the rear suspension on my 94, I used my bench vice to press out the old bushing and pop in new poly ones (which by the way, to this day never have squeaked as some report). I'm considering doing the front control arms soon and I'd like to pickup a press for the job.
Given he limited amount of work I'd use the press for I decided harbor freight is probably the way to go and I'm leaning toward the 12 ton over the 20 ton.
If the 12 ton is capable for bushings, ball joints, u-joints and crushing things just for fun it's the one I want. Not only is it cheaper but it has a smaller footprint which is very important to me as I have limited space.
So long story short - will the 12 ton press be large enough to get the job done?
Your advice and experience appreciated.
Two years ago I rebuilt the rear suspension on my 94, I used my bench vice to press out the old bushing and pop in new poly ones (which by the way, to this day never have squeaked as some report). I'm considering doing the front control arms soon and I'd like to pickup a press for the job.
Given he limited amount of work I'd use the press for I decided harbor freight is probably the way to go and I'm leaning toward the 12 ton over the 20 ton.
If the 12 ton is capable for bushings, ball joints, u-joints and crushing things just for fun it's the one I want. Not only is it cheaper but it has a smaller footprint which is very important to me as I have limited space.
So long story short - will the 12 ton press be large enough to get the job done?
Your advice and experience appreciated.
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 1,492
Likes: 61
From: New Jersey
I have the HF 20 ton (older orange model). I was also worried about it's footprint but it really doesn't take up much more space than the 12 ton. And you can get it for $149.99 with the monthly coupon. These aren't pro grade and the 12 and 20 ton ratings are probably optimistic. So I would get the 20 as it will probably be more versatile in the end.
Last edited by Silver96ce; Dec 19, 2015 at 01:22 PM.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,972
Likes: 243
Thanks for he replies guys.
Can I ask how unwieldy it is to move the 20 ton around? Is is easy to get up on a pair of dollies to roll around, or perhaps a hand truck?
The HF site indicates that the 20 ton only takes up an additional 7" or so footprint but weights 3x as much as the 12ton.
Per the site-
12T ship weight: 45lb
20T ship weight 151lb
Quite the difference and given the space I have this press would need to be moved to a temporary home in the basement between uses. 45lbs is easy for me to lift. 151lbs not so much, that's a bit more than my body weight and combined with 2 bulged discs it'd be risky for me.
But, Per your words of advice the 20 ton does seem more capable both in strength and size of the piece you can work on. I didn't realize it'd weigh so much more than the smaller one.
Can I ask how unwieldy it is to move the 20 ton around? Is is easy to get up on a pair of dollies to roll around, or perhaps a hand truck?
The HF site indicates that the 20 ton only takes up an additional 7" or so footprint but weights 3x as much as the 12ton.
Per the site-
12T ship weight: 45lb
20T ship weight 151lb
Quite the difference and given the space I have this press would need to be moved to a temporary home in the basement between uses. 45lbs is easy for me to lift. 151lbs not so much, that's a bit more than my body weight and combined with 2 bulged discs it'd be risky for me.
But, Per your words of advice the 20 ton does seem more capable both in strength and size of the piece you can work on. I didn't realize it'd weigh so much more than the smaller one.
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 1,492
Likes: 61
From: New Jersey
If you put on locking casters (or on a large base for stability with locking casters) as I read others had done (on another site), it would move very easily. Otherwise, it would be hard for me to pick up and move. But I think that the 12 ton would also be hard to easily move as they are both top heavy. I don't think I would want to take either of them up and down a set of basement stairs.
After I assembled it in my garage, I was able to move it against one of the beam posts about two feet away by carefully pushing/moving one side at a time. But like I said before, it is top heavy and I can see it easily toppling over when trying to move it. I'm 6'2" usually 245-255lbs. with a good back but bad legs (among other problems). If I had to move it on a regular basis, I would make a large base with locking casters to be able to move it.
One other thing, if you get one and have an air compressor, you can later swap out the bottle jack for one of HF's air bottle jacks to make use easier. Here's a link to it -
http://www.harborfreight.com/20-ton-...ack-95553.html
I haven't done it yet but will hopefully in the next year or two.
After I assembled it in my garage, I was able to move it against one of the beam posts about two feet away by carefully pushing/moving one side at a time. But like I said before, it is top heavy and I can see it easily toppling over when trying to move it. I'm 6'2" usually 245-255lbs. with a good back but bad legs (among other problems). If I had to move it on a regular basis, I would make a large base with locking casters to be able to move it.
One other thing, if you get one and have an air compressor, you can later swap out the bottle jack for one of HF's air bottle jacks to make use easier. Here's a link to it -
http://www.harborfreight.com/20-ton-...ack-95553.html
I haven't done it yet but will hopefully in the next year or two.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,972
Likes: 243
Great advice. My house is a raised ranch so the garage and basement are on the same level - no stairs. Adding locking casters might be the ticket. I do have a compressor and my garage and basement are plumbed with RapidAir lines. The air powered ram would be a nice upgrade!
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,191
Likes: 15
From: Wallingford Vermont
I have a 12Ton HF press. Had for about 10 years now. It's served me well. Can't say there have been too many times I was in need of a bigger press. A compliment of various "press" plates and other various "press duty" pipes/sockets becomes more important than press size.
Worked slick doing my front end bushings.
Worked slick doing my front end bushings.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,972
Likes: 243
Everyone - thank you for your input!
I went to the store last night and the 12T seemed dwarfed by the 20T. I thought about what some have you had essentially said - the 12T was big enough until you find the one job that it isn't and then kick yourself. So, the 20T is now sitting in the bed of my truck
It'll certainly be a pain to move around but for most cases I can probably leave it in the basement and bring the work to it rather than it to the work.
Thanks again. Now I'm looking forward to replacing the bushings!
I went to the store last night and the 12T seemed dwarfed by the 20T. I thought about what some have you had essentially said - the 12T was big enough until you find the one job that it isn't and then kick yourself. So, the 20T is now sitting in the bed of my truck
It'll certainly be a pain to move around but for most cases I can probably leave it in the basement and bring the work to it rather than it to the work.
Thanks again. Now I'm looking forward to replacing the bushings!
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Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 4,429
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From: Minneapolis Mn
I have the 12 ton and so far it's done everything I've needed. One thing I found though was when you needed to press something that needed to fit through the channel iron frame the press plates sit on but was too big. I had some thick wall square tubing on hand and some slightly smaller that just fit inside it. I'd use that instead of that welded thing and clamp it onto the frame - problem solved.
Last edited by hcbph; Dec 20, 2015 at 07:43 AM.
Team Owner
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