Dug into my front suspension today. Now I have a steering knuckle question.

[DeCaff2007]

A plain ol' ordinary propane torch would have dropped that rubber easily. (Oxy-fuel torch is too hot.) The rubber is bonded to the steel. Heat the steel enough to melt the bond, the rubber "poops" out almost on it's own.

Wow that's totally NOT what I thought you meant. Crap. Well, now I know for next time.

OTOH, had I been able to fit the LCA's in my press, that would have been my first choice in bushing removal.

Oh, crap. You do have an air hammer.

Sure do. As much as you don't want to hear it, @Schurkey, it's a Harbor Freight special.

Tell ya what - for the tools that I do have, there's still some tools that I want, but have never found them reasonably priced for what they are. They are drill press and a mini lathe.

On that line of thought, I'd be inclined to get another from the yard before welding one up.

That's fine, and believe me, I had thought about that. However, exactly how am I going to remove the T bar keys from that cross member? Yards around here are known for three things: RUST, no power tools, and no torches allowed.

 

[DeCaff2007]

@Schurkey, I got "screw press" today. It's nothing more than a ball joint press. It just BARELY did the job.

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Also @Schurkey, I tried your propane torch method to remove the bushings on the other LCA. While it required patience that DeCaff DOES NOT HAVE, it did work.

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Once it wouldn't "poop" out anymore, I used my air hammer and gave it Hell. It came RIGHT OUT. Getting the sleeve out, OTOH, was WWIII. It didn't want to budge but I got it eventually.

No more of this crap tonight.

 

[Schurkey]

1. SUPPORT THE CONTROL ARM when pressing bushing shells in or out. You'll need to make some spacers to go in the open area in the control arm between the "hole" where the flange-end of the bushing shell sits, and the "hole" where the smaller-diameter part of the bushing shell fits.

The "top" of the control arm has metal welded between the two "holes" the bushing presses into. Same with the underside. But there's no metal on the outer portion in this photo--the metal around the "holes" there is not supported. That's where you need a semi-circular support. I make 'em out of exhaust tubing, but anything the right size to cram in between the two parts of the control arm would do. Even a couple of 1/4" bolts, cut to fit snugly between the metal surrounding the "holes" would be helpful.

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2. Yeah, a screw press can be a ball-joint press. Or bigger. Or smaller. That oughta work, and do the job fairly easily. Did you polish the rust out of the holes in the control arm? If the control arm distorts, it'll bend the metal around those "holes" and makes the pressing job near impossible.

Did you lube the threads of the BJ press? Are you using an impact wrench to tighten it? Using a long-handle ratchet tends to twist the frame of the BJ press. Impact wrench makes it go much better, with less damage to the BJ press.

3. Now...imagine pooping the rubber out of the bushing shells with a simple propane torch, cleaning-up the inside of the shells with some sandpaper or emery cloth, and then greasing a Poly bushing insert and steel inner sleeve. Poke them into the existing shell with your fingers. Repeat for the second bushing. Shove the control arm onto the frame brackets, jam a bolt through the middle of each bushing, and torque to spec. Don't use a press at all, don't disconnect the torsion bar at either end. Don't be concerned about having the suspension at normal ride-height before torquing the bolts.

NOW you know why I buy Poly bushings. The reduction in labor alone makes Poly worthwhile.

 

[ditch bang]

My $0.02, you're that far in, why not knock the bar off the LCA, clean the pocket/hex up and apply a liberal coat of grease/antisieze before reassembly. May make life easier in the future if you find yourself replacing bushings again.

Make sure you load the torsion bars with vehicle weight before torquing the LCA and UCA mounting bolts if your running rubber bushings.

I agree with the antisieze you can't have too much in that spot torsion bars. Coming from lake Erie snow belt

 

[DeCaff2007]

Did you polish the rust out of the holes in the control arm?

Sure did.

Did you lube the threads of the BJ press?

Again, yes.

Using a long-handle ratchet tends to twist the frame of the BJ press.

Well, that's exactly what I used. I'll know better for next time.

Lots more parts came in today. I still have to get another steering knuckle.

OH btw, I've decided against sandblasting the LCA's. It'll take too long to do and the weather isn't cooperating.

 

[Kens1990K2500]

I'm replacing the upper control arms, lower ball joints, lower control arm bushings, sway bar link bushings, and now I have to replace the wheel hubs.

First, there's this little issue, but I can fix this.

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What a mess, although, I had been planning to do this for a long time now. Just have to manage to get the LCA off somehow.

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Now, for my question. Here's the steering knuckle and wheel bearing from the driver side. Notice there's a gasket in the steering knuckle? Why exactly would that be there?

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Now, rewinding here just a bit, I had to use a torch to get the 3 wheel hub to steering knuckle bolts out. You all can see burn marks here.

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Oddly enough, the wheel hub itself lifted right out by hand once the bolts were out. They are NOT OEM. Someone had replaced them with Timken brand at one point. They are now, however, junk.

So, what's the deal with that gasket inside the knuckle?

Re: your rusted bump stop brackets, I have (in the works) a write up on how I fixed mine. I will try to post it this weekend.

 

[Kens1990K2500]

Wow that's totally NOT what I thought you meant. Crap. Well, now I know for next time.

OTOH, had I been able to fit the LCA's in my press, that would have been my first choice in bushing removal.



Sure do. As much as you don't want to hear it, @Schurkey, it's a Harbor Freight special.

Tell ya what - for the tools that I do have, there's still some tools that I want, but have never found them reasonably priced for what they are. They are drill press and a mini lathe.



That's fine, and believe me, I had thought about that. However, exactly how am I going to remove the T bar keys from that cross member? Yards around here are known for three things: RUST, no power tools, and no torches allowed.

Sounds like a Pick N Pull in southern New England. No torches or grinders. They do allow cordless Sawzalls (at least they did last time I went).

 

[DeCaff2007]

Re: your rusted bump stop brackets, I have (in the works) a write up on how I fixed mine. I will try to post it this weekend.

I'd be interested in seeing that. I was just going to weld on a couple sheet metal plates, and paint it up, to get it through inspection.

Sounds like a Pick N Pull in southern New England. No torches or grinders. They do allow cordless Sawzalls (at least they did last time I went).

Correct. They've never allowed torches, ever. Grinders and sawzalls used to be allowed. Not anymore. I know damn well it's for liability purposes. They claim it's because "customers were cutting front ends apart". IT'S A JUNKYARD..... What did they THINK people were going to do???

The last time I went to a junkyard that still allowed a sawzall, it was nearly an hour drive, and it was the dead EFFING FREEZING cold of winter. I got it, got what I needed, and got the HELL OUT.

Since then, I'm DONE setting myself on fire to keep others warm.

 

[Erik the Awful]

They've never allowed torches, ever. Grinders and sawzalls used to be allowed. Not anymore. I know damn well it's for liability purposes. They claim it's because "customers were cutting front ends apart". IT'S A JUNKYARD..... What did they THINK people were going to do?

The Pull-A-Part here (not a part of the national chain) has the same rules. I hacksawed the front corner off a Mustang after one of my kids wrecked his. When I got to the counter they were p!ssed.

[Angrily] "How did you cut that off!?"
"With a hacksaw."
[Increduously] "That's a lot of work."
"Yeah, it is, but I need it. My son wrecked his Mustang."
"Oh, okay. $40"

I guess money makes it okay.

Good hacksaw blades are a necessity in your Pull-A-Part toolbox. I've had to cut through some pretty stout stuff. Plan an extra hour in your visit so you don't get kicked out at 5pm without your parts.

 

[DeCaff2007]

Well, I'm at an impasse right now.

It's about 1 PM. Yard closes @ 4 PM, last entry @ 3:30 PM. That's 2 hours~ish to get the steering knuckle I need. Is that enough time? Maybe.

It's 29° and flurries outside. I'm also getting over being sick. Do I want to go to the yard? NO. Is my RCSB going to get finished this weekend if I had the part right here, right now? Also NO.

So, do I pull myself together and chance the frigid temps to get my part today, or do I say "EFF IT" and wait until tomorrow.

If I wait until tomorrow, I won't be as rushed, but I'll still have deal with the aftermath of whatever snow we get.

Wife keeps telling me we need to get OUT of NEPA. Even if I won the lottery, I'm not sure I have the gumption for that anymore....