What am I misunderstanding with upper control arm bushings (2wd)?

[redfishsc]

99 C1500 Suburban

So i got the upper control arm off, removed the ball joint and gutted the bushings.

For lack of time I decided to settle on bushings from Autozone. Either way, they have the shell on them.

But there's still an outer shell on the control arm.

What is the intended procedure here? I've Googled around for the past hour and only found one video of a guy grinding off a spot weld to knock out the sleeve, and spot welded the new sleeve after pressing it in. Weld it in? I do have a cheap wire feed if it's really necessary.

I have a ball joint press and also a 20 ton hydraulic press to press in the new ones.


And yes I would love to have just bought the whole control arm assembly. Tried to save a few dollars.

 

[whiteboyslo]

I did the whole UCA, so I can't speak from experience. But this video might give you some ideas:

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Check out how he goes about the leaf spring bushing. Heat and a hacksaw seem to be the weapons of choice.

 

[Rock Hard Concrete]

The best way is a new control arm, but you knew that. The sleeve is a wear part that should always be replaced when the bushing is so the best bet is to remove the whole thing and replace.

 

[Schurkey]

Rubber control arm bushings are three pieces, bonded together in a single assembly. The outer shell and the inner sleeve are "glued" to the rubber of the bushing.

If you want to re-install rubber bushings, you will have to knock out the existing outer shell. The control arm will need to be supported so it doesn't distort from the force of the press as it pushes on the bushing shell. This is more involved with stamped-sheet-metal control arms. Forged arms are easier.

Then you press the new shell (with the rest of the bushing assembly) into the control arm, again with the support pieces as needed to prevent control arm distortion.

When the new bushings are in place, you reassemble the arms to the vehicle, put the suspension at it's normal ride height, and THEN tighten the through-bolts in the middle of the bushings.




Rubber bushings are a pain in the ass, doubly-so for D-I-Y replacement.


I refuse to use rubber bushings if I can find Polyurethane replacements. Poly bushings aren't bonded. Therefore you usually re-use the (cleaned-up) outer shell. No press. No reinforcements. No torquing the suspension at normal ride height, you can torque with the suspension in any position. Especially for a D-I-Y project, it's half the labor.

 

[redfishsc]

Thanks Shurkey. Those definitely were the hardest part of the whole ordeal.

I did the "tape measure" alignment yesterday (obviously nothing to do with the bushings) and got it surprisingly good, but I still need to get the upper control arms aligned (caster/camber).

 

[Supercharged111]

When I've done leaf spring bushings in the past, I press out the center sleeve first, then the rubber, and to knock out the outer sleeve I cut a slot in it to relieve the pressure then it pops right out. I used a ball joint press on the Camaro UCA bushings, but I did end up lighting rubber on fire to help the cause. With all 3 layers in there there's a lot of pressure on the outer sleeve holding to the arm. I too spot welded said UCA bushings once installed. Road racing put a lot of stress on those bushings and they can walk right out. Mine had done just that after I whacked into another Camaro on the track.

 

[454cid]

My issue with the replacing the uppers was that I couldn't get rings the right diameter. Pushing the old ones out wasn't as much of an issue, because they're getting replaced, but I trashed a new one trying to get it in place. Also the other side of the arm seemed to get in th way of the ball joint press I was trying to use. Thankfully, I had another set of arms to practice on.... I ended up not even removing the control arms on my truck and leaving it till later. It was more of a while I'm here endeavor, rather than a definite need.