Is it possible to change out just one upper control arm bushing without dissasembling the front end - i.e. having to bust the ball joint loose and decompress the spring?

 

if you have a good support under the bottom control arm and the full weight of the car is on it, you can remove the upper control arm, change the bushings and put it back on. you will still have to separate the ball joint from the spindle. it would also be a good time to replace the ball joints "while you are there"

 

To answer your question, yes, it is possible. It would be a major PITA and may take some real engineering to come up with a decent way to press out and in the bushings.

 

oh Man, Joe, control arm bushing....

Based on what Rob and Allan went through, it's a PITA to remove the bushing, let alone it be on the car.

I bought a new set of control arms off scott, maybe could you go that route, buy a new bushing set and balljoint, paint and install everything, then just swap the control arms.

That's what i did, i've pressed in all the new stuff, so i'm just going to remove one by one and replace 4 corners.

 

Actually, i can't take all the credit for the idea, it was Allan's idea to do the swap, so far, it's been SO MUCH easier to do everything on the bench (or ikea cabinet in my case)

 

Thanks for the help guys. One of the a arm bushings (driver's side rear) is pushing some of the rubber out - all the others look good. This car had the ball joints & upper/lower bushings, springs, tie rods & idler arm changed out in 1997 and was only driven about 8,000 miles since. The front clip is off the car and thought maybe I could just replace the one bushing, but it sounds like I'll need to break it all apart. Oh well, back to the bead blast cabinet...........

 

Yes, you can do it if you have room to swing a BFH. I changed all 4 on my ElCamino without removing either side. Just put a floor jack under the lower arm to take the weight off the tire so there's no pressure on the upper arm. Do the bushings one at a time. Leave the shaft bolted in and smack the old out with a chisel. Then using a socket that fits the bushing, pop in the new with a hammer.


The key is having room to swing the hammer and grease them up a little.

 

Air chisel with a blunt end.

 

While some grease or oil can be used in disassy, it is not to be used on the new bushings. The twisting action is supposed to occure IN the rubber.
Petrolium lube will only bring squeaks when used on rubber.

 

An even better BFH!

Not on the rubber Rob. A couple drops of motor oil on the metal sleeve or inside the hole in the arm to help them slide into the control arm is fine. It'll scrape off when the bushing goes in.

 

Gotcha. This is fine but do wipe off any excess to keep it off the rubber.

 

If the front clip is off, it's easy - just support the spindle to keep the spring compressed, so you have clearance, unbolt the pivot shaft, push the bolts out to free the shaft, and lift and pivot the upper control arm around 180°, so it's over the spindle, then you've got plenty of room to use a control arm bushing press on it.
When you're done, put it back in position and reattach the pivot shaft.

- Eric

 

Yes Dear....

 

That's what she said!

lol

 

Actually, Kent Moore already did that. The tools exist to do exactly this. The reality is that if one bushing has gone bad, the others are right behind. Don't kid yourself. Pull the arms, replace them all.

 

If you have one of these, its easy:


Doing it on the car is more difficult, but still way easier than trying to break the bj's & remove the springs.

However, as Joe mentioned, if ones shot, they are likely all shot, best to replace them all.

Still helps to have the right tools though. The one posted above is called an "upper control arm bushing service tool" - its not a BJ press, notice the forked end that fits over the crossshaft. Makes pressing them In & Out a snap.

No need to make a spacer to keep the ears from collapsing, and no need to F up the arms by using an air chisel to knock the bushings out.

a few rental places have them... I bought one for $70 as i seem to wind up helping different friends re-do their cars suspension every year or so. Plus i just like having cool tools.

 

Joe,

I just bought the OTC kit off amazon for 79$ it looks to be pretty good quality, I plan on Doing ballpoints on 3 cars this summer so it was worth it for me.

Plus it's going to help me with my bushings, and when hopefully I can buy a mid 60's 442 someday.

Cheers,

Tony

 

I have the press you pictured and the ball joint/universal joint press. I also have a tool for the upper bushings on the rear axle that looks similar to a pitman arm puller. Although none of the three tools get used that often, it is nice to have them when you need them. Like you, I've also helped friends out with these tools, so eventually, you get out of them what you pay for them.

 

There's no need to buy these tools.

Parts store chains, like Advance Auto Parts will "rent" them to you for free, whether you buy your parts from them or not.

Free is my favorite price .

- Eric