Control arm bushing problem....

[purplehazetsi]

Ok first off i have a 1991 AWD, and im doing the suspension bushings from Energy.... I pressed out my old bushings, and ball joints to have the arm repainted. I then baught the new bushings, and i have run into a problem. There are 2 bushings on the control arm, on that slides over the little round part, and the ones that go inside the control arm. The ones that go into the arm seem too small. Was i supposed to leave the stock metal sleeve in or was i supposed to press it out with the bushing? Im in need of help, thanks.

 

[pc talon]

I did the Prothane kit myself, but I am sure they are fairly similar in application.
Quote from Prothane:
"Remove the rubber portion of the bushing located at the front of the control arm from it's shell. Leave the other stell shell of the bushing in the arm. The rubber part of the bushing is not bonded to the shell, therefore it can be pressed out using and arbor press. Be careful not to damage the control are or shell while pressing the rubber out. The metal shell of the bushing need to be left in the arm in good condition for the polyurethane bushing to work and fit properly."

Personally I just torched mine out.
Hope that clarifies it for you.

 

[purplehazetsi]

im really stummped. Some people say to leave the sleeve, and some dont... Mine are too small. I baught the Energy Suspension ones, the only other option i have is to spend another 50+ for the Noltec GVR-4 ones. this shit sucks.

 

[MackZ24]

That's quite odd, because I believe everyone who has posted has a 1G as well, so there shouldn't be any differences between installs. The only thing that I can see being any different are the makes of the bushings, but I was under the impression that they all followed nearly the same install guidelines as well. I am about half-way through installing all the Energy Suspension bushings in my car, haven't touched the front yet, but on the rear all the metal sleeves had to be pressed out as well. It seems like "pc talon" is the only person who didn't have to press them out so far, and also the only one who posted having installed prothanes and not ES, which could be the difference. Anyone else care to comment?

 

[DSM Jeff]

every bushing i've put in that were energy susension says to remove the metal shells. i did a full bushing kit on my 90 and even the motor mounts require you to remove the stock shells. i would check ur part numbers and also be sure you have the right ones going in. i'm sure you checked but i'm just saying. i was able to push my bushings in by hand and almost fully push the new inner sleeve in by hand. good luck

 

[MackZ24]

Yes, for my Energy Suspension bushings, every one of the metal sleeves had to be removed as well. There was no way that they would fit in there otherwise.

 

[spirol]

I just did mine today, I used a torched and a small drill to take the old bushings that were press fitted. Then the plastic bearings with metal sleeves that goes inside the control arm was press fitted using a c-clamp.

 

[steel_3d]

I just installed ES bushings in my front control arms. I DID NOT have to remove the outer metal sleeves. Just used a 2jaw gear puller and pressed the inner sleeve with the rubber out. I put an old bolt in the sleeve to have something to push on. Much easier and less messy than torching. Just get a gear puller. The other great advantage is that you can do this on the car, without disconnecting the ball joint. No need to slice the boots with the balljoint fork and have to replace them.

The inner sleeve should be pushed out of the urethane bushings and greased, they come out by hand. If the sleeve is out you can push the new bushings into the control arm easily by hand. If it's well greased you can sometimes push the inner sleeve in by hand too, or you might need to use the gear puller to push it in flush. Make sure you lube every surface. Read the instructions. Even though they're a bit generic they do help.