Control Arm Bushings Removed

[bluec10]

Just finished removing the control arm bushings from a set of '84 control arms. My plan is to replace the front suspension in my '69 GMC with the '84 front suspension for the better bushings and disc brakes.

Everybody seems to think that this job is really difficult, but it wasn't really a big deal. I did it spending a bit of time each evening as I had the time.

Some board members recommended drilling out the rubber, but this didn't work for me at all. I drilled one hole successfully in each bushing, then the bit just kept slipping around the inner bushing shell. I broke a couple of old bits and gave up on this approach.

My technique was to heat the outer shell of each bushing - right in the middle of the shell, not on the sides where rubber is exposed. I had the control arm shaft clamped in a vise. I just held the torch in the same place until the rubber inside became liquid and started to squirt out. I moved over to the other side and did the same thing. When both were really hot I started to move the control arm up and down on the shaft while pulling the whole thing to one side. The control arm just slipped right off the rubber bushings. I just cut the rubber of the shaft and used a chisel to gently tap the inner shells off the shaft.

The outer shells were a bit more of a pain, but using the "big man with big hammer" technique worked well. I got them started with a chisel and/or a punch and a few whacks and they wend "cling" on the floor.

If I had my technique down at the beginning all four control arms would have been an evening's work. It took me longer than that, but hey, I learned something.