panhard bushings

[72shadetree]

how hard are the panhard bushings to replace on a 72 and are there any difference between it being a bb v/s sb are they the same bushing someone told me they was different but i dont see why they would.thanks

[COBALT]

BB? SB? I don't think there's a difference.

Well, I'll tell you about my experience....

My '69 3/4 ton has an HO72 axle. That's the big Corp. 10 bolt that weighs about a friggin' ton. Getting the panhard bar out wasn't too hard. The key was getting it out BEFORE I cut the U-bolts. I didn't know this was a good idea until later. I just tapped it out with a large piece of steel pipe and a 2 lb sledge. I found out why that was a good decision later.

After burning the old bushings out with a torch, scrubbing and cleaning, and painting the bar the new bushings from Early Classic Enterprises went in (they're two-piece bushings with the steel sleeve in the center-slick setup). I had new U-bolts from LMC, and I had pulled the trailing arms, scrubbed and cleaned them, and had them painted with all new grade 8 hardware.

I had the U-bolts in the arms with the axle in place, and went to slip the panhard bar in. It wouldn't fit. The geometry looked wrong. I fought it and fought it, and then realized if I slipped the U-bolts out, put the pan in, and THEN tightened the U-bolts the geometry would suddenly be correct. My problem was the U-bolts being loose was messing up the pinion angle, and I didn't have the back strength to get the angle right with that axle AND get the panhard bar in.

I pulled the U-bolts, and used a bottle jack and a piece of wood to get the angle right on the pinion, and put the panhard bar in place. Once that was in I lowered the bottle jack, positioned the overload plates and the trailing arms, and the U-bolts slid RIGHT into place with no problem...

[72shadetree]

hey thanks alot