Trailing arm bushings, help!

[NitroMike]

I got the bolts out of the crossmember that hold the trailing arms with only a minor struggle, or should I say a good breaker bar with a 4' pipe hung on the end, but now am wondering the best way to get the old bushings out of the front of the trailing arms while they are still on the truck. Heat and sledge persuasion? Or a big c-clamp as a homemade press?

[kelsfine69]

I have been pondering this question for 4 months now. From the advice I have seen on the board the worst part is over. Take a torch and heat them up till they fall out, warning quite smoky. You could drill with a small drill bit all around and then just pry them out. I have new Poly bushings on my bench from Energy Suspensions, just waiting for the weather to warm up. Hope this helps.

[smbrouss70]

When I did mine, the trailing arms were completely removed from the truck. I just set them on fire with the torch, comes out real easy after that. To put the new Poly bushings in, I put them in the freezer for a few hours, and right before I put them in, I heated the trailing arms up, and they slipped right in. I know it doesn't help much if you're trying to do it IN the truck, but that's what I did.

[da-burb]

Burn them out. To replace them I have heard you can warm the trailing arms up and freeze the bushings.

[Joe67]

I removed my trailing arms, torched the old ones and used a few taps of the hammer to remove them.

REMEMBER TO NOT DESTROY THE INNER SLEEVE, often you need to reuse them.

When I installed my poly PST bushings, they went right in

[68jimmy]

Originally Posted by smbrouss70

When I did mine, the trailing arms were completely removed from the truck. I just set them on fire with the torch, comes out real easy after that. To put the new Poly bushings in, I put them in the freezer for a few hours, and right before I put them in, I heated the trailing arms up, and they slipped right in. I know it doesn't help much if you're trying to do it IN the truck, but that's what I did.

That's the approach I took when I did mine... Made things much easier! Good luck.

[junkyardjohn]

I TOOK MINE ALL THE WAY OUT OF THE TRUCK ALSO. I CHEATED. I TOOK MY TRAILING ARMS, NEW BUSHINGS & A 6 PACK DOWN TO THE LOCAL DRIVE LINE SHOP. HE HAD THE OLD ONES PRESSED OUT & THE NEW ONES PRESSED IN BEFORE I COULD FINISH A BEER. JOHN

[shade67]

I did the set'em on fire routine! Very smokey let the neighbors know what you are up to- at least about the amount of smoke! My neighbor came over to see if I needed the fire dept! my urethane bush slid in with no problem after the fridge treatment and the lube!

[AKChevyman]

It took me about 30 mins using the drill method the installation was a little bit harder since I didn't have a torch to heat up the arms but with a bench vise and 2 flat things of steel they went in pretty easy. Just my .02 good luck

[NitroMike]

I ended up making a simple puller (actually a pusher) from one of my balancer pullers and some flat steel. You can use an impact gun to speed up the process and do the work while the trailing arms are on your truck.
I'll post pictures if anyone is interested.

[1969burb]

when i did mine i used an eighth inch or so drill bit and drilled as many holes around the inner sleeve as i could, then used a jigsaw with a metal blade to cut the old bushing along the holes i had drilled. once you have cut all the way around the bushing push the inner sleeve out and the remaining old bushing peels out pretty easily. I have a torch but hate breathing nasty fumes unless its really necessary!

[4x4Poet]

1969burb, I did the burn method, but I like your meticulous approach.

[Green Machine]

I've done the burn trick and then used the poly bushings before. If I was going to put in new originals I would take the arms or whole truck to a shop and let someone else press them in. On our current project, we just inspected them and left them alone, unless they are relly shot and loose, a few cracks around the outside really don't hurt anything, if they go bad, I'm just going to take the whole truck to a shop and let someone else deal with it. I know its hard not to replace some marginal parts when you are right there, but sometimes leaving things alone is a lot cheaper and easier, and may be actually the best way to go. Just my 2 cents.