Trailing Arm Bushing Replacement

[pdawg]

Just wondering if I can get some guidance on how to replace my trailing arm bushings. I picked up some urethane replacements but not sure of the procedure. Hopefully it's nothing too crazy. Thanks!

[c20pickup]

Mine was pretty straight forward, unbolt, i left a block of wood under the trailing arm so the spring wouldnt push it down. The old bushing was stuck inside, what i finally ended up doing, after several attempts is lighting it on fire (sounds crazy i know) and letting the old rubber soften/melt, then i took a socket that was the right size and pound it out with a hammer, worked pretty slick. Cleaned the bore out and slid the new bushing in with some grease and bolted it back up

[pdawg]

Sounds simple enough - thanks! I'll maybe hit the old ones with some penetrating oil to maybe save the burn .
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[MAC71]

can also drill out the rubber in multiple places than knock it out with a hammer. New poly bushings go in well with a large bench vice.

[leftybass209]

I just did this yesterday. I was installing a drop kit so the springs were pulled as well, but I used the drill method around the rubber. Then I tapped the sleeve out with a thin socket. The inner rubber peeled away easy at that point. I used a liberal amount of the supplied grease on the urethane bushings inner, and outer sleeves.the urethane bushings slid into the trailing arms with little more than a rubber mallet and a few hard smacks for me. I also pried the mounts apart a little and coated the sides with lithium grease to make the installation a little easier. The urethane bushings seemed a touch wider than the original rubber, and they really resist being beat into place.

[pdawg]

Originally Posted by leftybass209

I just did this yesterday. I was installing a drop kit so the springs were pulled as well, but I used the drill method around the rubber. Then I tapped the sleeve out with a thin socket. The inner rubber peeled away easy at that point. I used a liberal amount of the supplied grease on the urethane bushings inner, and outer sleeves.the urethane bushings slid into the trailing arms with little more than a rubber mallet and a few hard smacks for me. I also pried the mounts apart a little and coated the sides with lithium grease to make the installation a little easier. The urethane bushings seemed a touch wider than the original rubber, and they really resist being beat into place.

Thanks for the tips! I'm hoping to keep the arms where they are so hopefully won't have to use the vice. I'll lube them up well. Kind of a good general rule !
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[tranz am]

Are you sure you want to use polyurethane trailing arm bushings? Your trailing arms twist with articualtion. They arme designed to do that to a degree, but polyurethane bushings will make them twist alot more than they were designed and bind up suspension movement.
Rubber bushings will be far better suited for this application as they alow more give allowing more articulation. Nascar guys use the truck arm design and use either rubber or a mono ball style bushing.
I think they know a thing or two about these arms when it comes to performance.
either way thought I would mention that.

[68Gold/white]

Where did you all source your replacement bushings???

[Number98]

Put the new bushings in the freezer for a little bit before installing them, use the grease and they will go in easier because they don't distort as much when you are pressing them in.

[pdawg]

Originally Posted by Number98

Put the new bushings in the freezer for a little bit before installing them, use the grease and they will go in easier because they don't distort as much when you are pressing them in.

That's right - I heard that. Thanks for reminding me !
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[pdawg]

Originally Posted by 68Gold/white

Where did you all source your replacement bushings???

I ordered them from LMC .
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[leftybass209]

Originally Posted by tranz am

Are you sure you want to use polyurethane trailing arm bushings? Your trailing arms twist with articualtion. They arme designed to do that to a degree, but polyurethane bushings will make them twist alot more than they were designed and bind up suspension movement.
Rubber bushings will be far better suited for this application as they alow more give allowing more articulation. Nascar guys use the truck arm design and use either rubber or a mono ball style bushing.
I think they know a thing or two about these arms when it comes to performance.
either way thought I would mention that.

Your general ideas about urethane bushings are correct, but in application form it doesn't apply. These bushings aren't so stiff that the suspension will bind in travel. I could see them flex being hit with a hammer and as i tried to walk it into place. The difference between rubber and urethane in place of track arm bushings is negligible for everyday driving. As a track day vehicle where higher speed turns and consistent left to right weight shifting is normal, there would be a more discerning difference. I also don't understand your comparison between Nascar and street driven trucks. Their frames are MUCH stiffer than a truck frame. They need the flex of rubber to compensate for the super rigid chassis they use. Truck frames are flexible all over unless stiffened. There is also a roughly 150 mph difference in the turns they make as opposed to the turns street vehicles make on average.

will the bushings squeak? Over time I'm sure.

will you notice a difference in handling? You'll notice a greater difference changing worn out bushings to new bushings in a track arm than changing from rubber to urethane.

should you follow the example of a purpose built racecar for everyday driving? Probably not.

This post is not meant to bash you, or degrade you in any way, I'm just pointing out that rubber and urethane bushings aren't separated by huge leaps and bounds, especially in this application.

[pdawg]

Originally Posted by leftybass209

Your general ideas about urethane bushings are correct, but in application form it doesn't apply. These bushings aren't so stiff that the suspension will bind in travel. I could see them flex being hit with a hammer and as i tried to walk it into place. The difference between rubber and urethane in place of track arm bushings is negligible for everyday driving. As a track day vehicle where higher speed turns and consistent left to right weight shifting is normal, there would be a more discerning difference. I also don't understand your comparison between Nascar and street driven trucks. Their frames are MUCH stiffer than a truck frame. They need the flex of rubber to compensate for the super rigid chassis they use. Truck frames are flexible all over unless stiffened. There is also a roughly 150 mph difference in the turns they make as opposed to the turns street vehicles make on average.

will the bushings squeak? Over time I'm sure.

will you notice a difference in handling? You'll notice a greater difference changing worn out bushings to new bushings in a track arm than changing from rubber to urethane.

should you follow the example of a purpose built racecar for everyday driving? Probably not.

This post is not meant to bash you, or degrade you in any way, I'm just pointing out that rubber and urethane bushings aren't separated by huge leaps and bounds, especially in this application.

Thanks for both views. I've opted for urethane bushings for durability, in this instance. Up front I'm using them for improved handling - not that a big old truck will ever handle well!
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[pdawg]

Originally Posted by pdawg

Thanks for both views. I've opted for urethane bushings for durability, in this instance. Up front I'm using them for improved handling - not that a big old truck will ever handle well!
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[michael bustamante]

a few years ago i was lucky enough to find a set of NOS bushings from a gm dealer. Said i bought the last two available. i bet theres still a few in gm overstock sites. paid 12.00 each they are still sitting in my parts bin waiting to be installed.
what should i use to press them in if i cannot remove the arm from the truck at this time? a big c clamp? a small ball joint style press maybe.?

[EARNHARDT#3]

I purchased a pair from the Chevy dealer a month ago. My sister works in parts there. They had 100's in stock at the GM warehouse. $15 each (family discount) part # 3762012

[michael bustamante]

dang guys lied to me !

[EARNHARDT#3]

Originally Posted by michael bustamante

dang guys lied to me !

LOL.....They're not NOS anyway. I mean really, 30-45 year old rubber wouldn't be ideal anyhow. I'm sure they're made by whoever makes the ones that Classic Parts and other vendors sell. I bought poly ones too and decided against them before installing.

On this subject...I have a pair of nice original trailing arms with my new bushings installed in them to put on my '67. I have new u bolts, but how bad are the bushing bolts to get out usually? Does anyone have the size of the bolts handy? Maybe I'll buy new ones to reinstall incase they come off ruined.

[Jack_71C10]

I just used my ball joint press to push out the old one
and press in the new one. I'm not very keen on setting
my truck on fire.

[leftybass209]

Originally Posted by EARNHARDT#3

LOL.....They're not NOS anyway. I mean really, 30-45 year old rubber wouldn't be ideal anyhow. I'm sure they're made by whoever makes the ones that Classic Parts and other vendors sell. I bought poly ones too and decided against them before installing.

On this subject...I have a pair of nice original trailing arms with my new bushings installed in them to put on my '67. I have new u bolts, but how bad are the bushing bolts to get out usually? Does anyone have the size of the bolts handy? Maybe I'll buy new ones to reinstall incase they come off ruined.

The trailing arm bolts are 1 1/8 inch. They weren't hard for me. I sprayed them with penetrating oil, then used a hydraulic jack underneath an adjustable wrench to break them loose. after about 1 turn they could be loosened up with a ratchet and socket fairly easily.

[tranz am]

Just thought id mention what I know about trailing arms and bushings, since I just got done reading a ton of info about the subject. Thought he might want to know that for a street truck polyurethanes will stiffen up an area that really wants to be able to move more freely. They put more stress on the hard parts that are conected to them. Stock arms are sometimes rusted out on the inside and adding more twist to them might not be a such a great idea.
the reason why I mentioned NASCAR is because they use basically the same arms and from a geometry standpoint, they know how these arms move and perform under a lot of different conditions. I think its relevent information. polyurethane bushings would be fine if the area didn't see significant amount of torsional loading.

Originally Posted by leftybass209

Your general ideas about urethane bushings are correct, but in application form it doesn't apply. These bushings aren't so stiff that the suspension will bind in travel. I could see them flex being hit with a hammer and as i tried to walk it into place. The difference between rubber and urethane in place of track arm bushings is negligible for everyday driving. As a track day vehicle where higher speed turns and consistent left to right weight shifting is normal, there would be a more discerning difference. I also don't understand your comparison between Nascar and street driven trucks. Their frames are MUCH stiffer than a truck frame. They need the flex of rubber to compensate for the super rigid chassis they use. Truck frames are flexible all over unless stiffened. There is also a roughly 150 mph difference in the turns they make as opposed to the turns street vehicles make on average.

will the bushings squeak? Over time I'm sure.

will you notice a difference in handling? You'll notice a greater difference changing worn out bushings to new bushings in a track arm than changing from rubber to urethane.

should you follow the example of a purpose built racecar for everyday driving? Probably not.

This post is not meant to bash you, or degrade you in any way, I'm just pointing out that rubber and urethane bushings aren't separated by huge leaps and bounds, especially in this application.

[pjmoreland]

I just finished installing a set of Prothane trailing arm bushings. I had to reduce the width of the urethane ring that goes on one side. It just did not want to go together without getting all distorted.

[BigBird05]

I just replaced my trailing arm bushings with the poly type. I used the heat method to just heat up the out side of the metal bushing sleeve, no need to set anything on fire. The old rubber bushing pushed out so easy that I wish I had been doing it that way all of the time. The new poly bushing was a little wider so I sanded it down to stock size with my belt sander.

[72c20customcamper]

I've always removed bushings this way uncle taught me this method in the 70s

https://youtu.be/U4XYY-9UYv8