I think I am going to attempt to put in polyurethane bushings on my lower control arm soon. I have no air tools, but i got the ball joint seperator, and a table vice.
Any suggestions? And has anyone never done an alignment after this job? or is it a must?
I'd think alignment after having taken the front struts and A arms off the car would be highly recommended. But on the other hand, if you take the struts loose from the top and then separate it at the ball joint the alignment wouldn't have been disturbed. If anybody tried to align it with fautly bushings before then you probably should align it after you put the new ones in.
to actually do the bushings you dont need anything more than a short piece of 3 inch exhaust pipe and a large hammer and a vise. you dont have to disassemble the strut at all. just disconnect the lower ball joint, sway bar link, and unbolt the control arm. pound out the old bushing and pound in the new one.
if you cant get the big bushing in do what i did. and jack up the a-arm against the frame of a truck. lol. pushes them right in. works great. you may have to stand in the door sill of the truck to wiggle them in to place. but. it works fantastically
thanks for the advice guys!
one more question: When installing the control arm on the vehicle, is it sufficient to attach the ball joint by just threading the castle nut (through the knuckle) until you see the hole for the cotter pin?
Mo Joe wrote:one more question: When installing the control arm on the vehicle, is it sufficient to attach the ball joint by just threading the castle nut (through the knuckle) until you see the hole for the cotter pin?
Yes, then install said cotter key.
