help with control arm bushes

[werafa]

Hi all,

got told my front control arm bushes are bushed, and am looking at doing them myself.
The mechanic warned me I will need two people as there is a push me pull you moment.
The manual says you also need a hydraulic press to refit the bushes.

Has anyone done this at home, and can you do without the press?
do you have any other advice?

thanks

[Bigrig]

Hi all,

got told my front control arm bushes are bushed, and am looking at doing them myself.
The mechanic warned me I will need two people as there is a push me pull you moment.
The manual says you also need a hydraulic press to refit the bushes.

Has anyone done this at home, and can you do without the press?
do you have any other advice?

thanks

Hey mate - do you mean the caster bushes in the front of the radius arms? They aren't a "do it yourself" item unless you know what you're doing and you'll definitely need a press to get them in/out ...

The ones on the back end of the arms (where the arm meets the chassis) aren't that painful, so let us know which ones you mean exactly and we can go from there.

[Killametre]

If you are talking about the bushes in the front arms where it bolts to the Diff and you are replacing them with rubber ones the easiest way is with a press, you could still save some money if you pull out the arms and just pay someone to press in the new buses or let you do it? As with any suspension component when you refit the arms do not tighten the mount bolts until the vehicle is sitting at its normal ride height to prevent excess twisting tearing the new bush apart.

[werafa]

am pretty sure it is the front bushes - have to check, but the advice is that these are the ones that go

[werafa]

OK, been told to do the lot. Have bought polyurethane bushes, and as these have a moving centre bush, I don't expect the fit to be as tight to get the new ones back in. They are also a split unit, so should pull in with a bolt and washer. Getting the old ones out may be a bit more fun, and I will try a good sized knockometer, followed by a hydraulic press made with a jack and a bullbar if needed.

Will tell you how I go.

[Killametre]

Its a bit rough but one way is to cut/burn/bust out the centre of the old bush enough to get a hacksaw blade in then cut the steel sleeve of the bush then it will tap out easy clean up the arm new bush in and away you go


OK, been told to do the lot. Have bought polyurethane bushes, and as these have a moving centre bush, I don't expect the fit to be as tight to get the new ones back in. They are also a split unit, so should pull in with a bolt and washer. Getting the old ones out may be a bit more fun, and I will try a good sized knockometer, followed by a hydraulic press made with a jack and a bullbar if needed.

Will tell you how I go.

[werafa]

I like words like "cut/burn/bust".
Thanks for the tip

[MudRunnerTD]

I Highly recommend dumping the Polyurethane bushed in the bin for the two front one on the radius arms, Go the Nissan Genuine Rubbers one mate, everything else is Junk! put the Urethane everywhere else if you have to and you have spent the cash but the radius arm bushes are different. Rubber or nothing here mate. You will be back to do them again very soon otherwise.

What car are you fitting them too? a GQ or GU? what are you replacing? Original Nissan OEM ones or caster correction urethane ones? If you are replacing genuine Nissan ones then check out the Kms you got out of those ones on your Odometer. There is No Better on the market mate.

my 2c

[BigMav]

I agree completely, got a set of genuine bushes to do the same job myself after going the crap poly bushes. I'll be using a press, although it is possible without one but be prepared for much swearing. Easier to take the arms to a local mechanic and they will do it for you for a couple of bucks.

[Killametre]

I also agree there is a reason no manufacturer uses polyurethane bushes ............... they are harsh, wear out other componets,noisy,and just crumble to bits at no notice. but they are cheap,available and easiy to fit. After 20yrs in the trade I only use OEM suspension bushes if you want it to last, even a lot of aftermarket rubber products are junk too. Everyones needs are different though and I do appreciate that in a system with way more travel than standard a rubber bush will be pushed past its limit torsionally so in this case a PU bush may give a better outcome.........

I Highly recommend dumping the Polyurethane bushed in the bin for the two front one on the radius arms, Go the Nissan Genuine Rubbers one mate, everything else is Junk! put the Urethane everywhere else if you have to and you have spent the cash but the radius arm bushes are different. Rubber or nothing here mate. You will be back to do them again very soon otherwise.

What car are you fitting them too? a GQ or GU? what are you replacing? Original Nissan OEM ones or caster correction urethane ones? If you are replacing genuine Nissan ones then check out the Kms you got out of those ones on your Odometer. There is No Better on the market mate.

my 2c

[Robo]

Just replaced new no bull rubber ones as they caused front diff to move around uncontrollably.
that dreaded front end wobble on the tarmac and even hitting the slightest repaired pot hole.
to much flex. I shudder to think what it may of been like Off Rd.
Personally I'm spewing as they have caused alot of unnessary work and cost.
and no, nothing else needed doing had all been done and still wobbled,
replacement was diagnosed, preformed by nissan mechanic. go figure.
each vehicle is different so take your pick.

[werafa]

hmm - lesson learnt. I am not in a position to bin these ones unfortunately - but I will certainly remember the lesson and advice when they go on me.

Am getting ready to crawl underneath tomorrow afternoon. trouble is, the wet season has finally opened up and even the garage floor is wet.... good weather for ducks. :animierte-smilies-f

[Ben-e-boy]

hmm - lesson learnt. I am not in a position to bin these ones unfortunately - but I will certainly remember the lesson and advice when they go on me.

Am getting ready to crawl underneath tomorrow afternoon. trouble is, the wet season has finally opened up and even the garage floor is wet.... good weather for ducks. :animierte-smilies-f

The push/pull moment you mentioned earlier it when you take the radius arms off from the chassis. The are heavier than they look if you're not careful it will hit you in the face

[werafa]

OK, job is done. PU bushes went in easily by hand. The axle moved 5mm out of alignment on one side, and I had to winch this forward by looping a rope around axle and bull bar and twisting it.

tools needed:
24mm spanner + socket/bar. I also needed an extension pipe for the socket that was long enough to shear one of my cheap extension bars to crack the nuts.
22mm socket for the steering arm (tie rod?). drop one side to make room to drop the radius arms.
a jack to push the radius arms back into alignment
2 putty knives or similar to guide the bushes into place

taking the tyres off and lifting the car onto car stands also gave a lot more room to work.
I also used an LPOW (long piece of wood) to lever the arms out once the bolts were removed. the pushme pullyou moment was quite overrated, and one person can do this job easily.