how do you press out your sub frame bushings?

[ayuaddict]

So i got a non hicas subframe today. I had the SPL canceler but it sucks, and i cant run PBM toe rods for obvious reasons. and my spl solid aluminum subframe bushings came in as well. so it took me about 30 min to remove the subframe from the parts car and then i spent THREE HOURS removing ONE bushing with the use of a ball joint press. among a variety of problems there was the whole lipped edge which i had to cut off to make room to use the press, and then it didnt even work, so i hammered the shit out of it and in the process slightly ovaled out the hole. I still got my bushing in but there must be an easier way. I was thinking about cutting a couple slits in the metal sleeve to relieve some of the pressure against the bushings' housing hole and then hammering it out (but i would have to go find somebody who is willing to lend me a sawzall as a hack saw hella doesn't work as i found out today), or simply taking it to a machine shop to get pressed out. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

[murda-c]

burn them out. you don't run the risk of damaging them that way.

Then all you have to do is hacksaw through the metal sleeve that is left.

[sillyvia13]

Your best bet. or how I do it not your best bet...my lame way...
get a torch. propane or what ever...start a bushing on fire...let the bitch burn...let the black smoke fill the sky! hahaha for a good minute or so...one at a time...
take a hammer and whack the burning bushing out...the center SHOULD drop out if not relight and she'll loosen up!
then like you said get a sawzall and make a relief cut...and the out ring shall fall...
get a beer...have a seat and please wipe the soot off your face...looks better smeered than just lil black dots on your face...
try to freeze bushings too! i hear they drop in easyER!
GL.

[ayuaddict]

yea i punched the centers out, that was easy.

i guess ill set that shit on fire tomorrow and hacksaw it (for the lack of a sawzall).

good thing i got an extra subframe haha.

[d*star180]

and please wipe the soot off your face...looks better smeered than just lil black dots on your face...

HAHAHHAHAHHAAHHAHAHHAHAHAH

[sillyvia13]

yea i punched the centers out, that was easy.

i guess ill set that shit on fire tomorrow and hacksaw it (for the lack of a sawzall).

good thing i got an extra subframe haha.


in my "hood" homedepot is selling battery powered sawzalls CHEAP!
I got a whole kit of shit...I been using the ish outta them....smeering soot all day baby!

lol...
when you install frame make sure you go evenly...friggin things are tighter than virgin ass! :hitit:

[ayuaddict]

ill use hella lube ahaha.

ill go check out homedepot for some dealsssss.

thanks for the tips dude.

[sillyvia13]

HAHAHHAHAHHAAHHAHAHHAHAHAH
thanks for laughing at my joke... they usally go by unheard...lol...

[ayuaddict]

yea i hella don't get it. :confused:

somebody explain it to meeeeee!

[slider2828]

Do a search on google. There is a step by step on nico I think, but it will come up on the search.

[drftwerks]

take it somewhere, i took mine locally, and was 60 to press old out and put solids in.

[ayuaddict]

dudeee, where did you take it?

thats a good price.

i just need them to remove the old ones.

[drftwerks]

Some Randome Auto Shop In Campbell

[WilloW]

I burned mine out, then hacksawed the metal rings out.

[Matej]

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/236/lowercontrolarmburnsl6.jpg

[wangan_cruiser]

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/236/lowercontrolarmburnsl6.jpg


isnt that a from lca?

[Matej]

Yeah, but you get the idea.

[IIIXziuR]

Ahhhhh, this seems like so much work!
I read that whole write-up and it scared me a bit.
If I had laser eyes, I probably could just disintegrate the old junk out.

....or if was rich, I would just drive a M5 or something

[Oo_Skyline_oO]

grr, I understand your frustration, bushings are usualy a HUGE pain. what I would do is the same thing on the nico write up, basicaly take a reciprocating saw and saw right through the side of it. I'd be more than willing to help you out just for the experience, let me know.

[aNskY]

yep, acetylene + oxygen ... had em done in about an hour

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y126/ansky3351/03-11-06_1127.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y126/ansky3351/03-11-06_1309.jpg

[Gumballf355]

Don't burn them out... it can weaken the metal... have them pressed out.
http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/300/20071227/201112.jpg
Locally Pradagi offers bushing removal, any bushings of choice, installation of bushings and paint/ powdercoating, strengthening.

[idahotuner]

me and my budy just changed my rear bushings to energy suspension and took us 6 hours to do 7 bushings.....

we still have to do the other side.

and boy does it make a mess. make sure if you are doing it in a shop to have cardboard down or it will stain the concrete. i did on the set i changed and after that i all ways used cardboard.

[Koopa Troopa]

Take them somewhere with a press... Yesterday I spent like 4 hours trying to cut out the sleeves and in the end took the subframe to a shop... Not worth the effort to save money..

[sblack13]

looks like i'm having em pressed out, when my s15 subframe goes...

[fishhouse]

i use to burn them out, it doesnt get hot enough to weaken the metal or anything but i use a sawzall and fill up the little valleys in the bushings with gear oil to lube the blade and just go sideways through and cut the sleeve, its quick and clean. then i use a hammer and chizel to pop them out. way cleaner than burning them out!

[ayuaddict]

Don't burn them out... it can weaken the metal... have them pressed out.
http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/300/20071227/201112.jpg
Locally Pradagi offers bushing removal, any bushings of choice, installation of bushings and paint/ powdercoating, strengthening.

i took it to a friend of a friend's local machine shop, they said they will spend ten min on it too see how long it will take and let me know tomorrow. since they said it was too big for their press it might take them some stupidly long time and i dont have much money. soooo...do you happen to have a contact info on pradagi? i googled the name but came up with nothing. thanks.

[initial_drifter]

I went to 3 different shops that had presses...none of them worked

I looked around my dad's shop and found the air chisel

It did wonders :)

[just4kinks]

Hi folks, great forum! I've been lurking for a while, & just registered to chime in on this.

I just did this project last weekend. I am switching from ES bushings to SPL solids. I had already removed the inner cores when I installed the ES. I used a hole saw and screwdriver to pry them out. They took about 15 minutes each, and I didn't have to piss off my neighbors with clouds of stinky black smoke.

The sleeves were much harder. First I cut the lip off, and pressed the rest out on my Harbor Freight 20 ton press. I used a stack of washers as a press drift and an old bearing race as a die. For the front two, I used a dremel (the big kind) with a fiber-reinforced cutting wheel to cut the lip off. For the back two, there is a little "lump" on the lip that I attacked with an angle grinder. This is easier than using the dremel.

On the back two, I ran into trouble. I got them pressed out halfway, and the sleeve started to tear. I had to finish the job with a hacksaw, hammer, chisel, and an assortment of vice-grips.

I've done it both ways, and the press method is DEFINITELY easier. You can do them in about a half-hour each. Also, if you use the hacksaw you have to be real careful not to cut too deep and weekend the subframe.

I'll post some pics when I finish the rest of the project.

[nastjuid]

I've been meaning to get to this myself. I've the ES kit, but no press. Does anyone know of a shop in the east or northeast bay with a press that could do the job?

[jbuckley]

I've been meaning to get to this myself. I've the ES kit, but no press. Does anyone know of a shop in the east or northeast bay with a press that could do the job? you can buy a little hydraulic press for not too much... they come in really fuckin handy if you plan on doing alot of suspension work..

i just took my shit up to my dads oilfield job and have the truck mechanics press shit for me , find a friend who know someone haha ... NETWORK FOR IT SON