How to remove your bushes
Discussion
I thought I'd pass on my experience of removing my suspension bushes.
I decided based the feedback from PH forums and a number of experts to replace the metalastic bushes on my 2000 mk1 Tuscan like for like.
Having asked how much it would cost to pay someone else to replace them, I was surprised by the lack of enthusiasm to do the job and the price. It obviously is one of those jobs that can take for ever and because of the forces involved, it is enevitable that some paint or powder coating will be damaged.
Having stupidly started to paint my wishbones before removing/replacing my bushes, I knew I had made life more difficult for myself. Clearly burning/melting them out was not going to be possible without damaging the paint, so a different approach was needed.
First advice is to remove them first, then sand blast, then treat/paint/powder coat.
Having used a hacksaw at first and taken for ever, I used the first rule of DIY, if it takes too much effort and time by hand, buy a big power tool!! For £44 from homebase, I purchased a recipricating saw and ground down the blade to fit into the smallest diameter bush.
The technique I developed and settled on takes about 20 mins a bush. Trust me that is good vs. anything else I've tried. (one took me 1:30hr using a hack saw).
1. Cut through the bush inner tube and into the rubber all the way to the outer tube, but not through it. The purpose is to relieve some pressure on the rubber and generate enough heat to loosen the rubber's grip on the outer tube. In some cases I cut twice to make it realy easy. (beware of the blade catching between the cut tube).
2. use a socket and a bench vice to push the inner tube and rubber bush out of the outer tube. Should be fairly easy. If one cut doesn't work, make a second cut.
3. This is where you have to be careful with that power tool. Make a single cut into the outter tube. Try and hold the blade as parallel to the surface as possible and go little by little. Remember you can't replace removed material. I tended to remove 3/4s of the tube thickness, then used a hacksaw to do the final bit. Its often difficult to know when to stop cutting. A trick I found was to keep cutting until you feel an increased resistance on the saw blade. This means that the material beneath the blade has been removed and the tube is now pinching the blade.
4.Use another socket of an appropriate diameter and use the vice again to push it out.
By using this technique it greatly reduces the forces necessary to push out the bushes and minimises damage to the ends of the wishbone bush housing.
PLEASE BEWARE THAT YOU DO NOT CUT INTO THE WISHBONE AS THIS COULD WEAKEN THE STRUCTURE AND YOU MAY NEED TO REPLACE THE WHOLE WISHBONE.
Good luck! Martin
I decided based the feedback from PH forums and a number of experts to replace the metalastic bushes on my 2000 mk1 Tuscan like for like.
Having asked how much it would cost to pay someone else to replace them, I was surprised by the lack of enthusiasm to do the job and the price. It obviously is one of those jobs that can take for ever and because of the forces involved, it is enevitable that some paint or powder coating will be damaged.
Having stupidly started to paint my wishbones before removing/replacing my bushes, I knew I had made life more difficult for myself. Clearly burning/melting them out was not going to be possible without damaging the paint, so a different approach was needed.
First advice is to remove them first, then sand blast, then treat/paint/powder coat.
Having used a hacksaw at first and taken for ever, I used the first rule of DIY, if it takes too much effort and time by hand, buy a big power tool!! For £44 from homebase, I purchased a recipricating saw and ground down the blade to fit into the smallest diameter bush.
The technique I developed and settled on takes about 20 mins a bush. Trust me that is good vs. anything else I've tried. (one took me 1:30hr using a hack saw).
1. Cut through the bush inner tube and into the rubber all the way to the outer tube, but not through it. The purpose is to relieve some pressure on the rubber and generate enough heat to loosen the rubber's grip on the outer tube. In some cases I cut twice to make it realy easy. (beware of the blade catching between the cut tube).
2. use a socket and a bench vice to push the inner tube and rubber bush out of the outer tube. Should be fairly easy. If one cut doesn't work, make a second cut.
3. This is where you have to be careful with that power tool. Make a single cut into the outter tube. Try and hold the blade as parallel to the surface as possible and go little by little. Remember you can't replace removed material. I tended to remove 3/4s of the tube thickness, then used a hacksaw to do the final bit. Its often difficult to know when to stop cutting. A trick I found was to keep cutting until you feel an increased resistance on the saw blade. This means that the material beneath the blade has been removed and the tube is now pinching the blade.
4.Use another socket of an appropriate diameter and use the vice again to push it out.
By using this technique it greatly reduces the forces necessary to push out the bushes and minimises damage to the ends of the wishbone bush housing.
PLEASE BEWARE THAT YOU DO NOT CUT INTO THE WISHBONE AS THIS COULD WEAKEN THE STRUCTURE AND YOU MAY NEED TO REPLACE THE WHOLE WISHBONE.
Good luck! Martin
It's a bit of a juggle. Take the biggest socket you have that won't impact with the bush as it is pushed out by the smaller socket. The 2 sockets and the wishbone/bush need to be aligned in the vice.
From trying to refit the bushes today, using heat on the wishbone helps reduce the forces necessary. For example I used the halogen heater to warm the wishbone (it was cold today@4C). I'm going to put the bushes in the freezer tomorrow evening for a few hours before fitting them to the heater wishbones.
From trying to refit the bushes today, using heat on the wishbone helps reduce the forces necessary. For example I used the halogen heater to warm the wishbone (it was cold today@4C). I'm going to put the bushes in the freezer tomorrow evening for a few hours before fitting them to the heater wishbones.
Something like this?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6-Ton-Heavy-Duty-Hydraul...
Would you still need to cut the sleeves?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6-Ton-Heavy-Duty-Hydraul...
Would you still need to cut the sleeves?
m3jappa said:
Something like this?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6-Ton-Heavy-Duty-Hydraul...
Would you still need to cut the sleeves?
No it would push the whole thing right out no problem would be my first choice if i had access to one hence why i burned mine out. And if re-fitting polly ones they more or less push in by hand or the aid of the vice very easy to fit.http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6-Ton-Heavy-Duty-Hydraul...
Would you still need to cut the sleeves?
Wow, lots of different techniques!
I was told by a number of places including power that they are a bi*ch to get out, even with a press. Maybe their press isn't man enough!! I also heard that the shape of the wishbones can make it hard to get the press to align.
Anyway, that 6 ton press looks like it would do the job, but I'm not sure I want such a large device sat in my garage. I saw this: http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/...
Would a ton of pressure be enough?
See this other thread where some of the guys have reccomended a technique for removing the diff bush that locates into the chassis: http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0... diff bush
I was told by a number of places including power that they are a bi*ch to get out, even with a press. Maybe their press isn't man enough!! I also heard that the shape of the wishbones can make it hard to get the press to align.
Anyway, that 6 ton press looks like it would do the job, but I'm not sure I want such a large device sat in my garage. I saw this: http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/...
Would a ton of pressure be enough?
See this other thread where some of the guys have reccomended a technique for removing the diff bush that locates into the chassis: http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0... diff bush
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