Rear upper link bushings???

[pacesco]

I started to replace the stock 4 link arms on my car last night and i was trying to take out the upper rubber bushings on the rear end to replace with urethane bushings... i didn't get to look it over very well last night as it was getting pretty late but how do the old rubber ones come out? do i need to torch them out?
it appears that the sleeve's are pressed into the casting on the rear end and the rubber part is the only thing to replace...

 

[SN95StangMan]

I started to replace the stock 4 link arms on my car last night and i was trying to take out the upper rubber bushings on the rear end to replace with urethane bushings... i didn't get to look it over very well last night as it was getting pretty late but how do the old rubber ones come out? do i need to torch them out?
it appears that the sleeve's are pressed into the casting on the rear end and the rubber part is the only thing to replace...

From what I've read, they are a tremendous pain in the ass to take out. MM makes a tool that will make your day a lot easier for that short amount of time.

http://www.stangsuspension.com/store/comersus_viewitem.asp?idproduct=477
I dont know if it's too little too late for you though since youve already started.

 

[S351Saleen77]

I started to replace the stock 4 link arms on my car last night and i was trying to take out the upper rubber bushings on the rear end to replace with urethane bushings... i didn't get to look it over very well last night as it was getting pretty late but how do the old rubber ones come out? do i need to torch them out?
it appears that the sleeve's are pressed into the casting on the rear end and the rubber part is the only thing to replace...

Torch them. I drilled and drilled and drilled....once the rubber is out you can get the sleeves out. New bushings come with sleeves normally. If your poly bushings don't come with sleeves maybe they use the stock ones. I did this years ago and my poly bushings had sleeves. The MM tool would be nice because they are a PITA to get out!!

 

[pacesco]

my new bushing did not come with sleeves... and i already took a hammer to one of them last night so i will need to get a new one... i have a ball joint press and i think i will see if i can use it to press them out...

 

[94-302-vert]

I chunked mine out with a screwdriver. Then to clean up the sleeves I heated the screwdriver and scraped. It worked pretty well.

 

[NeverEnuf]

A little late at this point, but I thought that I would throw in my 2 cents. I just did mine and stumbled acrossed something that worked pretty slick...

I used a 2" cup-style steel wire brush with a 1/4" mandrel size mounted to a drill. It only took a few minutes for each side and had the added benefit of cleaning the steel housing as it pulverized the rubber bushing. I got the wire brushes from Harbor Freight for only a couple of bucks each. Before I did this, I did have to drill around the center steel bushing and pull out.

Hopefully this helps someone down the road.

 

[pacesco]

Thats a pretty good idea....
i haven't got to taking mine out yet so i think i'll give that a try..

A little late at this point, but I thought that I would throw in my 2 cents. I just did mine and stumbled acrossed something that worked pretty slick...

I used a 2" cup-style steel wire brush with a 1/4" mandrel size mounted to a drill. It only took a few minutes for each side and had the added benefit of cleaning the steel housing as it pulverized the rubber bushing. I got the wire brushes from Harbor Freight for only a couple of bucks each. Before I did this, I did have to drill around the center steel bushing and pull out.

Hopefully this helps someone down the road.

 

[silversmith82]

Full poly bushings are a bad idea in control arms period. This is why places like Max Motorsports do a rubber/poly sandwich. This prevents binding that occurs with full poly bushings.

What you SHOULD be doing is just replacing the uppers with new stock uppers. $70 and they won't bind up on you. Max Motorsports never made a set of UCAs because they've found that the stock ones are as good as its gonna get in a 4 link.