Date:         Wed, 14 Mar 2001 18:57:09 +0000
Reply-To:     Peter Cassidy <pcassidy@APPLE.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Peter Cassidy <pcassidy@APPLE.COM>
Subject:      Re: upper control arm bushings
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

>Jason,
>I don't know what exactly it will take to replace the bushngs, except
>your going to need a press to R&R them.
>But If I had the front end apart, I would without a doubt replace the
>upper and lower ball joints, at the same time.
>Do the whole front end at once, and get it over with.

I couldn't read Jason's original posting (HTML only) ....

Anyways - I just replaced my upper control arm bushings & did so
without the use of a press. Simply;

     - Mark the position of the pivot bolt relative to the control arm.
       Use paint or whatnot. This bolt is used, along with two slotted
       washers, to set the camber angle. So watch it! 8-)

     - Disconnect the upper ball joint. As Terry said, now would be
       a good time to replace it!

     - Remove the nyloc nut off the end of the pivot bolt and pull it
       through. Note the orientation of the slotted eccentric cam
       washers.

     - Grind off the welds on the control arm bushings carefully.
       I used a small angle grinder for this.

     - It's possible to beat out the old bushings with a large
       hammer! I held the control arm in one hand & let fly with the
       hammer. After a little perseverence, the things will be pushed
       out. In my case, this didn't damage the control arms at all.
       YMMV, so be careful & don't blame me!

     - tap in the new bushings in a similar manner.

     - Spot weld the new bushings into place. Bentley says give
       the welds a lick of paint to avoid corrosion. I didn't!

     - Stick 'em back on & set the bolt back roughly where it was.

     - Re-fit the upper ball joint & throw on the other bits.

     - Get alignment checked as soon as possible.

Pete C

--
Peter Cassidy,                   pcassidy@apple.com
Sr. Dev. Engineer                 +353-21-4284316
WW Operations Engineering
Apple, Cork, Ireland.