Installing Global West Del-alum lower control arm bushings. I'm having a hard time getting the control arms back int the mounts. the bushings with the delrin end pieces seem to be just a little to wide - Am I missing a special magic trick here?

 

Let me rephrase - Should the lower control arms be a very difficult fit back into the K member with the Global West Del-A-Lum bushing or is there a possibility that the mounts in the K member have collapsed slightly? If so, is there a best method for opening them back up or should I just persuade it with a big hammer? Is there a spec for the width of openings where the control arm mounts? My main concern is that if I beat on the mounts, I will open them up too much allowing front to rear movement of the control arms.

 

I had similar problems with a different brand (prothane vs energy suspension) and switched to the other one and had no issues. I don't recall which way it was anymore. I was told to just pound it in but wasn't about to do that and glad I didn't. Got some more stock A-Arms and checked the dimensions which reinforced my opinion on the matter. To clarify, each bushing fit in place but they ended up being offset either wider or narrower than the mounts on the body. It was about 1/4” or so.

Make sure that the bushings were installed in the same direction that the originals were removed, Also, del-a-lum are made for 82-83 or 84-92 IIRC, not sure what you have in that respect.
Could possibly be a difference between years of stock A-Arms, did you re-use the original A-Arms or get new ones?

 

The K-member A-arm mounts get tighter when the factory tightened the bolts.
When you reinstall the A-arm, you need to open up the K-member a lil bit to make things easier.
If you go a lil bigger than the bushing it's no big deal, when you tighten the bolts it will snug back up.
No worries.

 

Okay - thanks. My car is an 89. I did verify that I got the correct ones. Bushings are installed correctly as old bushings were. I used the arms that were in the car - had them blasted and powdercoated before installing the new bushings. I had a local suspension shop press them in and out as I didn't have a press. I suspected that the problem was compression over time - it looks like I'm only about 1/8" narrow. beat on it a little with a 2lb sledge, but didn't want to go crazy unless I asked some questions. I guess I need a bigger hammer!

 

That's less than the steak I ate for dinner last night. Sounds like something you'd use on a HONDUH, not a REAL car.

Step your game up a bit.

Being the classic 140-lb weakling that I am, I keep a 8-lb-er w a short handle for just such situations, where I have to speak to it in its own language with some AUTHORITY.

 

Ha - you're right! The 2lb was all I had around last night. While I have a lot more than 140lb of personal mass, I don't think it overcomes my lack of hammer mass.

 

I make the best possible use of my limited body mass; even though it's concentrated on the wrong side of my belt for swinging a hammer with it. (wink wink, nudge nudge)

 

i massaged mine in with a rubber mallet so i didn't damage the POR15. Wasn't that bad but they were a very snug fit.

 

spread the pocket a little

 

Twin Turbo - That was a great, elegant solution that I wish I was smart enough to have thought of. Instead, I took sofa's advice, got a 6 lb sledge, and went brute force. That method also worked as I got the arm in with no problem after a little massaging. Thanks for all of the help and input!!

 

Yup. I use the hammer to spread the bracket, after it's been crushed by the bolt; NOT, to beat the control arm up into it while it's still squoze. Easier to control which side of the bracket bends how much.

 

That's what I did - used the sledge to slightly spread the bracket. Was still a snug fit, so I used a medium dead blow hammer to tap the arm around to get the bolts lined up.