Am changing my rear end out...How do I get the old bushings out of the trailing arms, and panhard bar??????? HELP....Thanks, Tom

 

There's a bunch of different ways to get them out. I've seen people use a shop press, burn them out with a torch, or use a bench vise and a couple of the right size sockets. I've tried all these, and I'll clue you in on the best way I've discovered so far. Grab a really sharp chisel or sharpen up a cheap flatblade screwdriver that you don't mind sacrificing. Use this with a hammer and carve out as much of the rubber bushing as you can a few chunks at a time. I discovered what makes them so hard to get out is the pressure the rubber bushing material exerts on the outer metal shell of the bushing. Once I carved quite a bit of the rubber on mine, the shell shrunk in diameter enough to be able to just lightly smack the bushing with a hammer and it fell right out. Before I did this, I tried to press them out and it was starting to bend the trailing arm, and still wouldn't budge. You'll be surprised how well this method works in most cases. Works great for front control arm bushings too.

 

Thanks, I'll give it a try.....

 

I got the panhard bushing out quite easily actually, I think I used my bench vise.

The LCA's were another story, collosal PITA! I paid a local fabrication shop $20 to press in my new bushings, if I had any brains I would gotten them to remove the old bushings too.
Anyway, I used some old drill bits, and just drilled out the rubber. Once you remove a bunch of material, it's easier to push out the steel shell, as Pat mentioned.

Remember the bushings that you're removing leaves the LCA as a U shaped piece of metal, the steel tube going left to right is part of the bushing, so you can use a sawzall or something to slice it into dust, then just remove the bits.

 

I just did this. by far the easiest way I found for the LCAs was to press out the rubber part, then cut the bushing housing with a torch. makes it easier to knock out the two halves. when you press the new ones in, make sure you have some kind of spacer between the two halves of the LCA so that it doesn't compress and squeeze down when you try to press them in.

 

Please explain this to me...Halves of the LCA????????? I just burnt my panhard bushings out yesterday....Are the LCA bushings different????Thanks, Tom

 

The bushing itself is actually one piece. It's a metal shell with the rubber inside the shell. There's also a metal sleeve through the rubber for the bolt to go through. What he means by the halves of the LCA, and using spacers, is the fact that the LCA itself is a u-shaped, stamped piece of steel. When you try to press the old bushings out or the new ones in, the two walls of the u-shaped arm start to bend inwards, so it helps to have a piece of round pipe the right length (probably about 2") to put in the u-shaped part of the arm to keep this from happening. I only had to do this when installing the new ones. By chiselling out the rubber on the old ones, they practically fell out with a light tap of a hammer. I've since gone to tubular ones with poly bushings anyways, so it's not an issue on mine anymore.

 

That's how I got mine out...

I just let the trash collector get them out (of my dumpster) for me.

 

If I could afford the tubular ones, I would do it...I am going to box mine, and paint them...So I hope they will be better than stock, and close to the after market ones...Thanks for the replys, Tom