so what two size sockets do you need to remove the diff bushings? I know you need the 1 11/16inch socket and another size? Also can you push from the outside in, or only from the inside out?

Thanks

 

damm i wish i was still in high school so i can just make all the right size sockets for all the bushings.

 

okay nevermind I got the old ones out...they press out either way.

 

Just another report:

I used the Harbor Freight 3-in-1 tool (not this, but the same thing for $40 without the three parts starting from the bottom-left in the picture: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=4065) today to replace all 6 pillow ***** in my rear suspension. I used the big c-clamp and one of the "muffin" things, but I didn't use any of the receiver tubes. My sockets seemed to be a better fit for the arms. Compared to my orginal technique (http://maxcooper.com/rx7/how-to/susp...lls/index.html), the C-clamp has some advantages and disadvantages. Once you have everything lined up, it it is nice to not have to deal with washers bending or running out of threads on a bolt. But it is harder to line up since the c-clamp is heavy and there is no bolt going through the middle to keep everything in place. I think I will use the bolts and washers again next time if I still don't have a proper shop with space for a press.

Some of the pillow ***** were quite loose and others didn't seem so bad, and the pattern was not symmetrical. I'm not sure why, but I've got all new ones now. The Unobtanium nylon bushings in my trailing links seem to be holding up pretty well (no noticable play). But I did notice some play in the bushing on the body side of the lower lateral link in my passenger side suspension. And the other side moved very freely, though I couldn't detect any play by moving the arm with my hands. I've got a spare one of those links -- perhaps I will swap it into the passenger side.

Did anyone see this HF doo-dad?: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=42496

HF needs to come out with a $100 set of corner scales. The cheapest ones that I know of are available from Pegasus and they use what looks like bathroom scales with wheel pads on levers that distribute known proportions of the pad weight between the ground and the scale. $400, IIRC.

-Max

 

max, did u use the bolts and washers method for removing and installing the unobtanium bushings as well?

 

No, a friend with a press helped me with the Unobtanium install. I don't think I would attempt to replace any of the other bushings with the bolts and washers. The give in the rubber would be too frustrating.

-Max

 

Damn for some reaon my 12ton will not rmove any of the bushings Not sure why.

 

Keep in mind that 12 tons=24,000 pounds. If the bushings are not budging then surely there is something wrong with the way the parts are fixtured.

What exactly is happening?

 

I just cannot press them out, the bottle jack just does not move/pump anymore and gets very hard to pump. Thats about the best I can describe it.

 

Eyecandy

Your bottle jack might be low on oil. Does it leak ?

Mine needed oil added. On the back of the bottle jack is a rubber plug. Fill it up.

Jack

 

I will have to check that out, the things brand new (well 4months old).

 

I wouldn't assume that was the problem, especially based on age. When a jack is low on fluid, usually the handle moves freely and the jack just doesn't go anywhere. When you're trying to move an immovable object, though, it will get very hard (if not impossible) to pump the handle. That's usually when something like this happens...



Make sure you're pressing the bushings out in the right direction, and that the socket or sleeve that you're using isn't interfering with the movement of the bushing. The sleeve or socket you're pressing into must clear the bushing completely, and the sleeve or socket that you're pressing on must clear the edges of the control arm. Finally, make sure the bushing doesn't have a flange on the side that you're pressing against. The "flange" on the bushing in the picture above was created after it stopped moving...

Hope that helps.

 

Jim, any comment on how the all pillow ball suspension compairs to the nylon bushing suspension. Is it a noticeable difference in terms “slop” in the suspension?
Dan

 

Nylon will have a little more "give" to it, but very little. A pillow-ball suspension is basically a racing suspension.

BicuspiD could give you a better idea of the ride quality of the metal-on-metal bushings. I never drove my car with them installed. Of the three cars I drove with my Nylon bushings, none felt any different than stock, and I didn't notice any more noise than usual.

 

That’s what I figured. I’m just wondering how much of a difference on a track car the pillow ball bushings make. I don’t believe it would be much since the nylon should deflect little more than the pillow ball bushings (especially when compared to stock rubber bushings). But like you said earlier, the increase in cost is significant and for what is probably little gain. That said, pillow ***** is definitely the more professional way to do it.
Dan

 

Does any have have the pics that are missing from the write up backed up somewhere?

 

+1 to that, it's not long since they have gone either.

 

If a moderator wants to edit this thread (and the duplicate thread in the archives), I'll be happy to look up the missing pictures.

They weren't attached to this thread because it was created during the period when the forum was so overloaded that you'd often time-out while trying to upload. If the picture uploaded successfully before the time-out occurred, you'd get a message on retry saying that the picture name already existed. I ended up hosting some of them, but I no longer have that account, hence the missing pictures.

 

That would be great, many thanks.

 

Shoot me the new links in a PM. The easier you make it for me to get it updated the quicker I can do it