Vehicle & Technical > Defender

Bushed bushes ?

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Jimbo:
The axle ends of the radius/trailing arms are the ones that need gas-axing out yes ?.........and then a big press to get the new ones in ?

Eeyore:
I'd press 'em out and in. There is a tool called that can be used at home for removing them but I've no idea how good it is (called a Bushwacka, I beleive).

Burning removes the rubber, but still leaves ther outer metal sleeve which will require extricating by fair means or foul. I'm always wary about applying a heat source to the front arms as they're a forging.

Cheers
 8)
Eeyore

Litch:
No need for burning or a press when replacing OE bushes.

Use a hole-cutter to cut through the rubber and then cut through the outer-sleeve with a hacksaw, with a cut along its length it will pop out quite easily. Clean up the surface of the hole, lubricate with a little oil and press the new bush in using a vice or tap in using a suitable piece of pipe or a socket as a spacer.
I use this tried & trusted method and can do each of the radius arm bushes in about 30-mins no trouble.


OE bushes are my personal choice, I have had a set of Pollybushes in my garage for some time now (bought on a whim) but can't bring myself to fit them! The OE bushes last well (my current ones have been in place for about 4-years now and are still showing no signs of wear), perform well, are cheap (you can buy two or three sets for the price of a set of genuine Pollybushes) and in my experience, not difficult to fit.

Jimbo:
Litch - can you really fit OE bushes without a press ?, I'm not doubting you, it's just that everywhere you look, peeps say you need a 20T hydraulic monster !!!!

I read an interesting article on the Difflock forum, the guy was raving about Polybush 'Blues', and how he had used blues for the trailing & radius arms and shocks, and reds for the A bar thing on top of the rear axle - the article said that blues were just like OE for ride quality, but that they had a longer life - about 4 times..........but then, the Polybushes seem to be 4 times more expensive than OE

I guess it all comes down to personal preference, and how much spare cash you have burning a hole in your pocket when it comes to bush-buying time  :roll:

Litch:
'Litch - can you really fit OE bushes without a press ?, I'm not doubting you, it's just that everywhere you look, peeps say you need a 20T hydraulic monster.'

Most definately. That is the DIY method out of the workshop manual that I followed and I found it very successful, I thoroughly recomend it.
Using nothing more specialist than a hole-cutter and a hacksaw I can replace even the most stubbon OE bush in around half an hour.
At first I thought than cutting through the outer sleeve would take ages but with the rubber-core removed it took only a few minutes. With a full depth cut and a bit of penetrating oil the sleeve just pushes out. The knack to inserting the new bush is to make sure the surface of the hole is clean & smooth, with some lubrication and correctly applied pressure it should slide in without too much force.

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