I just wanted to let everyone know that it is completely possible to change your control arm bushings in your driveway! It took 3 hours to do the first side and 40 minutes to do the 2nd side ( can you say learning curve??? )
I rented the ball joint kit at my local Oriley's and with the help of a 12" x 1/2" threaded rod, a couple of pieces of 2" and 3" pipe, nuts, washers, a strong impact wrench and some liquid hand soap!
The removal of the bolt that holds the bushing to the frame was a no-brainer. From there it was just a matter of using the tools at hand to press out the old bushing and press back in the purple powerflex ones back in place ( the liquid hand soap was the key!!! ) and don't forget the copper grease. Then after putting the bolt back in, we put the beast back on it's feet and torqued the bolts to 60ft/lbs.
The beast has 105k on the clock and yes, both sides were starting to rip apart and I could feel the slop in the wheel every time I went up the driveway. No more slop anymore, and it definitely feels more solid on the road
It was a well spent $100 and hopefully I will not have to address this problem again in the future! I did purchase new ball joints for the other side of the arm, but there was no reason to replace them as there is NO play in the joint.
Now on to the rear sf bushings!
05-28-2013, 08:54 AM
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