Trailing arms bushings

[forestb]

Do I need to press out and in the bushing that are in the trailing arms or can I take them out by hand?

[lil_sahara450r]

Going in with the new ones will be easy until it comes to putting the arms back into the crossmember, the new bushings fit very tight in the original crossmember.. But, getting the old ones out can be pretty tough. I tried and tried and finally got smart and put them in a bind on the vice and put a little heat to the outside of the bushing and they came right out. hope that answers your question

[chevy_mike]

They came out easy.... with a press.

I think I have heard people using ball joint presses (you can get a loaner one at most auto parts stores) or a vice with the correct diameter socket/tubing.

Make sure you put something between the two "arms" so you don't compress or bend them taking out and installing new ones. I used a piece of angle iron cut to fit.

[Dunenutt]

I heatd the outside with a torch till they slid right out. Lots of smoke, but very little effort on my part. I replaced them with urethane, so I have little experience with rubber ones.

[markeb01]

Here’s an earlier thread on the topic (with additional links embedded), offering a lot of input to consider:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ng+arm+bushing

And here’s another thread discussing the torque and tools required to get it back together:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ng+arm+bushing

[forestb]

Is this the outer sleeve that is being referred to? If I try to burn or drill out the rubber do I still need to put something in between the two side of the trailing arm to support it? Or is that only if I press the bushing out or hit it with a hammer? Will the new bushings slide in or will I kneed to press those in also?

[chevy_mike]

Yes, that is the outer sleeve. If you are replacing with a stock bushing, yes the whole thing comes out. If you are putting in the poly type replacement, then I think those reuse the outer sleeve and you have to get the old rubber and inner sleeve out. Also, if you do press out the whole stock bushing, you do need to put something between those ends of the arm to press out and back in a bushing. If you are not replacing the whole bushing and the outer sleeve stays in, you don't have to worry about it.

I don't recommend poly bushings for this spot as it need to have some twist to not bind.

[hemifalcon]

I installed the commonly sourced poly bushings for this and they were very easy..

I did the typical "burn" method of getting the old rubber ones out.. I just used my torch to heat up the metal sleeve until the rubber started burning (more smoldering than burning) and then put a screw driver (tapered punch would work) in the center sleeve and wacked it with a hammer. They fell right out..

I cleaned the old steel outer sleeves up a little bit and used the included grease to slide the new poly bushings in.. I also greased the inner sleeve.. Went in nice and easy..

[donthekawguy]

Reviving this old post to try and help others. I worked on mine today and here is what I did to get them out. I burned out the sleeve and rubber, then cut down the middle with a cutting wheel as far as I could, then made two cuts from the outside to the cut in the middle, pounded the metal casing out with a big socket. Took a while to figure out the first one but the second came out quick.