Bushings

["Al Powell" <APOWELL@agcom.tamu.edu>]

> From: "Mark Pollan" <Mark.Pollan@MCI.Com>

> Since there is so much banter about the difficulty of pressing in bushings,
> particularly subframe, and since I am about to do mine I was wondering...
> 
> Has anybody used a simple bottle jack to press these in using the weight
> of the car to hold everything down?

That would work OK.  I had one right there and didn't think of doing 
it!  I used the previously-posted method on the front bushings (did 
them last week):

Use a 4" by 3/8 bolt and three 2" diameter washers.  
(BTW - the bolt must have threads over most of its length.  I took a 
standard bolt with threads on the last 1.5 inches and used a die to 
thread the rest of the bolt shaft.  The threads are required to draw 
the bushing tight.)

The following refers to FRONT bushings only, on a 1990 200:

I sprayed the whee out of the bushings with silicone, then butted them 
up to the bottom of the sub-frame; inserted bolt upwards thru the 
bushing, with nut and washers above the sub-frame.  Tightened nut 
until bushing was drawn up into the sub-frame.  When the bolt would 
tighten no farther (bottomed out against the body of the bushing) I 
pried gently upwards on the bushing (using the sway bar as a rest) 
and it popped in easily.

On reflection, it is quite possible that the bottle jack I was using 
to support the sub-frame (18 inches away) would have done the same 
thing with less fuss.  Good thought!


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Al Powell, Ph.D.                 Voice:  409/845-2807
107 Reed McDonald Bldg.          Fax:    409/862-1202
College Station, TX 77843      
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"Some people can tell what time it is by looking at the
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             [From 5th/6th grade essays....]