New Control Arm Bushings

[ammachine390]

I bought a set of Prothane polyurethane control arm bushings.  They are the type where the old rubber bushing is burned out, then the new bushing is placed within the old metal sleeve.  I am also going to replace the sway bar endlinks, and I want to replace the sway bar bushings. Does anybody know what size the sway bar on a Concord is? The parts store lists two sizes, 13/16, and 7/8.  Any tips/warning on replacing these parts.  Thanks.

[Mavericke]

I'll be watching your thread.. I'm about to do the same job on my Eagle.

[thereverendbill]

what i would do is buy both and return the set that isn't right

[ammachine390]

I am pretty sure they are 13/16, just trying to make sure.  I forgot to add, I also plan on replacing the camber adjustment bolts that go on LCA. Napa lists a set on their website, has anyone ever tried these before?

[ramblinfsj]

The easiest way to find the diameter of your swaybar is to get a 13/16 and a 7/8 open end wrench. Whichever wrench slips onto the bar perfectly will tell you the size.

[SleepsUnderCars]

I replaced all of the front end bushings etc. on my Kammback with the kit from ESPO.  They knew which sie to send. But use the previously posted wrench trick to be sure

[ammachine390]

I did the wrench trick and have determined them to be 13/16. I haven't been able to do whole job yet though, hopefully sometime in the next few weeks.   

When you replaced your bushings, did you used the type where the the bushing is burned out, then the new bushing is set in the old sleeve?  How long did this job take? Was it necessary to actually remove the control arms, or just unbolt one control arm at a time? Were the bolts for the control arms easy to break loose? And how long did the whole job take? Sorry, that's a lot of questions.  Thanks

[SleepsUnderCars]

mine were burned out. We removed the control arms and did the burning on the workbench. It was very messy, burning molten ruber dripped everywhere. If you do it still partially attached please be careful.
the bolts were not bad but this was done at a shop runnin 175 psi
it's been awhile since it was done, but I don't think we spent more than a couple of hours?
I hope this helps.

[ammachine390]

mine were burned out. We removed the control arms and did the burning on the workbench. It was very messy, burning molten ruber dripped everywhere. If you do it still partially attached please be careful.
the bolts were not bad but this was done at a shop runnin 175 psi
it's been awhile since it was done, but I don't think we spent more than a couple of hours?
I hope this helps.

Excellent info, thanks a lot.

[eaglefreek]

I vaguely remember doing this on a Mustang I owned years ago. If I remember correctly,  burning them out was so messy I used a drill to get most of the second one out and then used the torch. Use MAPP gas for better results if you are using a hand held torch.

[ammachine390]

Well, I finally got around to working on this.  I was pretty nervous about doing this job because of having to take out the spring, and burning out bushings so I was nervous about something going wrong.  Anyway the first step is to remove the shock, which is pretty straightforward. After that we used a spring compressor, the kind where there is 2 sets of hooks, and you try to position them across from each other on the spring. This compressor didn't work well for me, I couldn't get them directly across from each other, and I think they were too long for my car's springs, because every-time I tightened the screws, they would hit either the top of the fender or the control arm, depending on which way I put them in, up or down. I then tried a different kind of compressor and had the spring out within 10 minutes. The bolts that hold the upper control arm came out extremely easy, I had them both out within 5 minutes. Note: When you remove the upper control arm, the brake rotor/hub will want to pivot outward by the lower ball joint which will pull on the brake hose. To prevent damage to the brake hose, what I did was I held the rotor where I wanted and lowered it onto a small stool to hold it in the same spot.  The remove the bushings, we used an oxy-acetylene torch to heat them, a large c clamp, a big deep well socket, and smaller deep well socket using the c clamp to push small deep socket to push the bushing out, and the big deep socket, to catch the bushing. The bushings were very easy to come out, and I had them out with 5 minutes. I havn't finished everything yet, but I will continue to update this as I continue.

Heres the type of spring compressor I used.
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[eaglefreek]

I've never seen a spring compressor like that one. Does it have a brand name or model number on it?

[ammachine390]

I am not sure, the compressor is at my school, so  I will look on Tuesday.

[ammachine390]

Sorry I had forgotten to update this earlier.

Eaglefreek, the brand name had worn off the spring compressor, so I do not know what kind it was. I am guessing it to be pretty old though as most of our school's tools are from the 70's. That, and it just looks old.

Anyway, I got all the bushings installed. Once the old ones were removed, I lubed them with the supplied "supergrease." They went into the control arms pretty easily, I used a C-clamp and some sockets. However, the bushings were too long and I could not reinstall the control arm back into position. So I used a grinder to take off a little bit and was able to get them in. I still have not driven the car yet, so I don't know how they perform yet, as I'm still working on the rest of the front suspension, but I will let everyone know what I think of them when I drive it.

[HappyPappy]

I found it easier to make my own spring compressor. Take an old lower spring saddle and fab a long all thread to it, cut a top plate for it. I found that SEA thread works better then standard. Best thing to use is a U-bolt stock rod, weld it to the spring saddle with L H rods. The same compressor works on any of the front ends with the AMC spring set up.  DO NOT use the shock cross bar. I think I cut a plate to cover the hole in the spring saddle, been a few years  that I did that.