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Advice needed on control arm poly bushing replacement

M

MK96XJ

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Asheville NC
A few of my rubber control arm bushings are shot so I ordered a set of Energy Suspensions poly bushings. I received these yesterday and read the horrible directions that came with the set.

Has anybody replaced their control arm bushings with the poly type? Do you have any helpful hints on doing this? It appears that I will need to use the metal sleeves that the current rubber bushings are in. from the looks of thing the rubber and metal is molded as one piece. If this is true I assume this job will be a real PITA to separate.

Any advice and or pics would be appreciated.

Mike
 
Are these stock control arms you're trying to put poly bushings on? The metal and rubber ARE one piece and I seriously doubt you're supposed to remove all the rubber to use the metal sleeve. I don't see how you could use poly bushings on the stock control arms unless the poly came as one unit with a metal sleeve around it too.
 
Re: Advice needed on control arm poly btshinb rdplabhment

Yea("! hence my conrsion w9qh the Dbrections. These polys are meant to be used with the stock CA and it sax ynu mpt reuse thd sldver. Th` pnlys`o not ime with sleeves.

If i need to cut the rubber out of the sleeves to use the `mlyr, tHdse POSt are gncng bacJ I do >dt have the time for that crap!!!.
 
If they actually want you to re-use the sleeves, you can do it, but it's a pain. You could drill out the rubber or melt it out with a torch and then clean up the metal with a dremel or a grinding bit in a drill, but it's a pain (don't ask how I know). I'd return them and buy some stock replacement bushings. The stock ones ride a lot nicer than poly ones.
 
if you do a search on here there are part numbers listed from Moog. You should be able to find Moog Replacement parts at any parts store. Juice
 
You need to reuse the sleeve. Remove the CAs and use a torch and heat the metal around the bushing hot and evenly...you will see the rubbber start to bubble and the bushing might just pop out, it might fly a few feet, or you can pull it out with some trash pliers. As for the sleeve pressed into the axle (UCA) god luck heating that while still pressed in. I had to take mine out. HTH. If I had to do it again I'd just use stock replacements for bucks apiece.

P
 
Send them back and replace them with rubber factory replacement parts. The factory sleeves do have to be reused with the poly bushings (good luck) and poly isn't all it's cracked up to be anyhow...especially on control arms.
 
xxxj-va,

are you still running polys and if so whats your take on their performance on and off road?

Christopher,

Please elaborate on your comments about polys in CAs?

Mike
 
I'm not running the stock control arms, but I have been running poly bushings in my arms for 3 years now. It rides stiffer than rubber so you feel the bumps in the road more and you have to grease it or it starts to squeak (you don't have to grease rubber). My LCA's have poly in both ends. I would run rubber in the body end of the LCA and then either a johnny joint or poly in the axle end. I wouldn't run stock control arms either though.
 
i honestly havent noticed a rougher ride since i passed 3".....but I suppose its true. I'm putting new shocks and bpe's in this weekend, I dont think the polys are the only thing to blame. Wheeling the polys are great, they dont bind and mine never squeak....my rubber bushings were chewed up when i replaced them.
 
I've done this with my stock control arms. The metal sleeve does need to be re-used. There isn't really any real trick to getting the rubber and the inner sleave out of the bushing. It's kind of a pain, you just do it however you can do it. What I did was remove the whole control arm, then clamp it in a vice. Next I drilled through the rubber in as many places as I possibly could. Then I used a torch to burn what was left of the rubber out. If you get the rubber hot, the rubber will slide right out of the sleave.

Make sure to use the grease included with the kit. Just smear it on everywhere the bushing will make contact with metal. I haven't had any squeaks in mine so far and I've had them in for 2 months.
 
Well there is kind of a trick. If you go through with this you don't need to drill or see any flames setting rubber on fire! The trick is be patient and heat the outside of the sleeve, don't burn the rubber, melt it. When you heat the sleeve the rubber will begin to bubble and melt where it contacts athe sleeve and quite literally the bushing will jump out (wear glasses). Its your mod, but I have done it both ways, burning vs. melting. Let's just say I burned the first one out then I got smart.
P
 
I can feel a difference between my poly CA bushings and stock, its slight, and now that I run MTs it really isnt noticeable anymore. Poly bushings dont compress hardly at all compared to a squishy rubber bushing, so when your CAs twist up, there is more resistance and binding at both ends. My 3~4 inch lift with poly CA bushings flexes about as well as my friends BB with stock CAs (shocks & swaybars disconnected) :( .
 
The way I look at it is Pollys are fine IF you are running control arms with a JJ or heim on one end and the polly on the other though you will loose some ride comfort if that is a concern. Polly won't give or flex during articulation and can cause some bind in the front suspension. The JJ or heim give you back that flex and relieve the bind. So with stock control arms I just would't go polly. The stock arms don't flex all that well to begin with and when you replace that rubber with polly it's just too stiff, limits flex more, and binds the front suspension.
 
Wha? Can someone explain why a bushing that is free to spin in the sleeve limits flex over rubber thats fixed to a sleeve that doesn't?
 
There is a side to side twisting force applied as the axle moves in a radius arc..Thus the arms need to be able to twist in order to allow the axle to not bind durring its travel. If both the left and right tires droped and stuffed simultaneously it would not be an issue. But that is not the case. When one side drops the other will either remain or be stuffing....Thus the twisting rotational force on the arms and mounting locations.
 
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