Front Suspension Arm Bushes

[Dominic]

The steering on my 91 TZD has become a bit vague, and the suspension bushes look like the likely culprits - no knocking or banging, just a bit wandery. Is it possible to replace the bushes without taking the entire arm off, (and disassembling the lower ball joints, which I remember as a bastard of a job)?. Or is doing the bushes with the arm in place at the hub end going to make life even more difficult?

[rutter123]

i assume you mean the bottom suspension arm bushes? if so then u will need to remove the complete arm to replace the bushes, not a big job, the worst part prob removing the old drop link/stabiliser bar, these bushes are pressed in and you will need to have the old ones pressed out and new ones pressed in, my local engineering firm done mine for £25 both sides.

[Tim Leech]

They were shot on my TZD hatch and needed doing for the MOT, the arms need to come off but not a hard job if you have a press.

[citronut]

yes the arms do need to come right off, but you dont need to disturb the swivel joint to do so, just split the swivel pin from the arm only, leaving the swivel attached to the hub carrier,

it is also possible with a bit of ingenuity to make up a bush puller to extract and install the bush's without the need for a press,

i use an old ford void bush tool works a treat,

the only thing you will need to do is peel the mushroomed lip of the top hat shaped bush up so your removal tool can sit directly against the arm, were the bush lip/flange sits,

regards malcolm

[KevR]

Top tip: try and get hold of a spare pair of wishbones. FIt new bushes in advance (I pressed mine out with a hydraulic press but pressed the new ones in with a big bench vice as it was easier for some reason which I can't now remember). Then when you come to take the old arms out, you can bang the new ones straight in rather than mucking about for hours with the car up on ramps.
Then fit some new bushes to the old arms and you've got a spare set ready for next time....

[themildbunch]

or, buy a pair of recon arms from Euro Car Parts for about £30 each... maybe not the best quality bushes but worth considering at that price.... this was a little while ago now though..

There were also several eBay dealers selling genuine bushes for about £5.00 each too recently..