arthropraxis

I broke a vise trying to get the front control arm bushings pressed in. A friend of mine is using a hydrolic press to get it in. The fronts both went in at 2 tons but the backs are getting stuck at half way in and at 10 tons of force. I need to know if this is normal or am I going to crush the arm before he goes any higher. TIA

Mike1982

Which control arms are you installing new bushings on? Steel arms? When I replaced mine on my steel arms, I put the bushings in the freezer for a couple of days before hand and used a LOT of soap/water to get them to slide in. It wasn't easy but just took some time.

arthropraxis

These are for an 87 turbo front control arm bushings.

ritzblitz

I had to use a press to install my front bushings.

arthropraxis

Any idea how many tons of force it took? They are up to 10 tons and one of them is not budging.

catamax944

stock or weltmeister? if weltmeister did you remove the steel inserts?

arthropraxis

They are stock and I did remove the factory steel sleeve.

ritzblitz

Mine are the early ones, not sure how different the design is on the late ones. We just used lots of wd40 and they slid in without any problem.

arthropraxis

I don't know about the design but they are aluminum.

Grandpa#3

Freezing the bushings and KY Jelly worked wonders putting mine in just using a HD 6" vise and a cheater bar.

Cheers,
Larry

arthropraxis

I broke a 4 inch bench vise and bent the bar on the new 6 inch. I don't guess spraying WD40 or pouring some oil on it would hurt. The problem is it is stuck half way in so I don't think any would get between the liner and the arm.

ritzblitz

Get better vises. Spraying WD40 will do wonders for you. It makes a huge difference. WD40 should be able to penetrate it somewhat. At least try it out.

I think most new vises will break in this situation, they don't make them like they used to, and the ones that come close are very expensive.

arthropraxis

I just talked to the guy trying to press them in. He said they did spray WD40 on it and it still wont press in. They quit at 15 tons for fear of breaking something. I suggested soaking it in oil for a while and trying again in the morning. I do have one in each arm that is seated.

StoogeMoe

I personally wouldn't use oil on rubber bushings. Oil tends to make rubber swell and may deteriorate the bushing. Use soap or a silicon based lubricant instead.

whalebird

Try the silicon tune-up grease from any parts store. It works wonders.