trailing arm bushing install Options

[Amphicar770]

OK, finally starting to put things back together. New bearings went into freshly powder coated trailing arms this evening.

I then went to install the new rubber bushings and pivot shaft from Elephant Racing and here is where I am running into problems even with their tool set.

Per their instructions you set the bushings in the trailing arm and then using a pipe clamp and the provided tools, you soap the heck out of the parts and insert the pivot shaft through the one bushing and push it all the way through with pressure from the pipe clamp.

Works well for the first few inches until the pivot shaft starts pulling the bushing down through the trailing arm. Getting everything back out was not fun, could only do it using my press.

In watching a redneck video His description) the guy seems to put the pivot shaft on first and then push the bushings in at both ends. First seems to go easy, second he helps along with a hammer and a tool to fit over the bushing.

Anyway, suggestions on best approach welcomed. I really figured that by paying a premium for the set with the tools that this would be simple. Arrrgh.

Thanks,

Mike

[Olympic 914]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif)

I'll be doing this soon myself.

[veekry9]

Hot and slippery,is how the rubbers go in!
Really,a pot of mineral oil with your bushings brought to a temperature above 250 F.
Fish them out with a hook and install with heavy gloves and mandrels of correct size.
The surfaces of the mating parts must have no roughness,a smooth polished finish.
A few minutes of planning and preparation and all goes swell,like clockwork.
A quick spray of silicone lube on the metal surfaces eases the tight fit.

/

For sure the holes and shafts must be masked off for coatings,cad is ok.
If it squeaks a bit going in it's right and tight.

[Amphicar770]

Thanks. I'll give the boiling oil a try.

It also occurred to me the problem may be that my powder coat guy coated the area where the bushings fit in (he was not supposed to). I wonder if That could be squeezing the bushing around the pivot shaft just enough extra to make fitting a problem?

Maybe I'll try the hot oil first. If that does not work then use something like a brake cylinder hone to try and remove the powder coat from where bushing goes.

[TheCabinetmaker]

Powder coating can be really thick, and it's tight anyway. I'd remove it.

[ndfrigi]

I believed Eric-PMB mentioned on another thread that it should not be powder coated on that spot.

[DavidSweden]

I just installed Elephant rear bushing today. I also had problems and my arms were nor powder coated. I should think it would be very difficult if the powder coating got inside where the pivot arm and bushes sit.

Its not as easy as it looks and without a press it would be a lot more difficult

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i1300.photobucket.com-17452-1455386866.1.jpg)

[Amphicar770]

This evening I removed the powder coat from where the bushing fits. After doing so, I was able to fairly easily finish the job using hand soap and a pipe clamp as shown in the instructions (press would have certainly worked as well). Even with a press it would have not worked with the powder-coating on there as it creates just enough interference that the bushing will actually push into the arm.

Powdercoat is some tough stuff and removing it is a mutta. On the one trailing arm I pretty much completely wore down a new three-stone brake hone. Will have to pick up a second for the other side. Had they powder-coated where the bearing goes it would have been a real mess.

So, for those doing this job in the future, DO NOT powder-coat where the bushing fits and definitely do not powder coat where the bearing fits.

[veekry9]

I have to say it.
Danger,
without caution,the use of a press may lead to serious injury or death.

Case in point:2009
A fellow longtime employee was struck in the head by part that had "kicked" out of the heavy press(100Ton version).
Off for a year to heal and recuperate,he later told me how close it was,a heavy blow that knocked him unconscious.
A proper seat and mandrel,or cup 'must' be used.
A wood plank is wrong.
The use of a nut with a plate welded to it is safer,a metal plate with a seat machined into it is safer.

Industrial Safety 101.

/

[Amphicar770]

One more tip on removing powder coat. For the second arm I hit the area with CRC gasket remover. Waited two minutes and wiped it with a cloth down to bare metal.

[mepstein]

One more tip on removing powder coat. For the second arm I hit the area with CRC gasket remover. Waited two minutes and wiped it with a cloth down to bare metal.

Good tip!

[Amphicar770]

OK, I am staring to think that there may be a flaw in the design / manufacture of these bushings or shaft. That or the provided install instructions are off. Just does not seem like it should be this hard using the proper tools.

Trailing arm number 2. Bushing area is now clean metal, even honed to a nice smooth surface. Same danged thing as I go to press in the pivot shaft. Even with tons of hand soap the pivot shaft winds up pulling the bushing into the trailing arm as shown here. Pivot shaft is on left , you can see the bushing being pulled into the trailing arm. I am thinking that the reason it fit in last time is that after multiple attempts that it wore enough of the inner bushing away to allow it to fit.

[DavidSweden]

Yes I had the same problem. when I did the second arm I did not put any soap on the contact surfaces between the bushing and trailing arm, it did help stop the bushing disappearing into the control arm. I then pressed the pivot arm arm down and only when I was near the other end inserted the other bushing and then pilot tool with a hell of a lot of soap. Its not as easy as its made out to be. As soon as the soap dries out a bit there is a problem

So its not an isolated problem. It will be interesting to see how they work when the arms are on the car

[Amphicar770]

Yeah, this is really turning into a huge time waster and frustration maker. Just tried again with dry bushing into trailing arm, actually used motor oil to lube the shaft. Got it about half way and the pivot shaft again pulls in the bushing. The only way to then resolve is to put it in the press, push it back out, and start all over. If someone did not have a press I do not know how they could possibly reverse it.

If I can find my micrometer, I will compare thickness of pivot shaft to the original. I wonder if the new one is thicker?

As I am apparently not the only one experiencing this problem, I have dropped a note to elephant to see what they might suggest.

[MikeM]

This seems way too difficult. Please let us know what Elephant says!!
Mike

[DavidSweden]

Yeah, this is really turning into a huge time waster and frustration maker. Just tried again with dry bushing into trailing arm, actually used motor oil to lube the shaft. Got it about half way and the pivot shaft again pulls in the bushing. The only way to then resolve is to put it in the press, push it back out, and start all over. If someone did not have a press I do not know how they could possibly reverse it.

If I can find my micrometer, I will compare thickness of pivot shaft to the original. I wonder if the new one is thicker?

As I am apparently not the only one experiencing this problem, I have dropped a note to elephant to see what they might suggest.

Once the pivot arm has fully penetrated the first bushing hold the pivot arm in a soft jaw vice. You can then rotate the swing arm while pushing , this way the bushing does not go into the swing arm. You still have the other bushing to contend with when you get to the other end. I dont believe it will work using a pipe clamp as per instructions

It is a bit frustrating, I am not surprised Elephannt havnt done a video like they did for the front bushings

[Amphicar770]

I did not want to deal with it anymore last night but did give it a shot this morning. Victory finally seemed within my grasp as the pivot shaft was indeed going in without pulling the bushing into the trailing arm.

So, as if irony is taunting me, this time the bushing is not seated against the arm. As you can see, there is a gap which I can fit 2-3 quarters into. I suspect this would make fitting the arm back onto the car difficult to impossible.

I tried pressing the bushing in the rest of the way using the tool on one side and a similar sized socket on the other. Between the tight fit and the give of the rubber, it is not cooperating.

Unless someone has an idea, it looks like yet another round of press out the pivot shaft and try again.

[DavidSweden]

I did not want to deal with it anymore last night but did give it a shot this morning. Victory finally seemed within my grasp as the pivot shaft was indeed going in without pulling the bushing into the trailing arm.

So, as if irony is taunting me, this time the bushing is not seated against the arm. As you can see, there is a gap which I can fit 2-3 quarters into. I suspect this would make fitting the arm back onto the car difficult to impossible.

I tried pressing the bushing in the rest of the way using the tool on one side and a similar sized socket on the other. Between the tight fit and the give of the rubber, it is not cooperating.

Unless someone has an idea, it looks like yet another round of press out the pivot shaft and try again.

Had the same problem

[Nutter965]

Oh boy, i've just pressed out my old bushings to do this ....... not looking forward to this now !

[Amphicar770]

Oh boy, i've just pressed out my old bushings to do this ....... not looking forward to this now !

I do not know if this issues is unique to the Elephant Racing bushings or if everyone essentially sells the same part. Will let you know when I hear back from them. As someone else said, now it makes sense why they do not have a video for this one!

Just tried again. Smaller gap this time but still there. Seems to happen as you near the end of getting the trailing arm in. I do believe that the bushing needs to be sitting pretty much flush with the trailing arm, that is how the first arm is seated. Unfortunately, once the gap shows up, seems like you have to start all over.

If you do not have a press, you may want to consider having a shop do this for you. If I were a shop I would have lost my shirt on this job. Reminds me that there is a garage nearby that used to specialize in Porsche / VW, including full restorations. These days they will only work on newer vehicles. The owner said that it simply became too costly dealing with rusty old parts that took hours to remove and with ill-fitting after market parts that take hours to install. Maybe he did a 914 trailing arm and decided, "I'm done".


I imagine Delrin or poly bushings are much easier to install. I went with Rubber because I wanted minimum noise and vibration.