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

I'll be doing this soon myself.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

/

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!

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.


Click to view attachment

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

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.

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

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

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.

Click to view attachment

Had the same problem

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.

Did you guys mic the inside of the trailing arm to the OD of the bushing?

What were the results?

Aw, damn. I spoke to soon on last message which I am now editing.

While better than before, I still have a gap on the long side that I can fit a quarter between the bushing and the arm. Hopefully this is "close enough". Maybe I will test fit and see if it will go in car that way.
==================================================

FINALLY! On try number "a lot", the darn things are in properly.

I think another problem is that with the tool over the rubber bush it creates air pressure / a vacuum that pushes or pulls the bushing against force you are trying to apply. On this last round, especially near the end I would bring it in just slightly and release pressure on the pipe clamp. Each time I did so, I could hear a hiss of air as the tool loosened on the bushing. Perhaps a small hole drilled in top of tool would accomplish same air pressure release.

What I thought would be an easy job turned out to be a royal PIA. Do hope others share their experiences and tips. Not that I expect to be doing this again in my lifetime!

I just received a reply from Elephant Racing. The comment that it may take a few tries is definitely a yellow flag to anyone attempting this. As noted, in the likely event you have to reverse things I do not see how you can do so without a press.

If you do not have the tools, having someone local do the work may be a good choice. The problem with shipping to Elephant or elsewhere is that the arms are heavy and bulky so shipping would probably be very expensive. Will also be interesting to hear from those who have used rubber bushings from other sources.

I do not know if Elephant frequents 914World but I suggested that they may want to check out / respond to this message thread directly.

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HI Michael

Try inserting the bushing into the arm with only water on the OD. Then
make sure you have soap on the entire length of the shaft. This helps the
bushing stay in position in the arm, and the shaft less inclined to pull it
in.

I may also be helpful to reverse the direction of the shaft briefly if you
see it starting to pull the bushing in.

It may take a few tries to get it right.

We do offer the installation as a service.

regards
Chuck Moreland

I just went through this process this weekend. I can say unequivocally, without reservation or qualification, that this process is indeed a BITCH. I experienced both problems the OP had - the bushing get pulled into the trailing arm and the bushing not flush against the trailing arm. It didn't help when my harbor freight press bottle jack went south. I spent two days trying to bleed that thing with no luck, and finally just bought a new bottle jack.

A couple of things to note:

1. I agree with their recommendation to NOT put soap on the OD of the rubber bushings before installing in the arm. When I did that, that's when the bushing would get pulled into the arm.

2. When the bushing starts getting pulled into the arm, the pivot shaft is completely stuck to the rubber. Give up and start over at that point with more soap. Keep trying until the rubber doesn't stick.

3. It's good to have a second person to help. This is exhausting partially because you have to keep re-positioning the press shelf and cranking the jack many times.

4. This will take several attempts. Have a pipe available with an OD smaller than the ID of the bushing so you can easily push the shaft partially out before trying again.

None of these will really make sense unless you've tried this. It can be done, but it is not easy.

Been there, done that....just 2 weeks ago.
Yes no soap between bushing and arm or the bushing will get pulled into the arm.
You cannot use too much soap between the bushing and the shaft.
Took a couple attempts to get it right.
Definitely a learning curve on this.
My Thai wife learned some new "English" adverbs when I was working on this with her help. Honey, what does that word mean?

Truly a royal PITA job.
When complete, I drank an entire growler in one sitting.
At least it was a good PNW double IPA.

Oh....BTW.
The front A arm rubber bushings are no easier.
A 2nd growler is required for finishing those.

So the question becomes:

Doing a roadworthy restoration, should the bushings be replaced?
How can you tell bad from good?
Are hard "race" (not rubber) bushings a better choice for the shade-tree mechanic?