control arm bushings, afterthoughts...

[Mac]

well, i just finished installing a control arm bushing in the new arm i got from the junk yard, a few broken tools later
I couldn't help but think back to typrus's idea of using a hydraulic jack and a motorhome to press it in... mabey he was onto something

basically i cracked a 1-1/4" socket and ruined my vice, luckily the socket is a sears craftsman and the vice is from Princess Auto, so exchanging them shouldn't be a problem at all. for the next one I'll get the shop to press it in and save me the hastle of driving to the stores to get my stuff replaced.

anyways, removal is pretty easy, just drill the rubber and then push out the inner piece, then use a hack saw do cut through the outer metal sleeve and it should take a couple of hits with a hammer and a screwdriver to take it out.

[ARCHINSTL]

Darn!
I just finished doing Goldie's, and was going to write a piece with pix (still will). I was so proud of doing it by drilling and then sawing & punching the outer sleeve with a chisel - I had not found that procedure before on the site...*

I pressed the new ones in using my big vise from the bike shop - a 52-pound, 5-inch oddball (the back jaw moves in, instead of the front jaw moving out - have never seen one like that - great for not continually smacking one's hip in passing).
If that had not worked, I was going to modify Typrus' procedure slightly and substitute an I-beam in my basement for the motorhome
Tom M.
* Mac - don't initiate a plagiarism suit, now...

[takza]

Wondering if you could actually feel or see any slop in these either on the car or after the arm was off? And how much? I've tried moving mine around when I had stuff off, but no movement seen....

[ARCHINSTL]

Answering takza's question: To be candid, while the rubber looked a teeny bit deteriorated, the "rotational effort" needed to turn the arm seemed about the same both before and after replacement.
While it's obviously not possible to inspect their condition prior to installation, as in the case of the swaybar and rear end bushings, as long as I was replacing the springs, mounts, struts, ball joints, all swaybar bushings, and axles & seals, it only seemed prudent to order the control arm bushings. In the event they were not "bad" at this time, I just did not want to tackle this again in 5 or 10 years, when I quite well may not be inclined to attempt it.
All front-end maintenance shtuff is now new, save for the hub bearings, which seem fine, and besides - the budget is busted.

Incidentally, the swaybar-to-arm bushings were alarmingly deteriorated, as detailed in another thread, and the d/s ball joint had almost 4mm (!) of vertical movement - seems amazing that I noticed no clunking etc. from that quarter. The struts' internals were OE, of course, and their shafts sank of their own weight and did not rise to any occasion. The springs were pretty soft as well.
Axles will be installed in the next day, and then on to home alignment again.
I will be doing some write-ups with pix.
Tom M.

[Mac]

I'm not really sure how much these bushings are going to help, but hopefully i'll notice some sort of difference.

I'm also planning on replacing the soft OEM sway bar bushings with some univeral Energy Suspension bushings, which should help limit front to back movement of the front wheels as well as body roll.

the front swaybar bushings were replaced about 4 years ago after the rubber had worn down to its inner plastic core. when I take the arm off I'm going to take a close look and make sure they are holding onto the swaybar snugly.

[Mac]

oh yeah, anyone know the diameter (in MM) of the front swaybar on a 4wd terc? is their any difference in the 83-85 and the 86-88 tercel swaybars?

[neonsport]

I'd have to look to see what the diameter is, I think I made a note somewhere.

As for differences between 83-85 and 86-88 diameters, the logical cutoff would be either 84 or 86, but I've found no differences. Further, contrary to popular belief, there's no difference between the front bars used on the 2wd and 4wd wagons. I've never measured the diameter on a hatchback, but the bar on the front of my 2WD, as well as both the 2WDs in my buddy's junkyard, are exactly the same as the ones on both my 85 4WDs, and the same as the 83 base 4WD in his junkyard.

Of all the things that intrigue me about the early cars (besides the folding mirrors), the 83 base front seats with the tiny headrests really strike me as odd.

[ARCHINSTL]

The swaybar diameter is 21mm - which is what the molded marking on the front bushings reveals.
Tom M.

[Mac]

Of all the things that intrigue me about the early cars (besides the folding mirrors), the 83 base front seats with the tiny headrests really strike me as odd.

I have those odd seats, and to me the SR5 seats look funny to me. Just what I'm used to... although the tercel is the only car i know of with "oh shit!" handles built into the front seats so mabey I'm somewhat justified...

thanks for the info ARCHINSTL, i'll see if i can pick up some bushings today when i'm getting some other stuff...

[Mac]

back to the swaybar bushings, i picked up some Enegy Suspension universal ones today. aparently 21mm don't come with grease fittings, but thats OK with me because i have no idea where you could get a grease tube of silicone grease in the first place...

Hopefully i'll be abel to install them sometime this week, if it works out I'll let post it up with some pics, if i can remember my camera.

[keith]

i picked up some Enegy Suspension universal ones today.

Let us know how they did, and some part numbers please, and where to get them.

[Typrus]

LOL....
Just remember, the trailer started lifting and the bushing didn't go in. Then the whole thing snapped sideways and almost broke my wrist.... lol.

Go figure a Harbor Freight 20-ton-press over at my buddies worked like a charm. lol

[dlb]

tom, you mentioned that your driver's side ball joint had 4 mm of vertical play. were you able to check this by hand with the ball joint still attached to the control arm, but removed from the hub? i'd like to check mine but if i can do so without completely removing it that would be preferable. i'm still brainstorming for my mystery rattle/clunk and it is definitely a vertical play issue so i'm really curious about this.

[ARCHINSTL]

David -
As detailed in another thread, I removed the P/S ball joint before removing the arm; however, I measured and removed the D/S ball joint after removing the arm with the joint - removing it with the arm attached to the body and the strut/knuckle hanging down was too cumbersome and entangled.
I only measured the D/S, as I forgot about "premeasuring" the P/S. Obviously the movement can be measured with the joint in situ.
My point in the other thread, if explained clumsily and not completely, was that the ball joint can be removed without removing the control arm, if one is not going to remove the arm for its bushing replacement.
Tom M.

[dlb]

great, thanks. i'll check it and see if that's the culprit. i wasn't worried about having to remove the whole arm, i have a puller that has worked well in the past.