Tips on front rear bushes

[minimanred]

new to the forum but not new to rovers but ive just bought my first 75, a conny diesel tourer and am loving it. its just failed the MOT on what im guessing is a common problem, the front bottom arm rear bushes and i would like some tips on the best way to tackle the job so many thanks in advance an i look forward to being a regular member on here
Ants

[wicksy_64]

Go to the "How to" section of the site and use "search" facility with term, lower wishbone bushes. Plenty of info on what you think is a simple job but is a right pig of a job. Good luck.

[SD1too]

I think this might be it:
How to Change the Front Suspension Arm Rear Bush - Arm in-situ

Simon

[brianw]

I replaced a pair last weekend in situ.
As the guide referred to said, I used an 18mm cranked ring spanner on the front bolt - access through the wheel arch with wheel removed.
It is helpful if you have a selection of 18mm spanners as the position of the flats determines your best access position.
Access is restricted you will just have to find the right position for both the spanner and yourself so you can get a good purchase - as stated they are tight!
Once you have initially loosened them they are ok although it is pretty much 1 flat at a time unless you have an 18mm ratchet spanner. If you are lucky you can just undo them by hand (well fingertips).
A shallow socket and breaker bar can be used on the rear bolts.
The previous time I changed some I did not have a breaker bar so I cut a slightly cranked 18mm ring in half and used some box section slid on it to give sufficient leverage.

Previously I drifted the bush inners off the suspension arm but this time I took the outer housing off (normally the rubber is pretty shot so if needed a little work with a hacksaw blade should separate them) Then with my shoulder on the hub I pushed forward on it while holding onto the rear of the suspension arm to get the rear of the arm down into a more accessible position. It then only took a few minutes with a hacksaw to cut through the metal of the bush it then comes off pretty easily. I found this method much quicker, just be carefull not to cut the suspension arm with the hacksaw. I heard the inner give a sort of 'pop' as the metal separated.

Putting the new bushes on I used a lube available from chemists everywhere.
It did the job superbly.
Once I had Pushed and levered them as far forward as they had to go I found that they were at around 15 degrees or so out of parallel with the subframe.
I used a 'g ' clamp lightly tightened over the front hole and under the subframe and found this brought it parallell.
Now the fiddly bit!
Make sure you have a small mirror and a torch and use it to look down the rear bolt hole.
If it is lined up leave everything and rush out and buy a lottery ticket!
If you are mortal like the rest of us, loosen the clamp, move the bush housing nip up the clamp and look again.
You will likely have to do this several times until you get it positioned just right, and it needs to be right for the bolt to start.
When you are happy its positioned correctly its time to get the bolt in.
Once in snug it up, remove clamp and use the mirror to check the front bolt hole for alignment.
My experience is that its pretty futile to attempt to start the bolts until everything is lined up and the mirror made it so much easier - just a tiny bit out is a recipe for frustration.

There are several threads on here and I would recommend you read them all then choose which way you want to tackle the job. At least if you read them all if you encounter a problem chances are you will have an idea of how to get around it.

Good Luck.

Brian

[chris_h]

I would recommend the powerflex replacement bushes. These are cheaper than good quality replacements and are a better design. You reuse the metal part of the bush and the replacement is in 2 parts which alows the suspension arm to rotate rather than twisting the bush and eventually splitting which occurs on in the original design. They provide a slightly harder ride than tbe the originals but are not uncomfortable. Mind have been fitted for 10, 000 miles so far and I am really pleased with them.

[brianw]

Originally Posted by chris_h

I would recommend the powerflex replacement bushes. These are cheaper than good quality replacements and are a better design. You reuse the metal part of the bush and the replacement is in 2 parts which alows the suspension arm to rotate rather than twisting the bush and eventually splitting which occurs on in the original design. They provide a slightly harder ride than tbe the originals but are not uncomfortable. Mind have been fitted for 10, 000 miles so far and I am really pleased with them.

I agree with the above.
First time I did rear bushes was on my 75 and I used powerflex 20K on no probs at all.
I would have fitted them to my Wifes as well but had the opportunity to do the bushes and had to use what I could get on my way home from work so have fitted a pair from Eurocarparts .
Time will tell how long they will last.
If I could have waited a few days I would have ordered Powerflex ones for her car too.

[minimanred]

After reading all the horror stories about the cheap and nasty bushes I decided to buy a pair of unipart bushes and hope that they have been used by other member's to good effect. Even though it only failed on the N/S bush I dont like to put things on in singles preferring the pair option. It also failed on the middle ball joint dust cover being split so the bottom arm had to come off also, the rear bush looked newish and the bolts came undone really easily suggesting it had been replaced recently and when the bottom and middle ball joints had been released the rear part of the arm slipped off the joint holder which was still bolted to the subframe. I guess this must have been one of the cheap and nasty ones because the rubber had completely de-bonded itself from the outer metal part of the bush that stayed in the carrier. Now im glad I bought a pair because the O/S makes a slight knock and I dont like knocks and will be changing that as soon as leaving the bottom arm on as advised. For what the Unipart bushes cost I could have had the Powerflex ones for a few quid more but ho hum we live and learn I suppose.

With the arm on the bench I could see that both ball joint dust covers had split, the test examiner missed the botton one, and as I had fitted a pair of track rod ends before the test because one was worn I just happened to have a good dust cover to replace the bottom smaller one with. The big middle one was a different matter because of its size I had no replacement so the only option was to repair it as it was badly split and ripped open because judging by the mauling of the alloy around the ball joint some butcher had hammered a wedge type splitter into the gap to release it, I try not to use this typ of splitter because of the damage it causes especially if I need to re-use the original ball joint. So dust cover on bench a repair was needed because it was getting late and I was working on nights and didn't want to have to take the arm back off the next day so I decided to super glue it. The look on the brov in laws face was priceless until I pointed out that those split CV joint boots you can get are just super glued together. The rubber dust cover was meticulously cleaned until no trace of grease ws anywhere and it glued up perfectly. To prove a point to brove in law who was still skeptical I tried to pull the glued repair apart with two pairs of pliers and it held fast so back onto the ball joint went the cover and back onto the subframe went the arm and now I have a 13 month ticket on my Connie .

[rich17865]

Originally Posted by minimanred

After reading all the horror stories about the cheap and nasty bushes I decided to buy a pair of unipart bushes and hope that they have been used by other member's to good effect. Even though it only failed on the N/S bush I dont like to put things on in singles preferring the pair option. It also failed on the middle ball joint dust cover being split so the bottom arm had to come off also, the rear bush looked newish and the bolts came undone really easily suggesting it had been replaced recently and when the bottom and middle ball joints had been released the rear part of the arm slipped off the joint holder which was still bolted to the subframe. I guess this must have been one of the cheap and nasty ones because the rubber had completely de-bonded itself from the outer metal part of the bush that stayed in the carrier. Now im glad I bought a pair because the O/S makes a slight knock and I dont like knocks and will be changing that as soon as leaving the bottom arm on as advised. For what the Unipart bushes cost I could have had the Powerflex ones for a few quid more but ho hum we live and learn I suppose.

With the arm on the bench I could see that both ball joint dust covers had split, the test examiner missed the botton one, and as I had fitted a pair of track rod ends before the test because one was worn I just happened to have a good dust cover to replace the bottom smaller one with. The big middle one was a different matter because of its size I had no replacement so the only option was to repair it as it was badly split and ripped open because judging by the mauling of the alloy around the ball joint some butcher had hammered a wedge type splitter into the gap to release it, I try not to use this typ of splitter because of the damage it causes especially if I need to re-use the original ball joint. So dust cover on bench a repair was needed because it was getting late and I was working on nights and didn't want to have to take the arm back off the next day so I decided to super glue it. The look on the brov in laws face was priceless until I pointed out that those split CV joint boots you can get are just super glued together. The rubber dust cover was meticulously cleaned until no trace of grease ws anywhere and it glued up perfectly. To prove a point to brove in law who was still skeptical I tried to pull the glued repair apart with two pairs of pliers and it held fast so back onto the ball joint went the cover and back onto the subframe went the arm and now I have a 13 month ticket on my Connie .

What a result!

I did mine using the cheapest new parts ebay had to offer, so got complete arms and bushes for under £100. But as I don't use my car for daily commuting, just trips to the shops, family visits and days out, so they will last me years based on other peoples findings.

Unipart parts are well known for being good and should last you well.

Somebody did post up recently a link where the larger rubber ball joint cover is available separately, but I cannot find it now.

Superglue is great, get yourself some mitre bond, it is superglue and aerosol activator, it sets fully in 10 seconds. Places like B&Q, Screwfix, Howdens etc sell it. It has literally saved my skin several times, great on cuts, even if it stings a bit

[beinet1]

Just a tip,

If you want to do the rear bush the cheapest way, the bush is available separately without its cast housing for under £6 each. It needs to be pressed into the old housing, but is not any complicated task. The bush is branded FAI and should be a quality component, equals to OEM. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FAI-CONTRO...item53fa12b5da

Here is how I did the installation:
http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/foru...=156310&page=2

[Sprinter]

Originally Posted by minimanred

...I decided to buy a pair of unipart bushes and hope that they have been used by other member's to good effect. Even though it only failed on the N/S bush I dont like to put things on in singles preferring the pair option.

I used the unipart bushes and they're a good quality item. Did both sides as it's the only sensible option.