Poly bushes....any tips for fitting??

[bandiflip]

Am just about to remove the rear arms off my P38 and fit some poly bushes...Any tips please ???...Taaa

[davew]

Getting the old bushes out... good luck with that Big vice, hammer, failing that burn it out and use a hacksaw to cut the outer and chisel the remains out. If you're lucky it'll have poly already fitted...

I normally see if I can find a socket that just fits inside the hole in the radius arm and then put another socket on the other side that's bigger than the bush. That way you can either use a vice and the small socket should push the bush out... if you're lucky. Sometimes a hammer will work using the socket as a drift.

Getting the poly ones in...

Lots of lubrication !

If I can I normally use a suitable sized bolt, some big washers and a nut. Put a washer on the end of the bolt, put it through the bush then the arm, put the other big washer and nut on and start tightening. If you don't have a long enough bolt a bit of threaded bar will do the job just fine with a nut on each end. I use M10 bar normally.

The trick is to keep it as square as you can while using the bolt/threaded bar to apply the pressure. Once the lip has popped into the hole you're away and you can wind it all the way in. It doesn't take much pressure at all to get them in, in fact too much pressure can make it more difficult.

I've attached a pic that might make it clearer... the grey bit is the bolt/threaded bar, washers and nut(s).

[nicks90]

you can burn out and remove an old original bush in about 5-10 minutes.
really easy to do and its good therapy getting all angry at it with a big butane torch!!!

My only tip is to use a nice quality LONG hacksaw and be careful when you cut through the outer sleeve so you dont eat into the walls of the arm.
make 2 cuts and the bush outer will just fall out with a sight tap from LR tool no.1

refitting poly's is either easy or tricky. If they are the 2 piece poly with the metal insert then its dead easy and you can squish them in with your hands. If its the one piece like Dave said - do what he suggests.

[legin]

Burn until inside falls out and then 2 cuts. Like what above say.

[bandiflip]

Nice one chaps....thats saturdays job then !!

[Matthews]

Get a second set of arms with no bushes in and just squeeze bushes in gently in a vice, as Dave said plenty of lube but not copperslip, normal grease or rubber grease if you have it or the stuff that came with the bushes dependent on whose you've bought, if you've bought the cheap ones keep and eye on them as they usually collapse faster than the standard rubber items (ask Nick Adams about Paddocks cheapo ones ).
Matthew

[bandiflip]

well....I removed the arms this morning,took them to work,washed em....pressed out the worn bushes (which more or less fell out with very little pressure) Cleaned and lubed the arms,lubed up the bushes,quick flick of the press again and HEY PRESTO !!....15 mins...job done!!!
just gotta wait for the rain to stop now so i can carry on !!