bushings

General discussion forum about the 240sx, and a great place to introduce yourself to the board!
TurboKA37
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im in the middle of installing my suspension stuff and i have a whole bunch of whiteline bushings. how difficult are they to install? they didnt come with too much of a installation guide so im basically going off my FSM. who has installed their own bushings and how difficult was it?


180fan
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go to a machinist to get them pressed in.

TurboKA37
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so i need to take off all the parts that are having bushings put in and take it to a machinist with the bushings? any other way?

Dr. Evil
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You could take the entire car to a shop and have them remove and replace the bushings. Otherwise, pressing bushings out is definately NOT a DIY without a hyrdaulic press. I've heard of people using a vice, or even a c-clamp, but remember, you have to get an alignment if you replace some of the bushings. Which bushings are you planning on replacing?

TurboKA37
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rear upper and lower control arm bushings. rear subframe bushings, front lower control arm bushings. im asking right now cause i have the struts/springs off right now cause im installing my AGX's and whiteline springs and figured id save a shop time and me money by taking the parts off while i have the wheels and struts off my car.

TurboKA37
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how much would an average shop charge to get all those bushings put on? right now im ready to put my new spring/strut combo on. so i should just put on my new springs and sway bars then take it to a shop later on and have them have to take everything apart again to put the bushings on?

Wakkolio
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You can do it all yourself. I have called a shop to press them out and they quoted me $15 each. Instead i did it my self with a propane torch to burn out the rubber. Then i used a hack saw to hack cut a line on the inner metal sleeve. Then i used a chisel and hammer to get the inner sleeve out. about 15 mins each bushing.

TurboKA37
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well the whiteline bushings i got came with the inner sleeves. did u take the arms off the car when u did this? and it took you 15 minutes total to take out and replace each bushing?

TurboKA37
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bump* im interested in the propane torch idea how exactly did that work? u just heated the stock bushings until they came loose from the metal then u forced them out?

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Hijacker
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the torch works for removal. you burn the old silicon and rubber out (not advisable since you'd be breathing the fumes in), then you cut the inner sleeve out. There is no heating to loosen. You actually melt the rubber out.

Then you'd still have to take the part to a shop and have them press the new bushings in. I had some Nismo TC bushings installed, and it took over 4 tons of force to push them into the rod. Also, make sure they lubricate the bushing first. We forgot to do that on the first bushing and 3/4 the way in, the inner sleeve warped and compressed. We had to back it out and hammer it back into shape before it would slide back in.

Do yourself a favor and just take it to a shop. Even though my friend pushed them in, his boss still charged me for the work. Came out to 13 dollars for both bushings. That rate WILL change depending on the shop

flyfishz
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I think I saw a thread here somewhere that explained how to do this ... It actually sounded faily straight forward... $15 sounds pretty straightforward also...

Wakkolio
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To press the new bushings in i used a jack, 2x4 and the 240. I put the 2x4 on top of the jack, then placed which ever part that need to be press into on top of that. I then put the bushing on top of the bushing housing and then jacked up the jack to the frame of my 240. It goes right in :D Of course don't forget to lube the housing and the bushing.

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S14 Wannabe
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Yup I did a small write up awhile back do a search cause I'm to lazy to find it myself. All I did was use a hammer and a flathead screw driver to take out the old bushing and the inner sleeve. Then I used a vice and lube to put in the new bushing. Took me all day though because I did almost every bushing I had. The only thing I need are the rear upper and lower control arm bushings and the rear subframe bushings. I even replaced the sway bar bushings front and rear... blah... don't pay to have them put in unless you're too pressed (no pun intended) for time to get your car up and running. Otherwise it's a perfect time to spend quality time with your girl/car.

TurboKA37
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thanks for all the replies guys. im gonna try and do this myself cause i have plenty of time to work on it. ill have to search for your write up.


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