I am trying to replace the lower control arms on my '90 Jetta and can't get the rear bushing sleeve to budge. Is there a trick for getting that thing out aside from using a punch or chisel and bashing the crap out of it?
good news... if you got the solid tt bushings.. id in no way install those with cutouts as they no longer last more then a year.. that does not fit... so destroy away.. i take a screw driver.. and try to curl it in on its self.. then needle nose pliers to get it out..
Hey thanks pal. Much appreciated.
I have put the arm in a vice and hit it once real good with a BFH. If there is any straggling rubber I just grab it and pull real hard.
yea... but he talking about the steel shim they used on mk2 between the bolt and bushing... i was dumb enough to try to fit NEW ONES on a car with tt bushings.. they no fit.. and it made my pants happy too as i no longer gotta deal with them shims...
Oh, that deal. I didn't understand what he was talking. That I just throw away and get the TT style that doesn't need it. The bushing itself I knock the center out, hit the outside ring with a punch to cave it in to the center, and then pull it out or hit it with the hammer.
If you have an air chisel the job is much faster, but I could probably have it out in less than 2 minutes with the hammer method
I finished the job a while back but figger I should update. I wound up crumpling in the first one with a narrow screwdriver which was fidgety but worked fine. The second one I just used a longish pry-bar and pried the whole works out without bothering to collapse the sleeve. That was much faster.
The car tracked much better with the new control arms etc, but what has made the biggest difference is the strut tower brace. It holds the camber and has made the car much looser which is ideal. It always had terrific under-steer which is now completely gone. I used to have to yard on the e-brake to keep from ploughing straight through turns on dirt but now it will eagerly dive into a turn and with a quick flick of the e-brake I can get the back end to pop out in a much more controlled fashion. On asphalt it is also much more responsive and feels like it actually enjoys turning now.