We got the lower off and bushings out and gave up for the nite at 8 pm

Seems on best thing to do on upper is heat and press

On lower we heated the small bushing and it pressed out, big one we heated and let the rubber burn till the center pushed out then used an impact hammer with muffler cutter to cut/drive the outermost shell out, we just could not get that one to set in the press

I will try to do some pics on next corner this is rather frustrating, especially after breaking the ball joint

Btw, lr3 is rust free it sat from 2009 till I bought it last year and is originally from Florida


I have done this on a lot of vehicles , never had this much trouble, there must be a huge learning curve here, IMO this is for advanced level diy, we will see how the rest goes lol

 

I suppose you could call it 'advanced level DIY'; I'm not a professional auto mechanic by any means but I guess you could say I know which end of a wrench to hold.

Not sure why you're having such a hard time - I didn't encounter any real trouble on mine. I did lower A-arms on a friend's LR3 that same weekend (whole arm, not bushings) and that went fast as well with no fight.

I think there's east coast 'rust free', then there's CA/AZ/NM rust free. You said this was from FL originally - in my experience things from FL show no shortage of corrosion and rust. Salt air and high humidity may not be as bad as a Detroit winter, but they're not great either. That's the only thing I can think of that would cause such trouble.

Good luck with the rest of the job. I went to poly because I wheel my truck hard (I like to pretend it's a rock crawler) and wanted something that would hold up longer than the stock bushings. I also wanted to firm up the ride any way I could since the trucks are pretty soft to start with and when you add half a ton of armor and gear (or more) they only feel softer yet. I did notice a minor improvement in the on-road feel but not a huge amount. I also noticed that on washboard or other course surfaces it transmits more vibration into the cabin. I vibrated the screws right out of my sunglasses last summer! For a daily driver type rig, I don't think I'd recommend the polys. Not bad, but not worth the extra cost/effort for most people I'd say.

 

I am only doing poly so I hopefully don't have to do it again, I needed bushings in 3 lower a arms so cheaper than buying a arms plus if the stock wore out in 50 / 60 k , why would I put stock back in again

I would love to see how you jigged up the arms in the press

That front bolt on the drivers upper is a nitemare to get out and in

This would be rather fast if I was just swapping the arms cause like I said nothing is rusted so idk

 

Oh hell yes - I forgot just how bad that front upper bolt is. Heck, I just had those out a few weeks ago when I pulled the A-arms for inspection while installing the Proud Rhino bump spacer kit. The trick I've found is to remove the tin heat shields. That helps but it's still a bugger. I've also had to use an adjustable wrench to pry the mount open a bit so I could get the bushing in; not a lot, and it will pull back down as you tighten the bolt. Also be sure to pay attention to the orientation of the poly bushes - the stockers can go either way but the poly's only have the 'flange' or lip on one side. You don't want both bushing flanges facing the same way or you'll get metal on metal contact

I don't remember the exact way to juggle the arms into the press, only that it was a real PITA and a 3-man job (2 to hold everything and 1 to pump the press). And some were just impossible, so I cut those out.

I think you already found out installing the new bushings is pretty easy though. Since they don't need a lot of pressure to press in, I used my ball joint press and just pushed them in with it. I did put a little cable lube on to ease the way, mostly because I had it on hand. Anything would likely work as long as it won't attack the poly.

And yeah, I would generally recommend most people just get the arms w/bushings already installed. Much easier, and as I mentioned before the average guy probably won't get a lot of benefit from the poly so it's not worth the hassle/expense when doing the whole arm is relatively cheap and easy.

 

Well the lower arm is in, sort of, rain has ruined the day so far since I am on a dirt stone driveway

I did get the upper ball joint out, easiest I have ever done, found AC delco uppers on amazon $6 each free shipping with $35 order so since the lower had play I ordered all 4 ball joints for front came to $88? Free shipping, we will probly move to the rear arms while I wait on parts for the front


All the bushings push in from the outside ( lip orientation) grease arm and bushing, they push in with a little force, grease internal of bushing and spacer and it pushes in, grease ends of bushing and frame perch and the lower went right in, made sure to never sieze the bolts real good

 

everyone reading this knows there is a different grease for poly bushing

 

They came with no grease so I am using marine I have, kits ususaly come with that thick clear stuff, poly supposed to be unaffected by oil and grease

 

you will want to recheck that information they are effected by grease and oil.
I suggest you do a goggle search for polyurethane bushing grease.

Like every other bushing they need to be greased and a petroleum based grease will soften the bushing over time.
at least that is what Daystar said when i used their bushings

 

Energy Suspension Formula 5 Prelube

They are pushing their grease in particular, but in the video he says 'you could use any grease and it won't hurt the bushings, it just might not last as long' followed by 'marine grease would be the 2nd best choice' after their branded stuff.

 

When I did my arms I gave them (Bolts) a dousing of PB Blaster the day prior and again an hour or so before removing them. It's good reading the reviews on Poly's, I have them setting on a shelf waiting for me to install on the old arms. Been a bit reluctant since I use (Unpopular by most) EMU 2" coil overs.

For poly lubricant I'll use Almagard red stuff...