has anyone out there ever attempted to change the bushings on a set of front leaf springs? im putting a leveling kit on my truck and got an extra set of springs from a buddy and the bushings need replaced. i got new polyurethane ones that are easy to install but the original rubber ones are a bitch to get out. any suggestions? do they have to be pressed out?

 

I have not personally done a set yet. many take a chisel and hammer it into the eye of the spring to spread it apart then pound out the old bushing. some use a torch to heat the inner bushing till it comes out then use a drill bit to route out the rubber. some have used a ball joint press or even taken the spring out and put it in a press to get them out. many options depending on the tools you have on hand.

 

Burn 'em out son! I added a new set of leaf packs to my truck this last summer and i repleaced the factory bushing with the urethane replacements. I burned 'em out with the torch, cleaned up the leaf eyes and let 'em cool down. then threw in the new urethane bushings and threw 'em on the truck. Worked really nice and i could tell a diffrence from the old springs.

Cowboy Steve

 

i did my front bushings about a month ago. search "front leaf spring bushing" under my name, i gave a brief rundown of what i did, dont think it's under the 94.5-97 psd section though so search all of em. torch, hammer, multiple sizes of punches and sockets to beat on. pretty easy with a torch and a vise.

tim, i like that idea of a chisel to spread with, would help a lot, but does the eye go back to shape afterwards

 

Not a good idea to bend up those eyes on the leafs. Had a buddy do that and he lost an axle, steering linkage, etc., they arent made to be spread and closed down like that. I dont recommend doing it that way.

Cowboy Steve

 

Never done it heard other doing it. I would guess they don't need to be spread very far to get them out.

 

Just enought to relieve pressure off the bushing right? you wouldn't think it would matter and maybe it dosnt but it happened to a buddys rig. Might have been a fluke.

Cowboy Steve

 

I don't like to use torches on the metal if I can avoid it, plus if you don't have a torch, well, then your hosed. I typically use a drill and drill holes in the rubber part of the bushing. Use as big of a bit as will fit and have a couple spares because if you loose control you might snap the bit. drilling holes in the rubber will loosen the grip on the center sleeve and once you get enough rubber out, then you can pop out the inner sleeve, then finish removing the rubber, then take a hammer and chisel to the outer sleeve. OR

Method two is get one of the rental ball joint presses from autozone and use the sleeve in it to make a puller. Put a sleeve with the cap on one side and run a piece of threaded rod through the center of the bushing and the cap. Put a washer with a nut on both ends of the threaded rod and tighten till you are blue in the face. You will slowly but surely draw the bushing into the cap from the press and eventually it will just pop out. Installation is the same in reverse.

 

Seems to me, if you've drilled a hole in the rubber already, you should be able to use a jigsaw, sawzall, or something similar, with a long blade and cut out the rest of the rubber, rather than drilling.

 

Not exactly........... to give an example. If you hit the rubber with a 1/2 inch bit and go all the way through you will at best wind up with a 1/8th inch hole. The rubber is highly compressed (also super dense) and it is difficult to get it all out, it is not like drilling in wood. The best way is to work your way around the perimiter of the the bushing to remove the pressure so that you can tap the center sleeve out. Once the center sleeve is out, then yes, you can also use a sawzall to remove the remainder of the rubber. You can even use the sawsall to weaken the wall of the outer metal sleeve. The reason that I did not reccommend that option was that it is VERY important not to overcut when you cut the outer sleeve. If you have a gentle touch, it is possible to put partially through the metal, then use a chisel to pop it the rest of the way free and tear the metal along the cut kinda like using a can opener. The first time I used this method, i overcut and left a big old cut mark in the opening in the center bushing hole on a traction beam for a 2x4. On a leaf spring, an excessively deep cut could weaken the eylet and lead to catostophic failure. I now use the second method almost exclusivly for both traction beam bushings and leaf spring bushings. Once you get your jig set up you can use an impact wrench to pop them on and off lickety split, with no damage to the vehicle.

 

yeah, without the torch, that sounds good.

 

I still like my burn 'em out method Mike, but like you said, if you dont have a torch your hosed. So for the novice and ill-equiped, the drill bit or ball joint press is the way to go.

Cowboy Steve

 

Burning th rubber out is not really a good idea, heat can change the properties of the spring steel your spring is made of and can make it more brittle. I've seen these failures first hand on highway trucks.

 

an easy way to get the bushing out is to use a broken drill bit and work it around the inner sleeve. this will chew up the rubber and make it easier to knock the inner sleeve out and the rest of the rubber out. then cut the outer sleeve with a sawsall and pry it out.