Trailing arm bushes

[simon.williams]

Not in a tearing hurry but are these bushes easy to swap out with the arms still on the car? Will I need to make some kind of threaded bar to wind them out? Thank you.

[johnnydog]

To renew the bushes in situ, you still have to remove the bolts to the shackles and let the swinging arm drop. Then you have relatively restricted access to remove the bushes and insert the new ones.
For the extra effort to remove the swinging arms completely (drum off, drive shaft out, slacken brake pipe union securing nut to release the brake line, release the handbrake cable clevis pin at the back plate and then pull the back plate and whole brake assembly clear of the studs and then remove the swinging arm from the car), I'd be tempted to do the job on the bench. You don't need to interrupt the brake lines themselves either necessitating bleeding.
If you have problems removing the bushes, you'll have more room then to cut or burn them out.

[Alec]

Hello Simon,

if they are the original type rubber, they are very difficult to remove just by using threaded rod and washers etc. In the past I have had to burn them out.
If they have been changed for polyurethane then they come out easily using threaded rod.

Alec

[simon.williams]

Thanks both, arms off it is, but I’ll save that job for next year!

[Forkie]

Just noticed this thread. I removed my original rubber bushes successfully several years ago now using the threaded bar method but with the arms off the car, that was hard enough, could not imagine trying to do it ' in situ'. I THINK at the time i hacksawed through to remove the excess that sticks out PAST the tube of the arm on one side, it that makes sense, so when you start pulling it through there is nothing to gather up - just a straight through pull. I believe plenty of WD40 was used - other brands are avaiable , plus maybe a famous soapy stuff - basically anything to help lubricate it. No fires were set. Just patience, You may want to consider what i did - just jack the whole rear end up, release the lot, renew the lot. Its 40 + years old, chances are it will all need replacing. Far easier on the bench, than 12 inches from your forehead.