Stupid YouTube! LCA Bushings

Just a mini rant....

Sometimes I hate YT when it comes to DIY. I never used to search YT first before I worked on cars, well cause it didn't exist back then, I just went at it & started working, was always fine.

Got new tires last week. I know my LCA bushings needed to be replaced, went for alignment & they couldn't, they're really bad now. Again I knew I had to replace em eventually, I bought new bushings and spare LCAs years ago.

So I watched a few YT videos on getting the old bushings out. Many struggled but a few didn't. Bottle jack, some using ratchet straps to prevent bending, some torching to the point the OEM bushings melt, some bushings go flying, some resorting to having to cut the sleeve out.

All that made me procrastinate. One thing I always forget, I live in SoCal not the rust belt & so has my truck for all it's life. Rust here ain't real rust, it's just surface rust.
Edit: Well I don't know the history of the truck these spare LCAs came off of but I did buy them from a local TW member.

Yesterday I finally went at it. Got prepared, set up a piece of plywood in case they went flying, yada yada. They all came out with ease with only a little heat. Only one actually popped off but it didn't even hit the plywood.

All that worrying for nothing all because I watched YT first!





Now I'm just waiting for paint to dry & will put the new bushings in tomorrow. Hopelly one of these days will be a little cooler so I can finally put them on the truck. I better not watch YT first!

 

Haha, you got me. Thought this was gonna end in tragedy. Glad everything worked out.

 

Haha, thanks. So did I before I started on them!

 

So I am about to redo all my front suspension. I have new LCAs. But after seeing this I feel like maybe I should have just got new bushings and saved a few bucks.

 

I too was just going to buy new LCAs to make the install quicker & easier. But then I read conficting reviews. Some saying the bushings only lasted a year, some said much longer, those were Moogs I think. I was gonna get the Mevotechs from RockAuto. Then I eventually changed my mind & wanted to go with aftermarket bushings cause they should last longer(?). I choose the Whitelines over Energy Suspension. Hope I made the right choice.

 

My new LCAs are moogs. I could get energy suspension bushings instead and see who lasts the longest. But we’d probably forget until 20 yrs later and the whole things moot. I’m sure this is the first time in its life these bushings were ever considered being replaced.

 

Yeah true that. Mine is 21 yrs old with over 270K mi now & has been my daily driver, this is the 1st time I'm replacing them.

I didn't go with ES bushings cause I didn't like that you need to burn the old bushings out cause the ES bushings installs in the OEM bushing sleeves. Plus I've installed a fair amount of poly bushings when I worked at a shop. They like to squeak if you don't grease them regularly. I hope these Whitelines don't squeak over time.

 

Consider yourself lucky! I bought LCAs from a member one here from South CA to try and prevent rust issues. I was not as lucky as you... eventually had to crack out the cutting torch and just nix the metal sleeve after burning the rubber out. Not a fun time lol

 

Oh man, ok, I'll accept that luck was on my side!

Yeah, stuff like that is exactly what I didn't want to go through with, not during the actual install on my truck. That's why I bought the spare set of LCAs just in case I did have to go through with something like that.

 

Oh I forgot to add, not sure if helped but I sprayed them with penetrating fluid the day before.

Normally I would use Kroil for stuff like this. But the price of Kroil is outrageous now & you can't buy directly from Kano anymore with their BOGO deal. So I've been looking for an alternative & I think I found it. Still have 3/4 left in my last can of Kroil so I'm gonna use it sparingly cause I ain't paying $30 for a can of it.

CRC Knock'er Loose, reminds me of Kroil, the smell & the color is more of an orange red than Kroil looking like ATF. Also trying another one, KW Knock'er Loose. KW is a CRC brand, the KW is cheaper (you get more for the same price, both $10ea) but the liquid color is clear, slightly amberish. So far I like the CRC stuff better.

The left LCA I used CRC, the right I used KW. I won't use my results as definitive info but again the side I used CRC on the bushings came out much easier. I don't know if the penetrating oil actually helped here. They didn't start moving until I applied the heat.

(They don't come with the WD-40 smart straws, I modify them to fit.)

 

My oem bushing removal worked pretty much like yours, not much heat, and both came out without too much drama, although one did shoot about 15 feet through the air.

My adventure was with the Whiteline bushing install. I could get them within about 3/8 inch of all the way in, but nothing I tried would get them in the rest of the way. I had to take the LCAs to a shop and have them pressed in. I hope your experience goes better!

 

Oh man, I didn't expect that. The Whitelines I have only need press fit at the very end. It slips through easily until the line I marked below.

What surprised me is the OEM bushings seem to be like that too. Except when pressing them out mine didn't slide out freely after the enlarged area was exposed. A bunch of gunk & rust was built up.

Thanks for the heads up, I'm gonna try to put em in tomorrow. I'm planning to use my arbor press, I don't have a hydraulic press.

 

Mine would go that far, and a bit more, but no more with the bench vise I was using, unlike the YouTube video I watched. Like I said, good luck. I didn't hear any other tales of issues like mine, so I think it was an aberration in my case, and I think you'll be fine. Let us know how it goes.

 

Ah I see, ok, I'll report back tomorrow on what happens. Damn, maybe I should have masked off the bores before painting. I only have a small 5" bench vise so I don't think it'll work. Thanks.

 

I had to look up what an arbor press is - if I'd had that, I think I could have done it myself!

 

The thing on the left is what I'm gonna try using. I hope it works.

(Don't mind the photo shoot stance, was a pic I used to show something else)

 

I’ve just been using strait ATF all over my truck and it hasn’t let me down yet.

 

They went in fine, pretty easily too. I coated them with blue moly anti-seize for the heck of it.

 

Nice! Congratulations.

 

I would not use anti-seize there. Those whiteline's aren't pressed in very tight, and you don't want the whole bushing rotating in the arm.


Also, if you're worried about the poly bushings squeaking, drill a hole through the arm and bushing and tap for a grease zerk.