LCA Bushing Sleeve Out of Round

Hey all!! Looking for some help again. I used a bottle jack to press out the bushing in my lca. I guess I wasn’t thinking and paying close enough attention and the bushing pressed out crooked. Now in addition to the arm being widened a bit (I have a shop press I should have used and can squeeze it back together), the sleeve for the bushing is a little oblong and out of round. Plus a little gacked inside. Has anyone had any experience with something similar? Or is this bad enough that I can’t bash it back together with a sledge and maybe use a little silicone in the gap? Thanks!

 

Seems like a good opportunity to change out the whole LCA. Probably not the end of the world, but especially with the arms spread there’s a good chance it won’t hold an alignment very well. Plastic deformation in a critical suspension component isn’t great either.

If you use a bottle jack to press out the LCA bushings (which I don’t recommend, especially if you have a shop press available), the best practice is to use a ratchet strap to keep the arms from spreading. Again, still not a good way to do it.

 

Yeah, I guess I was hoping to not have to pay for a new one, plus the wait for it. But the alignment issues are a great point.

The shop press definitely would have been better. I didn’t have it when I did the other side, but it worked out ok so I did it again without thinking about how I have better tools now. Plus as an extra kicker, the bottle jack from my truck I was using

 

That's strange. I've used the bottle jack method 3-4 times without ratchet straps and never had that issue. But I agree new LCAs is the best way forward now