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Need some advice on front lower shock bushing installation
My front passenger air shock has a leak. My attempts to remove the leaking shock proved more challenging than expected. The sway bar link bolt was corroded and the lower shock mount had its bolt seized in the bushing. I used an impact, heat, long breaker bar with no effect. Finally cut off everything out. Drilled out the rubber on the bushing and smacked it out of there.
I do not think I can remove the lower control arm completely. I expect that the lower ball joint nut will be similarly corroded and given its proximity to the CV boot and the rubber part of the lower ball joint itself, I am concerned that I will cause more damage if I try to pull the entire lower control arm.
My question, is there a tool that I can use to press in the lower shock mount bushing while the lower control arm is still in the vehicle? I put the bushing in the freezer overnight and tried tapping it in to get it straight-no luck. Tried the generic C-clamp press from the local parts store-too small if I use the adapters.
Any insight would be appreciated. If there is not a choice and I have to attempt to remove the lower control arm, can the bushing just be pressed in or are there any adapters required? I just did the ball joints on a w126 and that needed an alignment tool to press the ball joint in straight. I was wondering if there is need for a similar tool for this job.
I will look through the linked thread. Thank you for that.
The bearing is #11 in the picture. Part # A-164-333-03-14.
I ordered a press tool for the 164 chassis on Amazon but I do not have high hopes that it will work on this bushing but it is worth a try before having to deal with more seized bolts if I have to drop the lower control arm.
I've had decent luck in the past with long bolts and metal pipes from home depot used as a press/drift. This thread shows the setup I used on my Volvo a couple years ago.
I have this bushing press kit at home which is what I used when I replaced the lower control arm bushings in the press last time. It really came in handy in a big way.
Just an update. I left the bushing in the freezer and was out of town for about a week. Got back to it yesterday. Tapped the bushing in as far as I could, adjusting to get it as straight as possible. Used the big c-clamp tool I purchased:
That got the bushing in about half way. I also had borrowed the similar tool from Autozone. That had a flatter adapter like the one by atraudes above. That got the bushing in almost all the way. There was about a centimeter left to get in. When I was removing the old shock, I had to cut the bottom part out so that I could access the bolt-to cut that out. I used that piece of metal to press in the last part of the bushing.
My buddy came over and helped me with this. Getting all the pieces lined up, keeping them lined up, and manually tightening takes a couple of people. I used grease as the lubricant. Motor oil would have worked too. I felt that going slowly using the ratchet was a better option that using the impact. Towards the end, the upper ball joint had to be reconnected since the entire assembly was moving up. Switched to a breaker bar for more leverage for the last couple of millimeter.
I still have to finish up the job but getting the bushing in was a major victory. The axle popped out when moving things around to get the new shock cleared over it. Hopefully that will just pop back in when I get back out to finish this up.
Thanks for all the advice and help. Nice to finally find a more active x164 forum.
08-15-2022, 09:49 AM
