2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Control Arm Bushings Q?

[Texis]

I just ordered some new control arm bushings for the 97 4x4. 400,000 is enough for any bushings! The truck has started bouncing on a hard stop, tires jump up and down, swapping sides. . ie drivers up, passengers side down and then reverse. I am assuming this is caused by the bushings, as they are pretty well wiped out.



Any tricks to changing these out? Vehicle on the ground, on a lift, floor jack?? Anything to watch out for? The bolts appear to be in really good condition, no rust, etc.



How long should this take? 2 hours? 4 hours? and>> is this a tough job, or just another afternoon with the air impact and wrenches?



Thanks for your inputs,

 

[Flinty]

Hose the bolts down with some kind of penetrating oil to ease dis-assembly. Mine looked good and I still broke two of them. You can only get them from Dodge, too. The control arms will have to be taken completely off and the old bushings pressed out with a bearing press or melted out with a cutting torch. If you can beat them out with a hammer I will call you sir from now on. What kind of replacements did you buy? When I decided to do the job I said the hell with it and just bought after market control arms with polyurethane bushings from DT Profab. The extra money was well worth the PIA of putting new bushings into old arms. Plus the arms from DT are greaseable. Impact wrench is a must. Luck... .

 

[Texis]

I bought the OEM type bushings from LMC. Didn't realize the old ones would be pressed in (Ouch) which means the new ones will have to be pressed in (ouch again)

It's tough beating that type stuff out, the elastomer just typically keeps absorbing the blows. This should be interesting. BTW LMC does have the bolts ($8 ea) and the cam bolts ($37 ea)

I considered just buying the entire arm + bushing at $300 for the set of 4, but went cheap at $100 for the bushings. . hope I don't regret that!

Thanks for your inputs

 

[HHhuntitall]

Just replaced a set on a 97 in my yard... . It wasn't bad. Truck was from Florida originally, then Alaska, and now back to Texas..... The bushings are tapered of course, but they popped right out like nothing when I found the right size pipe. I didn't even use the press to knock them out, but be careful, as the cheap ..... uh... . "things"... . will easily bend. You'll be disappointed when you see how easy they'll bend together. They're just one piece of sheet metal, bent over 180* and punched where the bushings go..... They can bend easily if you're not careful pressing them back in... . We just tapped them back in on this one, and they made a world of difference in how the truck drives. The owner was so happy she called me 20 minutes after she left and brought back her sister's truck, an '03 with tracking bar and steering box issues..... Glad I could help...

After looking at how their made years ago, I went to making my own or buying some tubing ones from Skyjacker..... http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sja-dll23/overview/year/1997/make/dodge/model/ram-2500

The Tuff Country replacements look promising, and are comparably priced to the Dorman OEM replacements: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/tfy-d3i-003/overview/year/1997/make/dodge/model/ram-2500

 

[Texis]

Maybe some wooden blocks inserted into the "U" section around the bushing area will help keep the OEM arm from collapsing??
I'll know in a few days when the parts show up at the house.

Thanks

 

[HHhuntitall]

We use some round bar stock I have or a specific prybar of the coincidental size. Wood might be better..... We're also careful to watch and make sure nothing is giving in the wrong places. Not hard, just pay attention. Also, look your bolts over for any wear. If they've been loose, they can wear down the shoulder that matches up in the bushing.

 

[Texis]

Knocked out the bushing project. Not as bad I had assume. Took around 4 hours. The way I did this worked out very well.

1) Use a knife to carve away the excess bushing material, to keep it from hanging up as the bushing is hammer out.
2) There are (4) tangs on each bushing sleeve. Use a punch or a chisel to knock the tangs down, allowing the bushing sleeve to pass through the connecting arm hole. (see picture for tang locations)
3) I used a 1" flapper wheel to prep the connecting arm hole before I hammered in the new bushings, removing any burrs, etc.
4) Added just a touch of grease to the new bushing sleeve to help it into the holes.

With the bushings shaved and the tangs knocked down, the bushing came right out of the arm with one or two pops from a 3 pond maul. Installing the new ones is a bit of blacksmithing. Once in, I used a large awl to square up the connecting arm, which is going to distort as you pound in the new bushings (use a 3" pipe for a backup)

No big deal, I wouldn't hesitate to do it again in another 400,000 miles. BTW, only one of my bushings was really messed up, the other 7 looked fine.

With new track bar and new connecting arms bushing, the truck drives great! I couldn't be happier for an afternoon of hammering and impact wrenchin.
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