30 Year Old Junk

[79T/A]

So I've finally gotten the time and motivation to start stripping some parts for sandblasting. Nothing kills the motivation like 30 year old parts that just won't come apart! Does anyone have any tricks or know of any tools to remove the bushings from my A arms? I managed to get one out with a lot of brute force and a C clamp, but the rest have me stymied. Any ideas?

[WildBillyT]

Drill them out in an opposing star pattern and then mutilate them until they fall out.

[rscamaro73]

Burn them out or get them pressed out. Drilling is too aggravating for me. Tried that with some rear bushings. Never ever again.....

Harbor Freight sells the tools to do this....

[WildBillyT]

Burn them out or get them pressed out. Drilling is too aggravating for me. Tried that with some rear bushings. Never ever again.....

Harbor Freight sells the tools to do this....

Just don't breathe in the fumes or heat the control arm too much.

[79T/A]

Yeah, already tried buring; the fumes are just plain nauseating. Harbor Freight makes a tool for removing bushings? Could you please elaborate on that one? If you're talking about their "Universal Joint/Ball Joint" tool, I already broke one using it for its intended purpose. :mrgreen:

I'll be attempting to drill tonight. Still trying to figure out why I never thought to try that in the first place.

[WildBillyT]

Still trying to figure out why I never thought to try that in the first place.

Because it really sucks and can be very time consuming. LOL. But it has worked for me before.

[PolarBear]

A shop shouldnt charge too much f you bring the control arm bare. The shop down the street from me did it for free:mrgreen:

[rscamaro73]

A shop shouldnt charge too much f you bring the control arm bare. The shop down the street from me did it for free:mrgreen:

Location: down the street from Bonzo

Hmmm.....lul'z....

Yeah, I was going to say its the universal deal....but if you needed one ANYWAYS, then you can prolly get one of thier bench top presses.....and then just use some other parts/pieces/spacers to keep from crushing the arms up.

6 ton bench (short) - http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=1666

6 ton bench (tall) - http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=4711

12 ton floor model - http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=1667

That is, if you'd need it again....otherwise find a shop to do it.....:nod:

[79T/A]

rs73camaro, good call on the presses. Gonna look into that as I still need to hit up Harbor Freight for a new Universal Ball Joint tool.

WildBillyT, also a good call on drilling. I used a good sized bit to go through the rubber bushings and that loosened things up enough to push the sleeve out with a C clamp. The rest came out with a little bit of prying after that.

Now the next challenge: Removing the bushings on the top A arms, you know, the ones that have the rod running through them that bolts to the subframe? Will a shop remove those, too?

Thanks to everyone for all the help.

[PolarBear]

Hmmm.....lul'z....
:rofl:
HAHA, actually the place on Quakerbridge did them for my 3rd gen. They have done a bunch of stuff for free, break down tires/wheels and dispose of tires for free, that sort of stuff. I usually give the guy who did the work a nice tip when they do

[79T/A]

Well, a bottle of booze goes a long way. A buddy of mine pressed all of the bushings out for me, as well as two stubborn ball joints. My next question is this: How much would I expect to spend on getting the front subframe and the upper and lower A arms media blasted? I'm trying to do it myself, but my air compressor just doesn't put out enough CFMs to do the job. The blaster just keeps jamming. And a regular little siphon feed gun isn't cutting it either.

[PolarBear]

I dont know how far away from him you are but Paul @ RPM gave me a really reasonable quote for mine. I havent brought it there yet but I plan on it in the future.