Subframe help
 

Can anyone help please,
I noticed there was a bit of play in the rear subframe of our S12 so i took off the caps and noticed that the rear subframe bushes have turned into dust!!!:eek:

They need replacing but please dont tell me i have to remove the whole of the rear subframe and get them into a press do I??
Can they be replaced with the subframe still on the car?
Thanks,
Ian.

Might be hard to get in there thats the only issue. I managed to fit solid ali ones in place on the car.

Do they have to be pressed in mate?

Typically yeah but I reckon they could be walloped in to place. Thats how I did mine

How did you get in there though, drop the subframe right down low?

Yeah

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...bframebush.jpg

Thanks for your help then mate, sorry for all the questions but how did you get the old bushes out with the frame like that?

Well I got the centre out quite easily and then used a hacksaw, hammer and some screwdrivers to butcher the outer sleeve

wooo I made that :D:D:D

Think i will have to have a go this way first before i pull the whole of the subframe out. Just think that they new ones will take a press to push them in though, those alloy ones may have been slightly smaller than the stock ones.

another way of doing it would be to get them made in halves in nylon or polyurethane. would be much easier to fit. probably best to fit a steel sleve in the centre too. rich has something like this done. he has a thread on suspension bushings on here somewhere

Thanks for your help, only way i can think of doing this effectively is to drop the subframe down a bit and get some heat on the casing to help make it a bit easier to fit them, i have already got a set of stock bushes to go back in.

I dropped my subframe as low as i could on the bolts and used a chisel between the subframe mount hole and the outer part of the bush to get the old bush out. To push in the new bush i used a long bolt and two 1/4 inch plates to pull in the bush. Might not be the correct method but it worked :)

Thanks for that mate, thats a very good idea which i think i will try.

they were made as an interference fit, they need hammering in

Yeah they need hammering in really firking hard