Rear Control Arm Bush Replacement

Welcome to the first in a series of general maintenance and upgrade reports undertaken by the Classic and American.com team.

Whilst they might not be exactly the same as you would experience on your ride, they should prove to be a useful guide in things to look out for and whether some of the upgrades are all they are cracked up to be.

This report looks at replacing the rear control arm bushes on a Torino. At the last MOT they were an advisory item and so whilst changing them I decided to change from rubber to Polyurethane. One essential tool to complete this job is a hydraulic press, unless of course you are replacing the whole arm with bushes pre-installed.

NOTE: Always use a suitable jack rated for lifting the weight of the vehicle. Never proceed with removing road wheels or carrying out any work on the vehicle without ensuring the vehicle is properly supported on axle stands rated to take the weight of the vehicle.

On first inspection following removal of the wheels the bushes were decidedly tired, but then so was the appearance of the springs, shocks and axle etc (although this was only cosmetic). As such I decide that rather then just replace the bushes it would be best to strip the suspension out completely, re-painting where necessary before re-assembly. This would also provide the opportunity to underseal the underbody above the rear axle, an area that hadn’t been done previously.

By removing the shocks first it allowed sufficient travel for the rear axle to be dropped and relieve the pressure on the rear springs. The springs and spring mounts could then be removed. Needless to say this should be done with great care as there is a great deal of energy stored in the springs when under tension. If you are in anyway unsure on whether there is sufficient axle travel to remove the springs safely use a spring compressor to assist this operation.

NOTE: Keep an eye on handbrake cables and the flexible brake hose when lowering the axle to ensure they do not get caught, stretched or put under any undue stress.

Unless you are planning to completely remove the rear axle (involving disconnecting propshaft, hoses etc) I feel it is always best to work from this point in stages. In other words focus on one side at a time and start with the upper arm, only removing the lower arm when all associated work to the upper arm has been completed and the upper arm back in place. This will assist re-assembly as the axle alignment won’t have been too disturbed.

Before removing the old bushes I checked through the new kit to ensure they all matched up and that I was comfortable with which bush went where. I would always advise you to do this because if the bushes are wrong you may have to wait for replacements and provided the old bushes are still intact in the arms you could re-assemble should you want to.

In my case the kit required me to re-use the outer shells from the old bushes for the top arms. This was something I hadn’t anticipated and also meant additional work – I’m glad I checked this point before no doubt destroying them in the removal process!

The majority of bushes will have an enlarged diameter sleeve on one side which would have been used to ensure the correct position when the bush was originally installed. I find the best way to do this is to select a socket that is just under the size of the narrower side of the outer sleeve of the old bush. Then using the hydraulic press drive the socket through the old bush, pushing in the same direction as would have been used to install it. This way it should remain in the correct position in the arm and only require a minimal amount of cleaning up following the removal of the rubber.

If you were to work in the same direction as removing the sleeve it is possible that the sleeve will start to move free of the arm before the rubber has been driven out. Without the bush structure to support it you may damage the sleeve trying to drive it back into position.

With the bulk of the rubber removed there was only 1-2mm left to clear away from the inside of the sleeve. Once done the sleeve was ready to receive the new poly bush, but before this I cleaned up the arm and painted it using a stone chip guard. Whilst you could use a standard paint, I find this provides a flexible superior finish that can be over painted should you wish and of course is resistant to impact damage.

Whilst this was drying I used the time to clean up and protect the rear spring / shock mounts as well as the axle. Another job to be tackled at a later date will be the pinion oil seal which is weeping slightly.

I will also be replacing the springs and shock at a later date (I feel the need to go lower!), but for now they also received a rub down and a coat of paint prior to re-assembly.

With all the required parts refurbished or replaced it was simple a question of re-assembly. This was started by locating the spring and spring support and raising the rear axle up closer to its natural position. The upper arm could then be re-fitted and finally the shock absorber. Before tightening everything up you should ensure the axle is sitting in its normal running position.

NOTE: If you tighten all the bolts with the suspension hanging down it will mean that the bushes are placed under load constantly instead of only when eternal forces act upon them – this will lead to premature wear.

With all the upper work complete the lower arms could be removed and refurbished and the whole process could be completed on the other side. To complete the work to this level you should set aside a few days. It’s not the replacing of the bushes that takes the time but the cleaning up and waiting for the paint to dry.

I hope this first technical topic proves useful – look out for more coming soon!