How bad did I F*** up?

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DentalDart

DentalDart

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So this press made light work of changing my lca bushing. New poly's pressed in but the second one went in kind of off angle and wonky taking some new bushing out the back end.

How bad did I mess up? I have my old poly bushings that actually look to be in good shape and I have some new stock type bushings too. Do I leave it as is or take it back out and put something else in its place that's not messed up?

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I probably got extras but would take forever to get there this time of year. Parts store should be able to get them quick.
 
Ok well until I find a new one and it comes in the "old one" will have to do, they are still stiff as new ones by hand feel. I'll have to give the friends at PST a call for a matching replacement

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4spdragtop said:
I probably got extras but would take forever to get there this time of year. Parts store should be able to get them quick.
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I have brand new extra normal bushings that pst sends in the polyurethane kit but only extra polyurethane ones were the ones already in the lcas
 
So, question. These were the bare poly bushings that just slide into to old outer bushing shell?

Because if that’s the case a press shouldn’t be necessary. Lots of poly bushing lube and they should just slide in. The fit should be tight, but a press shouldn’t be necessary. And I would absolutely replace that bushing with that much material removed.

I would also strongly recommend using greaseable LCA pins if you use that type of bushing. Poly bushings at the LCA do not operate the same way as the old rubber bushing, they must be greased because the bushing slides on the pin. If they aren’t, the friction from the bushing sliding on the pin will cause squeaking and premature wear.
 
When people are saying matched they are saying. If you have poly on one have poly on the other. If you have rubber on one have rubber on the other etc. If one of your poly went in good then you only need one replacement poly.

Any chance the material that came out was old material from the old bushings?
 
72bluNblu said:
So, question. These were the bare poly bushings that just slide into to old outer bushing shell?

Because if that’s the case a press shouldn’t be necessary. Lots of poly bushing lube and they should just slide in. The fit should be tight, but a press shouldn’t be necessary. And I would absolutely replace that bushing with that much material removed.

I would also strongly recommend using greaseable LCA pins if you use that type of bushing. Poly bushings at the LCA do not operate the same way as the old rubber bushing, they must be greased because the bushing slides on the pin. If they aren’t, the friction from the bushing sliding on the pin will cause squeaking and premature wear.
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I replaced it with an old one for now until I get a new one in. The polygraphite kit from PST just comes with the bare polygraphite shell for the LCA like my extras. Then it comes with rubber bushings that have the entire outer shell. Ordering the sway bar I also got like 4 sets of end links and drop links.
Most of the bushings have greasable nipples on them.

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Dana67Dart said:
When people are saying matched they are saying. If you have poly on one have poly on the other. If you have rubber on one have rubber on the other etc. If one of your poly went in good then you only need one replacement poly.

Any chance the material that came out was old material from the old bushings?
Click to expand...

Yea I understood the matching part and the material was definitely the new bushing, see above picture :rofl::BangHead:
 
DentalDart said:
I replaced it with an old one for now until I get a new one in. The polygraphite kit from PST just comes with the bare polygraphite shell for the LCA like my extras. Then it comes with rubber bushings that have the entire outer shell. Ordering the sway bar I also got like 4 sets of end links and drop links.
Most of the bushings have greasable nipples on them.

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The ball joints all have grease fittings, yeah. That’s the same no matter what. The bushings pictured do not. Poly end links are one thing, poly bushings at the LCA are another thing entirely.

I think poly LCA bushings are great. But you have to take into account they function differently than the stock bushings. I always install poly bushings with greaseable LCA pins, and I always use adjustable strut rods. The poly bushings slide on the pins, the rubber bushings do not. So the poly bushings must be greased. And because they slide on the pins they locate the LCA differently, which is where the adjustable strut rods come in.

If I was going to use stock LCA pins and strut rods, I would use OE style bushings. If you’re going to upgrade to poly, make it a successful upgrade and install greaseable pivot pins and adjustable strut rods. Otherwise you’re likely to become one of those guys on here that complains about how he tried poly bushings but they squeaked and fell apart. That’s not the bushings fault, that’s an improper installation.
 
DentalDart said:
I understood the matching part and the material was definitely the new bushing, see above picture
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I figured, but didn't want you paying for two when you only need one.

Are you going to reassemble the front end before the replacement poly comes in? Or give up on the poly?

By the way, I have been working on cars my whole life but you have taken on more projects then I have in the last 25 years. Way to go.
 
Dana67Dart said:
I figured, but didn't want you paying for two when you only need one.

Are you going to reassemble the front end before the replacement poly comes in? Or give up on the poly?
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Well I didnt get greasable pivot shafts or adj strut rods. When I called pst and messaged them here I was under the impression that I didnt need them. So I have my stock strut rods with new polygraphite bushings on that and stock pivot shafts.

So maybe I'll have to figure out how to get the old bushing shell out (which reading some of the threads can be a pain in the butt). The car has been taken apart for almost a month because I had finals and the end of the semester and now I just want it put back together so I can drive it all the time again. I replaced all of the suspension components, shocks, rear end and these were the last 2 bushings to install before I could tear the front end off the car and replace all the parts.

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DentalDart said:
So maybe I'll have to figure out how to get the old bushing shell out (which reading some of the threads can be a pain in the butt
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Don't be too hasty, if all you need is one bushing, I would call PST again and tell them what others are saying about greasable and adjustable and see what they say.

Merry Christmas to you and your family.
 
Call our customer service at extension 307 his name is Dan. Tell him James referred you. We will get you a replacement bushing shipped The oe bushings that we supply with the kit is if you had already remove the inner and out sleeves from you control arm and pin. To use the non greaseable poly bushing you need to either reuse your old sleeve or use the ones from the oe rubber bushing that we supply.

Thanks
James From
PST
 
Dana67Dart said:
Don't be too hasty, if all you need is one bushing, I would call PST again and tell them what others are saying about greasable and adjustable and see what they say.

Merry Christmas to you and your family.
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Thanks! Merry Christmas to you as well. It's a great time of the year to be spending either family.
 
PST said:
Call our customer service at extension 307 his name is Dan. Tell him James referred you. We will get you a replacement bushing shipped The oe bushings that we supply with the kit is if you had already remove the inner and out sleeves from you control arm and pin. To use the non greaseable poly bushing you need to either reuse your old sleeve or use the ones from the oe rubber bushing that we supply.

Thanks
James From
PST
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Thanks James, that is very kind of you and very much appreciated.

2 things people can learn here.
1- buy from FABO vendors because they will have your back with awesome customer service.
2. Don't be like Justin (me). Do things without breaking them the first time Haha.

Merry Christmas James!
 
DentalDart said:
2. Don't be like Justin (me). Do things without breaking them the first time Haha.

Merry Christmas James!
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as long as you're learning from the errors, you're good. if we had a forum for people that never screwed up a part, the post count would be zero.
 
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