IE RTAB install problem

[Boltspeedman]

I'm currently swapping out my rear subframe and rta bushings. Everything (mostly everything) was going smooth. Until I attempted to install the rtab. I'm using an AKG tool. The problem is I can't get the bushings to sit properly into the arms.

Wen installing I followed this procedure. http://www.akgmotorsport.com/rtabremove.html


Àny help would be very appreciated. I'm in a pinch!

Here's is the pic.

[enigmaticdream]

Did you lubricate it before installation?

[Boltspeedman]

Yes lots of the lubricant.

I've been reading that this is a "common" issue with IE RTABs? It starts to fold in on itself aswell with too much force from the tool.

Another question,
Is there a way to remove these with of tearing them up? I'm considering AKG...

[jlevie]

Been there, done that and not just with IE bushings. My solution was to lube the bushings with liquid soap and press them in. Wait a few days for the soap to dry (heat helps). Then lube the sleeves with synthetic grease and press them in. The dried soap helps to prevent the bushings from moving under the force of the sleeve being pressed in.

[Boltspeedman]

Thanks. I think that will work.

Any thoughts on how to remove this one for reinstall? Without damaging the bushing?

[jlevie]

Press out the sleeve. Then the bushings will come out pretty easily.

[Boltspeedman]

^Got it done! Thanks a lot for the help.

I made a makeshift press out of a copper pipe and a threaded rod and the sleeves came out pretty easy.

[mccor023]

I posted a similar thread not too long ago. I felt like an arse afterward because I was installing half a bushing with the sleeve in and then trying to get the other bushing in. That was not working, once I realized to press in the bushings and then the sleeve everything was super easy.

[Boltspeedman]

^ I totally know what you mean, I did the same thing. Made it harder than it had to be. Feel incompetent now..

In our defense, apparently that's how AKG RTABs are installed..?

[mr2peak]

On my previous car I used a rubber mallet and whacked the bushings in. One side on the pavement, Jeremy Clarkson's tool on the other. Presto, no problems.