Subframe bushing removal

[twright]

That was a good video. Unfortunately, his method isn't very easy. I'll bet it took him forever to do that.

[finnmole]

I like his videos a lot but that wouldn't of worked on mine on one side.
It is a lot of work to drop the exhaust, drive shaft etc. I ended up removing the half shafts and then the diff but i needed to replace the splitter for the rear brakes and the short brake lines up high.
No way to get at those or the trailing arm bushings either.

BTW, that differential weighs a ton

[twright]

Maybe a better way of doing this is a combination of methods: Loosen the bushings from the frame by threading a lag bolt into the bushing from below and then beating on it from above. Once the subframe is loose from the frame, it would be real easy to use his method to pull the bushings out without dropping the subframe.

[roguetoaster]

It seems that constant force, rather than impact is what's normally needed to free a bushing.

[E30SPDFRK]

Heat the subframe around the bushing before using the extractor tools. Not too much, just until you see the bushing start smoking. It breaks the bond between the rubber outside of the bushing and the subframe enough that they usually just slide out like nothing, but not too much to where you're left with a bunch of sticky melted rubber inside the subframe.

[jeffnhiscars]

I think there are pics in my build thread but from memory, I used a combination of a puller with the ears ground shorter and threaded rod. I preloaded the bearing then gently heated the outer case of the subframe and the bushing just kind of slithered out :)

[mlytle]

dozens of threads on ways to do this...... it just ain't that hard, or toxic.



it is also easier to drop the entire subframe as one unit than take it apart.

[twright]

Can you drop the whole subframe while on jackstands? Or does it take a lift and and a transmission jack?

[Vincenze]

Can you drop the whole subframe while on jackstands? Or does it take a lift and and a transmission jack?

It's super dangerous with all components installed like in the photo above.

The differential weighs a ton, and it can be unmounted independently.
The brake rotors are also heavy.

[twright]

It's super dangerous with all components installed like in the photo above.

The differential weighs a ton, and it can be unmounted independently.
The brake rotors are also heavy.

If you're pulling the whole thing together, do you have to remove the driveshaft first?

[roguetoaster]

Yes, the DS will likely foul on the subframe when you lower the assembly. Also, removing it in one piece can be a bit violent, but not really dangerous since most of us put a jack or something similar in place while we remove the nuts from the studs. Normally the assy does fall over, so some wood or a couple of pallets can be helpful to prevent damage.

I never seem to be able to remove the e brake lines from the tubes, so I typically have to remove the cables from the TAs, which is a hassle.

[McGyver]

Can you drop the whole subframe while on jackstands? Or does it take a lift and and a transmission jack?

Removing/installing as a single unit is by far the easiest way to do it for me (since I always struggle with the diff bolts to reinstall the diff). Once everything is disconnected and it's just held in by the diff bushing bolt and two subframe bolts, support the weight using a jack under the diff. Remove the diff bushing bolt. Slowly undo the subframe bushing bolts, leaving the nut on a few threads. Pry on the bushings until they release from the car.

Once everything is loose, then slowly undo the last nuts and slowly lower the jack. The key is to be careful and adjust as needed, don't pry on stuff with everything disconnected or it's going to come apart violently.

[318ti808]

Amazon Metric set Shankly Bushing Removal Tool, Bushing Driver Set, 50 Piece Seal Drive Set $72 With hydraulic press Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[twright]

Amazon Metric set Shankly Bushing Removal Tool, Bushing Driver Set, 50 Piece Seal Drive Set $72 With hydraulic press Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Don't you need some sort of receiver on the other side of the subframe for this tool to work?

[318ti808]

I take it off the car to use a 20 ton press Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk