For the poly type. Is there a guide out there?
take control arm off.
press out old bushings.
grease poly bushing and press in
reinstall control arm and take it for a ride
Bench vise or shop press.
a shop press is the easiest. or you can just hack the hell outta them till they fall out
same go for tranny mounts?
any alignment needed after control arm bushings?
^^^ why? its like $50. whats the issue?
I'm tired of wasting my time... now I'm breakin' free.
This how to may help you with how to do it.
It's quite easy and all you need are simple hand tools and a bench vice.
Good luck with it.
Misnblu.com
Newbie member since 1999
Thank you Dave and JBO! 
well i had an extra control arm that i got to practice on and i removed both bushings with little trouble. my only real concern now is installing the control arms back on the vehicle without air tools.
i know people on this forum have said they've done the job at home successfully, but i've also read some sad stories of people having major trouble.
when putting ball joints back in the knuckle, is it good enough to just tighten the castle nut to the point where i can see the hole for the cotter pin?
other than the inexperience with the ball joints, i think everything else will go smoothly. i'll be doing this job this upcoming weekend. i'll post my results...
If you're not sure on the ball joints, get the Haynes manual or the Chiltons manual for some torque specs.
Besides, any mechanic is going to have a service manual because I don't care how good you can use tools, the books come in handy.
And when I installed my control arms, everything was done by hand and with no air tools.
Now that I've a huge compressor with a sh*t load of air tools, I still do pretty much everything by hand.
Anyway, good luck with your work man. Some pics when you're done with it.
Misnblu.com
Newbie member since 1999
Thank you Dave and JBO!
Misnblu wrote:If you're not sure on the ball joints, get the Haynes manual or the Chiltons manual for some torque specs.
Besides, any mechanic is going to have a service manual because I don't care how good you can use tools, the books come in handy.
And when I installed my control arms, everything was done by hand and with no air tools.
Now that I've a huge compressor with a sh*t load of air tools, I still do pretty much everything by hand.
Anyway, good luck with your work man. Some pics when you're done with it.
AWESOME SITE! Really helpful!
i got the GM manual for 2003. I have a 2005 but same thing... ill post my progress when i'm done.
i got a little crazy at the parts store and bought 2 $16 balljoints. i know they are probably crappy re-manufactured but i figured i could use them as practice ones, before getting the moog ones.
How much fun was taking out those rivets? i have a grinder. What do you all suggest?
ait chizel is the easies way
JBO since July 30, 2001
that's wat i've heard, but i have no air compressor at home. maybe i'll just take the arms to a shop to remove the rivets. i think that's my best bet
Just drill your holes first with a starter hole and then use a bigger drill bit to drill out the rivets.
Use a punch to set your drill point as that's kind of critical to center your hole to make it easier to remove and center your holes.
That's the way I did it and it worked out great.
Here's an example of what I'm talking about.
Misnblu.com
Newbie member since 1999
Thank you Dave and JBO!
I C.
Thanks for the pic, I'll try to do them myself. I always have the option of going to a shop to get em out if i can't. no hurt in trying.
I just really hope this works, because once i get the rivets out once, it's home free for ball joint changes in the future.
You think the moog ball joints are worth the $80Cdn?
Is there anything better than moog? My friend got adjustable ball joints on his acura RL, and he says he there are great.
Moog is about the best out there for our cars. They're built much better with better grade of materials.
The only thing better would be heim joints but that's another thread.
So go get out there and get it done. If I can do it with simple hand tools, you can too.
Misnblu.com
Newbie member since 1999
Thank you Dave and JBO!
Misnblu wrote:Moog is about the best out there for our cars. They're built much better with better grade of materials.
The only thing better would be heim joints but that's another thread.
So go get out there and get it done. If I can do it with simple hand tools, you can too.
Will do... This will be my biggest project at home so far, so i'm putting aside an entire weekend for it.
I'm also putting aside a bomb 1/2oz!!
I will def. post my results, thanks again for all the help!!!
