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I have a pair of front LCAs with all the bushings already removed and a full set of new, OEM mazda bushings waiting to go in. I have access to a press, but it's a 3 hour round trip. i was thinking of renting some bushing press tools from the local advance auto to see if those might work:
Any other tips on how to press in front LCA bushings... without a press?
thanks in advance.
PS... i looked in the DIY section and didn't find any write-ups.
UPDATE, TL; DR: those tools will be able to get the job done, in conjunction with a 2-3# sledge hammer. and some grease / anti-seize / other lubricant..
- the easiest bushing is the front "camber" bushing. I don't know why, but it went in easily. i started it by sledge hammering fairly carefully in a criss cross pattern just to get it started in the control arm. with all of the adapter cups and arbors you need to us, if you're also trying to get the bushing started at a straight angle, it's nearly impossible. Getting it started with a decent alignment with the sledge makes it much easier. That bushing also has a big metal surface against which to press, and it requires less pressure, so those are pretty easy. i used pieces primarily (exclusively?) from the larger tool kit.
- the rear "caster" bushing isn't too bad, although you need somewhat deep cups on both sides to clear the center metal section. It's large diameter so the force is pretty decent. you also have to be careful to align it the same way as the original, as Mark's reference in the FSM indicates. The elongated hole in the center metal sleeve should face fore/aft to allow the caster bolt to do it's job. i used pieces primarily (exclusively?) from the larger tool kit.
- the damper bushing is actually a PITA because it's a tight sleeve and one of the pressure surfaces is heavily contoured. i actually started with those and was afraid this was going to be a no-go. The smaller of those two tools worked pretty well for this, maybe with a piece from the larger kit.
Overall, it only took about 1.5 hours to press in all six bushings. in all cases, being able to just get them started and straight with a sledge will help the initial pressing. pressing OUT the OEMs is likely to require a press... they're likely to be fairly well seized in there. at least with this i was able to lubricate the metal sleeves to help them slide in.
hope this is helpful, or at least gives folks confidence if they only need to replace a bushing or two. if i didn't already have OEM arms without bushings installed, there's NO WAY i'd attempt this. The price difference between all six bushings and two new compelte controls arms through mazdaspeed is only ~$140. But since i had bare arms, i figured i'd give this a try. $140 saved for ~1.5 hours of labor ended up working out okay.
Last edited by hufflepuff; 02-11-2021 at 05:57 AM.
I don't see why you couldn't get them in with those loaner tools. There is video on youtube for miata and they are using same tools for both LCA and UCA.
I need to get those whiteline offset bushing into my UCAs so if you want we can do it together?
never gave it a 2nd thought myself, but I only used a bench vise to both remove and seat the metal ball joint bushings in the spindle rather than a hydraulic press.
A common procedure is to use threaded high strength rod with nuts and appropriately sized pucks/cups/sockets to get them in/out rather than a hydraulic press. I also have a custom version of the Speedsource bushings in UCA and that’s how their directions showed to do it. Some may require cutting off part of the bushing flange with a hacksaw/cutting wheel/etc to be able to press against the arm material fully to push it out.
Edut: the service manual calls out similar Mazda specific tools for pressing them out after cutting off some of the bushing flange and then using a bench vise to press-insert some of the replacements and hydraulic pressing others depending on position and access. Hopefully there won’t be any issue swapping out the others for me.
in the rear though, some of them are bonded rather than pressed and then the process is a bit different if you want to replace those rather than use an aftermarket arm.
If you’re using OE bushings there are some alignments to to be aware of as well
Thanks Mark. i'll give the loaner tools a try and try a large vice is that fails... then use a press as a last resort. hope neither arm decides to crack on me though!
I have a question on UCA offset bushings install. apparently stock ones are rubber plus metal sleeve around the bushing, but replacement whiteline offset bushings are just polyurethane without metal sleeve around them. So the question is it really necessary to remove the original metal sleeve before installing whiteline offset bushings and why these bushing do not have metal sleeve around them like stock ones do or like some older miata offset bushings have in the video below?
I would expect them to come out completely, but have never used those. The webpage for their installation guide is MIA too.
I really wouldn’t recommend those as they lack the stability control of the OE bushings. If you need 1/2 deg camber then the metal offset spindle/upright bushing for the lower ball joint connection will be better. If you want new UCA bushings too then pretty sure you can still find the Speedsource type delrin bushings which are much better than the others imo, because that design retains the fore-aft stability control without inducing side load friction on the mounting tabs. LMK if you need assistance with them.
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i can only comment that when i used those offset UCA bushings on my white car, i cut out the factory sleeves. pressing in poly bushings is WAY easier than pressing in OEM metal sleeve bushings.
UPDATE, TL; DR: those tools will be able to get the job done, in conjunction with a 2-3# sledge hammer. and some grease / anti-seize / other lubricant..
- the easiest bushing is the front "camber" bushing. I don't know why, but it went in easily. i started it by sledge hammering fairly carefully in a criss cross pattern just to get it started in the control arm. with all of the adapter cups and arbors you need to us, if you're also trying to get the bushing started at a straight angle, it's nearly impossible. Getting it started with a decent alignment with the sledge makes it much easier. That bushing also has a big metal surface against which to press, and it requires less pressure, so those are pretty easy. i used pieces primarily (exclusively?) from the larger tool kit.
- the rear "caster" bushing isn't too bad, although you need somewhat deep cups on both sides to clear the center metal section. It's large diameter so the force is pretty decent. you also have to be careful to align it the same way as the original, as Mark's reference in the FSM indicates. The elongated hole in the center metal sleeve should face fore/aft to allow the caster bolt to do it's job. i used pieces primarily (exclusively?) from the larger tool kit.
- the damper bushing is actually a PITA because it's a tight sleeve and one of the pressure surfaces is heavily contoured. i actually started with those and was afraid this was going to be a no-go. The smaller of those two tools worked pretty well for this, maybe with a piece from the larger kit.
Overall, it only took about 1.5 hours to press in all six bushings. in all cases, being able to just get them started and straight with a sledge will help the initial pressing. pressing OUT the OEMs is likely to require a press... they're likely to be fairly well seized in there. at least with this i was able to lubricate the metal sleeves to help them slide in.
hope this is helpful, or at least gives folks confidence if they only need to replace a bushing or two. if i didn't already have OEM arms without bushings installed, there's NO WAY i'd attempt this. The price difference between all six bushings and two new compelte controls arms through mazdaspeed is only ~$140. But since i had bare arms, i figured i'd give this a try. $140 saved for ~1.5 hours of labor ended up working out okay.
I don't see why you couldn't get them in with those loaner tools. There is video on youtube for miata and they are using same tools for both LCA and UCA.
I need to get those whiteline offset bushing into my UCAs so if you want we can do it together?
in your case, you won't need a press to get the new poly bushings in. a vice or c-clamp will get the job done. getting the old bushings out will require either the press or one of the tool kits i listed (probably the smaller one?) or just burn out the rubber and then use a dremel or hack saw to cut out the metal sleeve. you can TRY to install without cutting out the metal sleeve, but if they are not designed to be used in that fashion you'll likely have a very tight fit around the center sleeve.
Thinking about replacing mine as well. I have a full set of extra links and upper and lower control arms as well as access to a press. Would these be the Delrin bushings that were mentioned? Or are they only available through Mazdaspeed store?
Also, will all polyurethane bushings have the issue with fore/aft stability or is there a design that alleviates this issue? What exactly is the issue with lack of fore/aft stability? Is the general consensus to stick with stock bushings if car will see public roads and is not track only?
I forgot about the lower shock mount bushing in the LCA. Had custom spherical made back 9 or 10 years ago and can’t remember exactly how we did it, but seem to recall using a hydraulic press for those because it was done at a shop that had one.
thanks for the update, hope it goes as well swapping out to spherical for me.
02-09-2021, 05:50 AM
