I am ready for the polyurethane bushings for the front of my Formula. What is the best recommended procedure to remove the old rubber bushings? Should I have them pressed out? Burned out? Pulled out? Etc???

How about the uppers? Same procedure? I've never worked with UCAs before.

How do I install the new bushungs? Do they just slide in?

I ran a search and everything I saw said everyone burns theirs out, but what is the best way(not easiest, but best for the conrol arms)?

Short of using tubular control arms there was a post a short while back about drilling them out.

The 3 ways I have read are burning them out, (smelly and messy) Drilling them out, (takes a little bit of effort but not bad) and the method I used Liquid Nitrogen. (fast and easy but hard to get, dangerous if not careful, and can shatter metal if parts are dropped when frozen)
As for putting the new poly bushings in, I used a bench vise and the grease that came with the bushings.

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The easiest way is to pay someone else to do it. PITB job.

I did mines with the burning method. Smell is bad but the messy part is worst. Anything that the melted rubber touch is damn hard to clean. I used the car as a press but do not recommend it. I bent a little one lower arm and was hell to install it back. Overall is not a difficult job but is time consuming.

Why on earth would you want to burn out your bushings? As you pointed out, that is an incredibly messy way to do it. I took the control arms off myself, then had someone else press the old ones out and the new ones in. Worked well. Not too expensive.

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1988 Fiero 3400DOHC

The poly kit has only the rubber. You have to reuse the old bushing housing. For that you need to take out the old rubber. That's when the burning/drilling/freezing process begins.

I burned my rubber out with a torch and it was easy. Make sure you repaint your control arm so that they don't rust badly after.

I just completed my poly install on my 88. The rear was easy, the front wasn't so easy. I hope your front lower control arm bolts aren't rusted like mine were. I ended up cutting 3 of the 4 bolts out. The upper arms are easy to do, just undo the 2 bolts on the top center part. Remember to take some measurements so you can get it close when you put it back together.

I just heated up the sleeve in the center until I could pull it out with pliers. Then I heated up the rest until I could pull the bushing out. Takes about 5 minutes of the torch on each bushing to get it out. No need to let them burn completely.

Here is a trick I tried on the install to get rid of the squeaks. After the bushing is installed, I heated up the metal to "sear" the bushing to the metal around it. You might need to do this to get the bushing all the way in too. I thought this would also bond the bushing to the metal and get rid of some of the squeaks. I got mine back together and went for a spin. Quess what... not one squeak!

[This message has been edited by SCCA FIERO (edited 08-11-2000).]

SCCA: the bolts are in good shape. I had the LCAs off last month for ball joints. I think I will burn the old ones out, and use a vise to install the new ones. Guess I need a fresh tank for the torch.

SCCA: I have been dredding installing the bushings in the rear. What all did you replace back there? The tri-link setup looks a little difficult to work with, and those bolts were very stiff when I had the cradle down to replace the clutch last year.

All that is left is to replace upper ball joints, poly bushings, and KYB shocks.

The back was easy... piece of cake. I replaced every bushing in the rear. Just get some WD-40 on the bolts before you start and let it sit. It looks like the cooling tubes are blocking the trailing arms from being removed, but the bolts will pull out so the trailing arms will come out without removing the coolant tubes. If your bolts come out, you should be OK. Have fun.

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-Chris
88 Fiero Coupe
KEEP THE EXCITEMENT ALIVE!!

Bushings are on their way. Should be arriving sometime mid-week. I ordered them from http://www.suspension.com

Now to get the propane torch ready, and to finally break down and get a vise.

[This message has been edited by fiero56 (edited 08-14-2000).]

Propane torch can get it but it is the hard way.After doing two fieros with a propane torch, I used a mapp torch, much faster and easier. After burning out the bushings, I used a die grinder with a wire brush attachment to clean out the sleeve.I also took a tap and tapped the inside of the poly bushing so it would retain grease.After Greasing the bushing inside and out, and having rotary wire brushed the inside of the sleeve, the bushing will press in by hand.Also no squeaks.Be sure to use anti seize compound on the bolts to prevent seizure in the future.It also lubricates the threads for tightening and be sure to torque to specs.Also when doing the front, if you remove both the tie rods from the control arms, the control arm bolts will come out without interference from the steering rack.Just turn the steering wheel to get the clearance.Good luck, this job well done is well worth the effort.

I am impressed!! I ordered the bushings from http://www.suspension.com yesterday, and they arrived just now while I was checking through the forum. Everything I ordered came, it was packed very well, and they were cheaper than FieroStore. Just letting anyone else considering poly bushings, to check out suspension.com

I bought mine from prothane-good quality stuff.First,take a drill (3/16)and drill several holes in the rubber around the
center sleeve.Then use a large socket that
fits around the outside of the flange end
of the bushing and a smaller one that is
about the same size as the center sleeve.
Put it in a large vice and push it out.then
the rubber will just pull out!
P.S.-you could use short lengths of tubing
in place of sockets.But you should have a
large vise this is an eeazzyy job-you can
do it!

el and others, Suspension Restoration, www.suspension.com , only sells Prothane and Energy Suspension product. It's nearly always less than other sources including Fiero Store.

I've dealt with him. Got exactly what I wanted and right away. (Shipping time for UPS depends on how far away you are. Mine took a few days.)

Yeah, on the site it says only Prothane makes bushings for the Fiero. The guy was great on the phone, knew his stuff. Everything came in one package with directions, grease, and beautifull red bushings. I can't wait to install them when I have a day off.