Fiesta MK4 - Axle beam bushes

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
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Fri 14 Mar 2014 16:55
Fiesta MK4 - Axle beam bushes - pullgees

I'm struggling to get the new bush in on the trailing arm. So far I've stripped the thread on my home made bush puller and bent a g-clamp. It is stuck solid two thirds in.
A garage owner told me he usually grinds a bit of the outer body of the bush.

So with the other new bush I tried doing this by holding a drill bit through the centre hole and running it back and forth across the bench grinder but after an hour there was barely any difference, it still needs more taken off, in fact I took more off the grinding wheel then the bush.

I'm stuck help!

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Fri 14 Mar 2014 19:12
Fiesta MK4 - Axle beam bushes - Cyd

I use sockets and a vice.

Lube the bushes with soapy water (sugar soap is good, but don't use washing up liquid)

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Fri 14 Mar 2014 20:14
Fiesta MK4 - Axle beam bushes - pullgees

I used grease. I don't have a vice whose jaws will open wide enough. With the Fiesta the innards of the bush extends beyond it's casing, That and the housing add up to a distance of nearly five inches,, .that would be a big vice. But yes a vice isn't going to bend like a g-clamp and must be equivalent to using a hydraulic press .

Edited by pullgees on 14/03/2014 at 20:17

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Tue 18 Mar 2014 17:53
Fiesta MK4 - Axle beam bushes - pullgees

I got hold of a big engineers vice and with a little more grinding down the bush it went in. That was a challenging job. If I'd known how hard it was I would have put polys in. Next time.

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Wed 19 Mar 2014 15:49
Fiesta MK4 - Axle beam bushes - Railroad.
Although these bushes can be removed and replaced in situ, and there is a service tool available to do it, it's a long slog and very slow. I find it's easier to remove the complete axle and remove and install the bushes using a bearing press. A second pair of hands will help too.
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Wed 19 Mar 2014 16:15
Fiesta MK4 - Axle beam bushes - pullgees
Although these bushes can be removed and replaced in situ, and there is a service tool available to do it, it's a long slog and very slow. I find it's easier to remove the complete axle and remove and install the bushes using a bearing press. A second pair of hands will help too.

Well I'm glad to hear it's not just me that finds it a tough job. As I haven't got that kind of gear I had to make do with what I had and borrow.
What is the point of making them so tight when you can get poly ones which can be pressed in with a g-clamp and they are suppossed to last longer and give better handling?

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If you cover no more than 100 miles per day and have easy access to a charging point at home or work, then an EV is ideal for you.

Is an electric car right for me?