Changing A frame bush on my live axle

[Ade Ray]

my brother Simon changed ny A frame bush last time with me watching on (I was passing Simon some tools etc. but thats as good as it got). This time I have to do it myself and was wondering if anyone had any useful tips?

 

I do not think that I will have any problem in removing the old one (taking things apart has always been easy for me) but it is the putting back together that has me concerned.

 

Any help gratefully accepted!

 

Ade

 

Make the world a better place, hug an estate agent

[Big Brother]

I have found the following method works for me.

 

Jack up by using A-frame mount on the centre of the diff, put axle stands under the chassis.

Undo A frame bush bolt and remove old bushes.

Fit new bushes, using a pair of grips to slightly compress the bushes to make fitting easier.

If necessary, put a jack under the nose of the diff and use it to align the diff untill the a-frame bolt can be refitted.

Tighten up and take out for a really long test drive

 

Steve

 

www.Se7en-Up.co.uk

 

[Ade Ray]

Steve

 

Thanks for your info, bushes arrived this morning so I am going to have a go this evening. Look out for my panic posts!

 

I'm not sure if Lisa will let me spend an evening under the car AND take it for a long test drive, any Brownie Points I have at the moment would evaporate!

 

Ade

 

Make the world a better place, hug an estate agent

[Violet Elizabeth]

Some washing up liquid can be useful to help the bush slide into place.

[Graham Sewell]

I have not found any suitable grips for compressing the bushes, so I use an old 1/2" bolt and nut to compress the bushes before offering them up to the bracket. Once held by the bracket, the bolt can be removed and the bushes lightly tapped into the bracket before being secured properly with the original bolt and a new nyloc and tightened to about 45lbft.

 

Low tech luddite - xflow and proud!

[Old Septimus]

On a couple of occasions I have had difficulty lining up the holes in the A frame with the bushes and diff bracket. I found an old 1/2" tommy bar from a socket set and ground a chamfer on the end. This can be gently tapped in to line everything up and the bolt can be used to tap it out and follow it into the properly aligned holes.

[I.Mupferit]

You want the grips with adjustable jaws that you can buy very cheaply in Halfords. Always makes it a simple task to renew the bushes, a 15 minute job at most.

Also look for a washer between the 2 bushes and re-use that if it is present. It was not fitted to all 'A' frames by Caterham and I'm not completely sure of its purpose but my build manual said to use it so........

 

Brent

[Ade Ray]

All good tips, thanks very much. From the point of lubricating the bushes before they go in, I've got some good rubber lubricant spray from Halfords that seems to do the job. It's also good for preserving other rubber bits (on the car!).

 

I like the bolt idea for getting some compression on the bushes. I've got an adjustable spanner but it is a bit unwieldy.

 

Thanks again.

 

Ade

 

Make the world a better place, hug an estate agent

[Graeme Smith]

The method I was shown my a Caterham mechanic is:

Jack up car on A-frame.

Axle stands on chassis

Remove old A-frame bushes

Compress new bushes with HUGE grips (I've got some Snap-On type ones, which are a bout a foot-and-a-half long) and squeeze them into lug (is that the right word?) as best as possible

Knock bushes fully into lug using grip as hammer

Insert bolt and knock thro (with grips again) - the bolt hole is tapered, so it'll find its own way

 

Whole process can be done in about 5 minutes... Better than the hour-plus it used to take me.

 

 

[Jam Mad]

ade, the thing is to not worry, you'll get them in somehow. i bought a g-clamp kit from mfi, and i use the smallest one to squeeze the bushes together, before pushing the a-frame into the bracket on the diff.

 

i then get a pry bar and push it in each side in turn, give it a good wiggle, and you should find that the bolt slips back through the whole caboodle.

 

they often pick up oil under there, so before you do put the new ones in, wipe it all down as well as you can.

 

it has gone from being a dreaded job, to an easy 15minutes. and i am by no means mechanical. well.. not very.

 

j

 

ps i'm sure the archives have full instructions too.

[Ade Ray]

The job is done!

 

Not the 15 minutes it should have taken me but I started using grips but found them inadequate and resorted to the spare 1/2" bolt method mentioned by Graham and that worked a treat (top tip Graham!). My brother Simon phoned me last night to remind me about pushing and pulling the car back and forth with the handbrake on to move the position of the A frame bracket relative to the diff bracket and then scissor jacking it up once I had the edges of the bushes in place courtesy of Grahams tip.

 

Ade

 

Make the world a better place, hug an estate agent