Powerflex wishbone bushes...Email from Powerflex!

[Piggy]

doing the polybushes on the front arms...

the rear Pbushes on the arms go on a treat...
but the front 3 piece bush (2 half bushes and a cylindrical metal centre) just wont all fit in flush.

the two bushes go in all nice but when I put the centre metal piece in, the one bush keeps sliding out.




pics to follow...

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[Connor]

Its a bastard mate, I bent the subframe out to get them in, try some paint scrapers and plenty of lube

[Piggy]

this means that it wont fit into the subframe...no matter how much I try, slip, rip my skin off my finger, slip again and bash my knee, burn my back in the sun, sting my eyes with the sweat dripping down my forehead...grrrr

as you can see Im using the grease supplied...

I have also tried putting it into a vice and all it does is compress it to then pop back out as soon as the tension is released from the vice.

I have also tried fitting the centre metal piece from both sides.

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Its a bastard mate, I bent the subframe out to get them in, try some paint scrapers and plenty of lube

paint scrapers?! what for!!?

[Connor]

They won't fit in, because when you put the metal part through, it pushes the bush out. Using paint scrapers lets you slide it into place instead of catching on the subframe

[Piggy]

Still cant quite see how to use a paint scraper...

you mean like guides into the subframe?!

did you have to bend the front of the subframe out a bit?

[Matt]

Yep, like guides. Get them in and bolted. They do slip out unless they are bolted to the subframe

[Piggy]

okeydokey...paint scrapers at the ready...here we go

[titch]

As above, 2 thin paint scrapers either side of the bush and lots of grease and they just slide in, did mine a few weeks ago, didn't have to touch the subframe, helps if you have got a friend so they can lend an extra pair of hands.

[Matt]

Done it yet?

[Connor]

Yes like that, but I just bent the subframe to do mine lol

[DeeTurbo]

Could you show me a pic without the bushes in the wishbone.

The one trouble I had when I did mine was that I didn't get the metal outer part of the old bush out the wishbone. Once I got that out the Poly ones went in a treat and didn't slip out when I put the shaft through.

[Piggy]

bushes are in the wishbone...thats not difficult...its that 2mm that creeps out that stops it slipping in the subframe!

I only have one thin scraper...and the mrs has been busy recently and seems to have 'misplaced' it...

anyway, been out trying to get a MGB back on the road after 5 years sat in a shed being eaten by mice. Used to be mint.
Seems the head needs to come off...another half days work booked in!

anyway...having dinner and be back at it...

[Piggy]

paint scrapers?...you fricking trolling lying buggers!

yeah right does it work, they just either bend, ping in ya face or cause even more of an obstruction!!

I have spent another hour trying...inc bolting the subframe back on the car as it just kept sliding away from me

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sweating my balls off..they just wont fit

[titch]

You need small thin ones, one either side, i did both sides in just over an hour honestly, just covered the scrapers in grease and then the bushes and they just slid in, with the help of a friend pushing the wishbone. 1 side was tougher than the other and it had to be gently encouraged with a hammer!. It was a job i had been putting off for ages. But i think if you are trying to do it on your own it will be alot harder/ nearly impossible.

[Piggy]

dont have friends that are that sort of useful!!

did you have the p bush half bolted on??

[titch]

Yeah i had the smaller bolt (not the one that goes thorough the arb clamp) in place not fully tightened up. Then moved the wishbone down a bit to line it up.
And then put the 2 paint scrapers in the subframe one either side and covered them in grease then covered the powerflex bushes in grease, i held the 2 paint scrapers in place and my mate pushed the wishbone in between them, you need to keep constant pressure on it as it tends to want to spring back out, one went in nicely with just my mate pushing it and the other needed the aid of a hammer, once it was in far enough, you have to guess at that, as you can't see the hole as the paint scraper is in the way, i removed one of the scrapers and slid the bold in to keep it in place before i removed the other one. I don't think it is a job i would have been able to do on my own. I also had the luxury of doing it on a ramp so the car was at a decent height to work on.

[Piggy]

given up.

now searching suicide .com's

I took the bush out, tried it in the subframe on its own...its tight even then!!

I bust a scraper too.

tried hitting end of arm with the hammer...to no avail.

have to see if the mrs can help tomorrow...

[ConorTRG]

Is the centre pin a bit to big for the bushes? You could drill the centre of the bushes out a bit bigger to allow them fit a bit better.

Or you could try wedging it into the subframe with a pry bar, if you put the end of the bushing that is sitting correct into the subframe at a bit of an angle and the put the tip of the pry bar on the subframe and push against the other bushing that needs compressed in.

[Connor]

If I wasn't working tomorrow, id come out and help you and the missis had already booked me for the evening

[Piggy]

thats kind mate.

guna get the mrs to see if she can help me do it tomorrow afternoon.

PS I aint drilling them!

[John1.4]

if they compress in a vice to the right amount try getting a g-clamp on it, slide it half way in and release it?

[titch]

I know in your previous posts you said you were using the grease supplied, but you don't get much i covered mine in copper slip. As you can see from the pic this is before i cleaned them up but you can see how much extra grease i had to use. I covered all the subframe attachment in grease both paint scrapers and then both faces of the bushes.

Using a g clamp like mentioned above might be worth a try, do the bushes fit into the wishbone ok with out the centre steel sleeve in them?
But yours don't seem to fit in the wishbone that well, i am sure when i fitted mine to the wishbone they didn't stick out as much as that, there was a little gap.

[John1.4]

don't know what happened there...

[Piggy]

as said, I have put them in seperately with the metal sleeve and they fit and they fit fine in the arm without the sleeve

going out now armed with new scrapers to try again

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you guys must all have different bushes.

there is not a chance in hell I can compress 6/7mm of hard polybush with paint scrapers and pushing.

it either slides all over the place or just doesnt go in

[Piggy]

got them in.

not 100% happy about how they look, but hoping that slip in with some millage



same both sides

[titch]

How did you get them in, in the end?

They do look as if they are to wide. I know i researched it before i fitted mine and some people mentioned that they cut the bush down slightly but there was no way i wanted to do that.

[Piggy]

I got a small flap wheel to polish up and really clean out the wishbone housing of any residue of the old bush, then used a LOT of grease, one paint scraper just to get it started, then removed scraper and wiggled and pushed like mad, then once about halfway it wouldnt go any further, so out came the hammer.

I am hoping they will settle in

[Rippthrough]

If they're twisted like that they're not going to rotate, they'll bind like f*ck

[Piggy]

If they're twisted like that they're not going to rotate, they'll bind like f*ck

so what would you suggest!?

I have taken them out from that and tried again with even more grease and same result!

[Rippthrough]

Definately got the old metal casing out from the old bushes yes?

If so, maybe your wishbone casings are a slightly different size to OE ones?