LCA Bushing Replacement How To

I see this topic often enough so I figured I would document my procedure.

Old bushing (this one actually fell apart). Notice the inner sleeve stays on the pivot shaft and the outer shell stays in the LCA...



To remove the inner sleeve from the pivot shaft, set it on a vise or anvil and hammer at 12:00 and 3:00. The pivot is harder than the sleeve so the sleeve will stretch and just fall off. Blunt side, face side of hammer doesn't matter.



Now, to get the outer shell out of the LCA there are a few ways. Cut it out, chisel it out, or press it out. To press it out (imho is the easiest), just weld a washer (1/2" hole size is what I used) to the shell flange. Get good penetration on the shell or it will rip off. Flip the LCA over and press it out with a solid bar, long socket, etc. You could also hammer it out if needed but to get this assembly back together a press is the best tool.

Now after you get everything nice and clean and painted, you need to reinstall the LCA pivot and bushing. For this you need a few tools, mine are home made I made a tool from 1"i.d. x 5" steel threaded pipe and a pipe cap. This fits over the pivot shoulder to press it into the bushing which is the first step.



Now the final step, get the pivot/bushing into the LCA. I made my next tool from 2"i.d. pipe just longer than the pivot. I cut 2 slits in the side to taper the end down to 1 3/4" o.d. and then welded it.



The tapered end goes on the bushing flange. Insert it in the press with the LCA, pivot/bushing and use a piece of thick steel over the top for the ram to contact and press it home. Done!

Thanks for posting such a detailed process for this, and the pic's make it even nicer! This will be very helpful to me in the near future as the restoration continues on my '64 Polara!

Sixpaksteve said:

Thanks for posting such a detailed process for this, and the pic's make it even nicer! This will be very helpful to me in the near future as the restoration continues on my '64 Polara!

Click to expand...

It's important to remember when reinstalling the lower control arm do not tighten the mounting bolt until the car is at ride height. Don't ask me how I know......

Good post. Not an overly complicated procedure, but a real s.o.b. without the right tools. As three wood shows, the tools are not hard to fabricate.