Help removing upper control arm bushings

[petrock]

I'm having a hell of a time trying to remove the upper control arm bushings on my ride. I'm using a 2-ton three jaw puller with the puller's hooks around the bushing's "hat", and the puller's screw pressing on the control arm's swivel shaft (the shaft that goes through the bushing). The bushing is moving without problems up/down on the swivel shaft. But its not budging from the control arm housing. When the puller tries to pull the bushing out, the control arm housing just widens like pulling the two sides of a wish-bone. I regularly get it to move about 1/2". If the puller slips, or I release it, the control arm just snaps back into its original place. The bushing doesn't budge. I'm afraid I'm going to bend the control arm housing.

I've used a pretty good helping of penetrating oil to help loosen anything up in the control arm's housing, but it doesn't appear to help. There isn't much rust on this truck (its a CA girl after all).

Any tips to get these damn bushings out? Is there a better tool to get these bushings out? Thanks...

[silverback]

Of course a shop press works the best, but if you don't have access to one & you're removing just the bushing & not the housing, try doing some drilling through the bushing & then more drilling and more... some guys get a torch & burn'em out or try youtube for some other ways. I recently rebuilt the frontend- removed the bushings & housings as well, tried all but the torch method, finally gave in & bought a cheepo Harbor Freight press, works but don't count on total accuracy.

[Kingst3r]

I burned mine out. Worked great, just a little messy. Let em burn for a while then poked em right out. Cleaned it out real good then hand pressed in my new ones, pretty easy.

[petrock]

I don't have access to a press, nor the room to store it if I bought one. Its not the rubber part of the bushing that is stuck. Its the metal "hat" that goes around the rubber part that is stuck in the whole in the control arm. So I'm not sure how much burning out the rubber will help. However, I could try heating up the control arm and see if the "hat" comes out that way. Won't that mess up the paint on the control arm? Thanks...

[Kingst3r]

I used a handheld MAP gas torch when I did mine. Burned out the bushings and everything slide right out. You can do what you said, heat it up real good and try to bang them out, it should work. Yours might have an opening or slit in the middle or the sleeve or "hat", I think mine did. If there is, you can pry them with a flat head to close em up a little to make em smaller and they will push out. Either way, I used heat, and it worked.

As for the paint, it might mess it up and start to bubble or something, but you gotta get em out so who cares. I cleaned mine up and painted them with chassis and roll bar spray paint and they came out better than before, looked brand new.

[Craigslue]

I think I just heated up the outer shell with a torch and the rubber part of the bushing basically came out by itself. I may have given it a little positive reinforcement with a screwdriver. I just whacked the outer shell out with a hammer. Not to hard after the rubber is out.

[silverback]

Originally Posted by petrock

I don't have access to a press, nor the room to store it if I bought one. Its not the rubber part of the bushing that is stuck. Its the metal "hat" that goes around the rubber part that is stuck in the whole in the control arm. So I'm not sure how much burning out the rubber will help. However, I could try heating up the control arm and see if the "hat" comes out that way. Won't that mess up the paint on the control arm? Thanks...

I got the rubber out, but the sleeves/shells would not budge, I tried several different pullers for several days (broke some), that's when I caved & bought a press, it has paid off for other small jobs on the scooter & mower.
Every truck is different in the ways that what may not work for one, but it works for another. I hope yours is the opposite of how mine went.