So I brought my car to a mechanic and asked them to install some Energy polyurethane bushings onto my control arms.

He couldn't get the original bushings off and, further, didn't have a hydraulic press to get the new ones on. There was a guy with a hydraulic press who said he could do it but wanted to charge me $400 for uninstalling and installing the control arms. Ridiculous.

Can anyone give me some advice as to how to get those bushings on and off without a press?

I know there is a write-up out there but it involves burning out the original bushing with a blowtorch, hacksawing through the metal ring (being careful not to cut into the control arm itself) and then using an oven and a freezer to get the bushing into the control arm. I'm hoping there is a more solid way to do it since the previously mentioned way is kind of hokey and any one step that fails will derail the whole job and I'd end up either needing a press or just a whole new control arm anyways.

Any help would be great. Thanks.

 

If your installing the OEM bushings, i think you might have to press them, however i got the Energy suspension bushings, those do not require a press. Blow torch hammer and flat head screw driver, and MAYBE a hack saw, would be needed to take the old bushings off yourself. Its hard to find a press that is able to fit our Control arms in anyways....

 

Use a hacksaw to cut the old ones out use a flathead and hammer to push it out when you have cut the bushing and then if you can’t get a hydraulic press then you can use a vise but make sure it’s going in straight and make sure to lube the **** out of it before pressing it in.

 

I used a holesaw in a drill press to take the rubber section out. A few seconds after with a sawzall cut through the metal sleeve enough that it could be driven out with a drift and a hammer. Both bushings out in under 10 minutes.