Front suspension bushings replaced

 2 July 2026

   I have had a clunk in my suspension for a few months and bought new poly bushes over the winter. Enough for both ends as my rear left side has developed a lean.

First thing to do was rip the skin off my hand when I went to undo the first lugnut! I just dragged it on the tire....

I cleaned it up and stuck a bandaid and bug killer on it, then gloves....

Once the lugnuts were all loose I jacked it up by the spring and put a jackstand under the front bumper. Then went about taking off the shock. The shock is damaged from the first spring/shock plate being too short and the brake caliper hitting it at full turn.

I am getting new shocks and will adjust the turn stop.

Anyway I got the spring off and the inner sleeves were broken loose from the rubber and one side was smashed down. 

Original factory bushes lasted 50+ years, these less than 10.

I've learned over the year to put my spring in a vise and pound a steel wedge in the gap for the bush spring. Then I can use a chisel and pound the shit out of the inner tube until it decides to relocate to the floor. These took A LOT of convincing!

I won!

The new poly's were installed with anti seize and I attacked the poly chassis bush removal. It fought tooth and nail eventually giving way by running a long drill bit, 3/16" down the side and chewing out the poly. I got the outside bush out and could clamp a vise grips on the inner tube and with a LARGE crescent wrench on the vise grips I was able to wiggle the tube out and knock out the remaining poly.

New chassis poly's were installed with plenty of anti seize.

Then began the mighty struggle! I could not for the life of me get the axle housing to line up on the spring and seat properly. I fought it for 3 hours in the hot sun. I was whipped, I didn't eat lunch as I was too filthy to go inside, and I thought I was almost done........

By whipped I mean I was sooo tired and sore I could barely move and cook dinner. I left it to sit over the Fourth of July weekend, I missed the pancake breakfast and parade.......I had time to think though and realized I was trying to put the shock mount plate and locate the axle at the same time. When 5 July rolled around and I did the axle then the shock plate in sequence I had it together in 40 minutes. I won again!

That was the first one!

By 8 July I started on the right side. It had other ideas too! I removed the tire and all the u bolt nuts and the shackle pins and the spring just sat there stuck to the axle housing! WTF? I banged on it with heavy hammers and nothing. The rear was tight up against the frame. Eventually I used my steel chisel to separate the 2 bits.

Again the inner bushing tubes were finger removed.

The spring had apparently rusted onto the axle housing.

I wire wheeled that and coated it with anti seize as well as the bottom of the axle housing.

One of the pins showed some wear and was probably the clunking I could hear and feel underfoot when driving.

I rummaged through my spares and found a matching set of pins and shackles.

Next came the arduous task of removing the old leaf bushes. So into the vise put in the wedge and pound the crap out of it until it screamed "UNCLE"! At both ends!

  Put in the poly's and throw it back on the 109 armed with what I had learned from the first spring. Easy Peasy!

I am currently working on doing the rears. I will drive it and torque it when all are done. It's supposed to be in the low 90F for the next 3 days so I may work slower that normal.