We did this job yesterday and thought, yeah, this would make a good post for the blog, we’ll take some pictures to show people how easy it is to fit Powerflex replacement track control arm bushes to a T3. Due to their design you can do this job “in Situ” without having to take the arm off and press the new bush in.
Now, here’s a thing… I set off with good intentions but…. As usual the phone rang for me so I got broken off half way through!
When taking pictures of a sequence of work I like to try and snap pictures of the job being done on one side of the vehicle, on this job, sorry, Angus just worked too fast so I missed the bush being extracted on both sides (damn phone…) so this is now a half tale, this is a few pictures of us doing a job with a gap in the middle and taken of different sides of the vehicle! oops.
Sequence of work.
- Jack vehicle up, axle stands and all that stuff.
- Undo the track control arm bolt and remove it.
- Get a block of wood ready.
- Pry down the track control arm and wedge the block in to give enough clearance to get the bush out.
- Using a saw we cut the mushroom off the end of the bush, just to make life easier for the next step..
- This is the missing bit! We use an old 46mm socket and a bit of M12 threaded bar and a couple of nuts to make a little tool to withdraw the knackered bush.
- Once the old bush is out, clean the bore with a bit of emery tape or some such.
- Then, and this is the bonus of Powerflex bushes you can simply slide the 2 top hats into place and then slide the stainless sleeve in, Bingo! done.
- All that’s left is to remove the block and bolt it back up.
- Obviously changing a major bush like that, taking one out that has crept forward over time and replacing it with a more resilient item that keeps the arm central in is location will have an effect on wheel alignment so it’s always prudent to get this done by a pro, not just some bloke with a tape measure and some string [it does happen…]
Webshop links.
T3 Powerflex Track control arm bushes PFF85-1001
Track control arm bolts.