At 06:06 PM 7/1/02, David Cmelik wrote:
>Regarding my 1981 5sp:
>
>Hub is off car driver's side, as before. Bearings and bearing seal are out, inside of the hub is cleaned up (some discoloration inside the shiny metal). New seal. Bearing race will not exit. My bearing race seems to be stuck in the hub. Any suggestions? I don't want to poke it out with the a screw driver to find that I have gouged the smooth inside of the hub.

Standard roller bearing practice is that one race is a very tight fit and one race is a line contact fit. In other words, one race of every roller bearing should be tight and the other race should be a slip fit.

You won't be able to "poke" it out - you will have to drive it out with a hammer and punch. There are cut-away areas inside the machined shoulder to allow access fro a punch. Tap on first one side and then the other, so that it comes out evenly. You then have to drive the new race in place. You can grind the outer diameter of the old race down slightly, so that it will slip in and out of the hub, and use it to drive the new race.

>Also, control arm is off, but I apparently must reuse the part that holds the arm onto the car (the part with the studs). The replacement part I am using is the arm only, not the part with the studs. I want to reuse the bushings, which appear to be fairly intact and not crumbly or caked or cracked. The two nuts on either end of the threads will not loosen. They were not endowed with anti-seize, unfortunately, like the studs and perhaps were brushed with a tad of loctite. At least it feels like it.

Lots of muscle or a large impact wrench.

After you get either of the nuts off, carefully press or drive the nearest stud out of the shaft. This will allow the shaft to move far enough out of the arm to be removed.

We now sell new urethane bushings for the upper control arm/shaft. These will give a tighter, more responsive feel to the car. Since you are taking this apart anyway, might be a mod to consider. Call David at (828) 766-9280 and discuss it with him.

Wally Plumley
928 Specialists

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At 04:17 AM 7/6/02, you wrote:
>Thank you. Great site. Any info on how to replace the front upper control arm bushings?

1) Call David Roberts at (828) 766-9280 and order a set of urethane control arm bushings.
2) Ask David for instructions.

Basically, removal of the control arm is available on several web sites.
The only tips that I remember are:
Loosen one of the nuts on the cross-shaft before unbolting the arm.
After removal of the arm, carefully press or drive out the mounting stud farther away from the removed nut.
Press the cross-shaft and one bushing out.
Remove the other bushing.
Press a new bushing in that end.
Insert the cross shaft, and press in the other bushing.
If the ball joint boots aren't new, replace them. Carefully clean and re-lubricate the ball joints.

Since alignment is pretty much required, this is the best time to replace any other suspension parts, such as steering rack mounts, rubber steering couplers, etc., and to check tie rods, tie rod ends, etc.

I'm sure that David can add more to the list.

Wally Plumley
928 Specialists

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after only a couple years of being installed, the polyurethane A arm bushings have failed. One side had visible deterioration, the other side did not, With the car jacked it is very easy to grab the wheel and flop it back and forth on both sides. It is disappointing because they made such a great difference in the handling of the car. As well, they are a real bitch to install in the first place. It looks like OEM rebuilt is the only way to go. I would suggest all who have installed these to inspect them.
To any who installed these at my recommendation I sincerely apologize.
Bruce Sinclair