Hello all, I haven't posted in a while. Hope everyone's doing fine. I took down my old axle last month with the stock 2.56 gears and I am now ready to put up a rebuilt one with 3.73's. I had all the control arm bushings replaced with polyurethane ones from "Energy Suspension". I have not been able to get the rear bushings for the upper arms (the one's that are on the axle unit) out since they are rusted in place. I sprayed them with a rust penetrant and then tried to tap them out with a hammer but I don't want to hit them too hard in case I break one of the "ears" off the axle. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Mario.
Use a 1/2 inch drill and bit and drill out the rubber and the center sleeve will fall out. Use a hack saw to cut almost throught the outer sleeve and then use an air chisel to or a hammer and chisel to compress the outer sleeve and remove it. Sand/ emery cloth the hole before putting in the new bushing, put the bushings in the freeze for a day before driving in, and a little lube will help, thanks Bill.
Bill, I just finished one side. It worked like a charm. Your advice was invaluable, thanks brother. Mario.
