Another compliment/THANKS to sfdon

Gary Knox

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I am replacing all the bushings etc., along with installation of the 'Paul Cain' adjustable front struts/Koni shocks etc. on my '74 e9. I was having trouble installing the two large bushings in the front for the tension bar. Sent a PM to sfdon, who promptly responded with some suggestions. THANKS to his suggestions, the bushings are completely installed. I probably spent several hours getting the first one installed. Second one took less than 2-3 minutes! Talk about a learning curve (with Don's tutoring).

His tip that he posted a couple of weeks ago regarding a simple and very quick procedure for removal of the old bushings is priceless!

Thanks Don,

Gary Knox
 

Gary Knox

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Charlie,

I am also too lazy to go back through his many posts!! But, in the Aloha spirit, I'll supply the procedure - ha.

Paraphrasing: "To remove the big rubber bushings at the front of the tension bar: After removing the tension bar from it's rear bushings as well, re-insert it into the front of the large front bushing and pry up/down/sideways. It will probably pop out in less than 10 seconds!"

Worked perfectly for me, after I'd obsessed about how to pull that sucker out.

Now, to insert the new one, I thoroughly cleaned the 'hole' where it goes, put a bit of Vaseline around the front entrance to the hole, and on the rear edge/lip of the new bushing. Then, using a couple of 2.5" fender washers on the back side of the 'hole', a 12mm bolt with lots of thread length. The length was such (using washers if needed to fill space) that I could just barely start the nut on the threads. I gently snugged the bolt up, being sure the bushing was well aligned with the hole (not skewed in any direction). Maybe one more turn of the nut with a ratchet, then holding the rear of the bolt (behind the washers), I used my electric impact wrench to QUICKLY tighten the nut (that was a key suggestion from Don). The bushing went about 80% of the way into the hole before I ran out of threads. I removed the nut and the bushing stayed in place. Removed the bolt and inserted it about 3/4" into the front of the bushing and started wiggling it up/down/sideways. In about 5 seconds, the bushing popped completely into position. It took me quite a long time to develop this technique after many failed attempts to get the first bushing in place. Second bushing took a total of about 3 minutes from the time I picked it off the bench until it was completely installed. Hope this is helpful.

Aloha, and please do a better job of keeping the hurricanes away from the Islands between mid August and mid-September 2019 than you did in 2018!! If you can do that, it will improve our visit to Kauai this year - HA.

Gary
 
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