Is there a rule of thumb for tightening the nut on the upper front shock bushings? How tight should the nut be? I’m wondering if I am over tightening them. The bushings end up being squeezed quite a bit. Any thoughts?

 

The nut should be tightened "all the way down". The washer will contact the sleeve at the point of correct compression. That makes a nice firm connection to the body. The torque on the nut should be 15-25 N-m which isn't very much, as you know the shaft wants to rotate. You should notice a nice improvement in ride quality.

 

"Stop when it won't go any farther"

 

Thanks so much for the feedback, guys. I have tightened them down as far as they will go with new upper bushings installed. There is still a rattle. I have replacement lower bushings but I'm not sure how to remove the old ones. I tried hitting one with a hammer, but it would not budge. Should I heat up the area with a torch? Is there a special tool for pushing them out? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Darren.

 

It may be worth trying a medium sized puller. Do you still have the bracket in the bushing? if so maybe try heat against the rubber to melt the bracket out of the rubber and then go with the puller using a proper size socket on the metal ring? Or just heat the rubber out and hacksaw the ring till it gives up. I have had shocks go bad and had the unit itself rattle, not the bushings. It may be worth giving it the squeeze test if you havent. As an aside, are you sure of where the rattle is originating? Could it be a worn ball joint or maybe (less fortunately) a control arm bushing? Just throwing it out there. Good luck!

 

Hi Darren,

Assuming you don't have a hydraulic press, the threaded-rod (allthread) and socket method is one way to remove and replace your lower shock bushings:


Cheers,

Don