Panhard rod bushes

[Ben_D]

Are these easily changed and is it best done with both wheels jacked and shocks disconnected?

Cheers

Ben

[Sir Plug]

Are these easily changed and is it best done with both wheels jacked and shocks disconnected?

Cheers

Ben

Easy job, can be done on the floor but you'll need a press or good vice to remove the bushes and press the new ones in, unless you have split bushes that fit together, such as Nolathane.

[Ben_D]

Changed them yesterday and turned out to be fairly straight forward so for completeness and for anyone searching in the future...

Rod came off easily after a good soak with WD40, nothing seized but I had to jack it up a few inches to get the passenger side bolt out past the rear spring.

With the rod removed & held in a vice I cut the flush edges of the old rubber bushes away against the crush tube and soaked with WD40.
Old bushes were pushed out in the vice using a 32mm socket over the back of the rod to accept the old bush as it came out and I used a socket the same diameter as the old crush tube to do the pushing.

New Super pros went in easy enough with a little help from some white grease. Again I used a 32mm socket to accept the bush at the back of the rod and a socket the same diameter as the bush to push it in, it needed a little manipulation with a blunt screwdriver to help it in but went in fine.

Was a bit of a fiddle getting the newly bushed rod back on the truck, whole thing took about 90 minutes.

Front shocks & springs and NS upper balljoint today.

Cheers

Ben

[TonyN]

Good job.

Upper ball joints can be a pain to get out on 3rd Gens, be prepared to just cut it out in lots of pieces.

Some have pressed out ok, others are jammed solid.

[Ben_D]

Hi Tony,

Balljoint pressed out fine with a piece of aluminium machined to size, a bearing puller and a big breaker bar. New one would not go back in with the above so took it to get it pressed in, drivers side went in with pullers and machined ally fittings. Will definitely do what I was told by Yoshie next time and remove the hub and get it all done with a press. Front shocks were easy, got a garage to put the uprated springs on as my compressors didn't like the strength of the spring!

Cheers

Ben