1994 Chevy C1500 Buildup - Bad-Ass Bushings

The truck was placed on a lift, and everything that is hooked to the spindle was removed. Here, Nate removed the cotter pins with a pair of side cutters.

Billy Harill, the other technician, popped the ball joints with a few good whacks of the hammer.

With all the joints freed, Billy removed the DJM lowering spring. Because this is a drop spring, we didn't need to use a spring compressor, but if you are working a stock truck, be careful because those springs are under a lot of pressure and can fly out with devastating results.

After removing the two bolts with a 21mm socket and 15/16 wrench, Billy and Nate wrestled the control arm out.

Over at the press, which is not a necessity but sure makes the job easier, Billy pushed out the steel insert that was in the center of the factory bushing.

Don't try and push everything out in one shot. Get the insert out first, then remove the rubber. He used a lot of WD40 and a bolt to push on the insert.

These are the inserts that were pushed out. They won't be reused, but it makes the job easier to do if you take out the bushing, piece by piece.

Now for the rubber, Billy forced a flat-head screwdriver down the edge of the rubber so he could load it up with lube.

Once he had it fully lubed, he pushed up on the handle of the screwdriver, which pulled out the bushing.

After a good cleaning, the now-empty hole was given a liberal coating of Energy's Formula 5 lube. This stuff is pretty sticky, so keep a few rags on hand. Billy said, "You can't use too much of this stuff, because you can always wipe off the excess later."

The polyurethane bushing can be pushed in by hand...

...and then you will need the press or a vise to push in the new insert.

Can you tell this truck needs some work? The ball joint boots were trashed on all four control arms. Thankfully, Energy supplies these in the Master Set. Ripped or torn boots will let all of the grease leak out of the joint and increase the chance of failure.

All you need is a screwdriver to pop off the factory boot.

The new boot will pop on with minimal pressure, but just make sure you clean off the area around it beforehand. You don't want to seal in any dirt.

The factory washer that is used for the control arm bolts has a small ridge built in it, so when it is tightened it pushes in on the cup to lock down the insert of the bushing and keeps it from rotating.

Before you install the control arm, use a file to knock down the inside of the cup. This will help you a lot when it's time to reinstall your arm.