I need to remove the radius (trailing) arms at their front end from the floor of my 1967 E-type S1 FHC. The inside of the bushing does not seem to be rusted to the radius arm cup, but it is certainly well stuck. I have soaked the joint with Blaster Penetrating Catalyst for a week and pryed the inner metal ring of the bushing with a crow bar that I shaped especially for the purpose. It doesn't budge, but the metal ring is very thin so there is not much purchase for the crow bar. Help! How do people get these things apart?

Submitted by scia63@hotmail.com on Fri, 09/03/2004 - 16:32

Curtis: although the methods described by others will work, I have used a blow torch to heat up the inner steel bushing of the large front bushing and the trailing arm fell off with a tap of the hammer! Don't need to apply strong heat to make the metal glow 2-3 minutes tops, with a good blue pencil flame. Keep the flame focused on the inner metal bushing. You will get some smoke from the rubber you burn but this shoud be minimal. The boss where the bushing mates is cone shape, appling heat at the inner steel will make that steel expand enough to break the grip at the cone. Try it before you go to more extreme measures.

Good Luck, Frank Sciannameo

Submitted by mfrank@westnet.com on Fri, 09/03/2004 - 11:47

I had the same problem, and had no choice but to destroy the bushing. The way I did this was to use a drill to make as many holes in the rubber as possible, then I cut it out with a keyhole saw. The radius arm will then be easy to remove. Once this was clear, I used a hacksaw to carefully cut a a few notches into the inner cup of the bushing. You have to be careful not to cut into the floor boss. Then, I used a cold chisel to tear the cup open. Nasty, but it worked.

When you put in the new piece, be sure to put some anti-seize on the cup and the boss to prevent this sort of lock up in the future.

Submitted by NC19-03320J on Thu, 09/02/2004 - 21:41

The radius arms can sometimes be a bear to remove. A number of years ago I purchased a set of tools that we call "Lady fingers" that usually will break them loose. Briefly the tool goes between the inside of the metal cup in the rubber and the metal cup on the floor. If the original bushings are still in the car you will probably have to grind the bolt hole bigger for the tool to fit. Contact me direct and I'll send you pictures.
Bob Jag of Mi.