I'm in the process of breaking down a '69 E for restoration and I've run into a problem with the metalastic bushings on the raduios arm of the rear axle. I have the cental bolts out on both sides but they just wont separate. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm almost at the point where I'll take a saw to the radius arm cup, but that seems a little drastic.

Submitted by jrwalker@ev1.net on Mon, 08/01/2005 - 21:17

Sometimes these things are really stuck on and corroded together by rust. Mine were so stuck and to remove them I had to use a saber saw to cut the rubber away from the cup part of the metalastic mount. I then took a Dremel tool and vertically cut through the cup, being careful not to cut the mount that is attached to the body. After that a quick blow with a hammer and chisel popped the cup off the mount. Before I installed the new bushing I sanded the surface rust off of the mount and liberally smeared the mount with chassis grease. That was 7 years ago. I had occasion to replace the bushings a couple of months ago and the old ones popped right off with just a long screwdriver stuck between the mount and the bushing cup despite the fact that my car is driven very often and in inclement weather.

When you install your new bushings it will pay to ensure you buy the correct Metalastic brand parts. I have heard of some replicas that don't really last very lone.

Regards, John

Submitted by SE98-32482CJ on Mon, 08/01/2005 - 19:32

Take a very long drift or lever with a point and go in the rear of the trailing and shock the inner cup of the metalastic bushing. After 2 or 3 good smacks it will pop off. Any efforts to pull or pry the cup off will only frustrate you. What you are doing is making the inner ring not round if only for a split second. When you put your new bushings up to the body (in a few years) make sure you use a anti=seize compound. Good luck. George Camp