I don't post a whole lot, but I am in the middle of prepping a front disc swap and ran into spindle bushing replacement.
This initially was by far one of the most frustrating things I have done. There was a lot of cursing and swinging of large hammers. I also managed to plant a flat head screwdriver in my leg. Don't worry it was a small one and it didn't get real deep.
Overall my first bushing removal went terribly, but I learned some stuff so the second one was done in about 15 minutes or so.
I decided to chronicle what I did because I googled spindle bushing removal and didn't come up with much help, unless I possessed a cutting torch.....
So here goes and I hope this helps someone in the future.
1). The first step is to cut a channel on the inside if the bushing. I used a Dremel with a diamond bit and just worked it back and forth through the brass until I got almost down to the spindle itself.
2) Next I used the Dremel again with a cut-off wheel to cut a channel through the top of the bushing to the channel I had cut on the inside.
3) Then I used a punch to drive up the outside of the bushing on both sides of the cut I had made.
4) Drive the as far into the center of the spindle as possible then it's time to start working downward. I used various punches/ old screwdrivers to drive down behind the channel cut on the inside. The goal here is to get that channel to split and get a little bit of the brass material to pop out into the center of the spindle. It doesn't need a whole lot out there but be patient and get a good bit for the next step.
5) Ok so I know some people frown upon this and you may have something better, but this worked in a pinch. Yes I am a tool abuser who uses all sorts of stuff for unintended uses. Anyways grab yourself a 10 or 12 inch ratchet extension and in my case a 1" socket fit nicely. I put the socket upside down on the extension and then down the spindle she went. Now you should just be able to give it a few pops with a BFH and knock that bushing out if you did this correctly.
Here's a picture of both bushings I removed. The first bushing I removed is on the right. As you can see I had some trouble.
7) Now that is out of way you can install your new bushing. Again I take no responsibility for your outcome, but this is how I got the new bushing in.
I don't know if orientation of the bushing matters but I did it like this.
The spindle has a flat part on three sides. The bushing on the bottom has the shape of what I called an eye cut into it. If you have the flat portion of the spindle pointed at you then just put the two points where the eye terminates on each side facing the other two flat sides.
8) I put some wheel bearing grease on the outside of the new bushing.
9) I put the threaded side of the spindle on a 2x4 and then used a piece of wood and my BFH to carefully, if that's a thing while using a large hammer, tap the bushing into place.
10) This step is just sitting back and admiring your work with a beer! So literally several hours and a trip to harbor freight later I finished my project. I hope that this helps someone out there in the same predicament.
This initially was by far one of the most frustrating things I have done. There was a lot of cursing and swinging of large hammers. I also managed to plant a flat head screwdriver in my leg. Don't worry it was a small one and it didn't get real deep.
Overall my first bushing removal went terribly, but I learned some stuff so the second one was done in about 15 minutes or so.
I decided to chronicle what I did because I googled spindle bushing removal and didn't come up with much help, unless I possessed a cutting torch.....
So here goes and I hope this helps someone in the future.
1). The first step is to cut a channel on the inside if the bushing. I used a Dremel with a diamond bit and just worked it back and forth through the brass until I got almost down to the spindle itself.
2) Next I used the Dremel again with a cut-off wheel to cut a channel through the top of the bushing to the channel I had cut on the inside.
3) Then I used a punch to drive up the outside of the bushing on both sides of the cut I had made.
4) Drive the as far into the center of the spindle as possible then it's time to start working downward. I used various punches/ old screwdrivers to drive down behind the channel cut on the inside. The goal here is to get that channel to split and get a little bit of the brass material to pop out into the center of the spindle. It doesn't need a whole lot out there but be patient and get a good bit for the next step.
5) Ok so I know some people frown upon this and you may have something better, but this worked in a pinch. Yes I am a tool abuser who uses all sorts of stuff for unintended uses. Anyways grab yourself a 10 or 12 inch ratchet extension and in my case a 1" socket fit nicely. I put the socket upside down on the extension and then down the spindle she went. Now you should just be able to give it a few pops with a BFH and knock that bushing out if you did this correctly.
Here's a picture of both bushings I removed. The first bushing I removed is on the right. As you can see I had some trouble.
7) Now that is out of way you can install your new bushing. Again I take no responsibility for your outcome, but this is how I got the new bushing in.
I don't know if orientation of the bushing matters but I did it like this.
The spindle has a flat part on three sides. The bushing on the bottom has the shape of what I called an eye cut into it. If you have the flat portion of the spindle pointed at you then just put the two points where the eye terminates on each side facing the other two flat sides.
8) I put some wheel bearing grease on the outside of the new bushing.
9) I put the threaded side of the spindle on a 2x4 and then used a piece of wood and my BFH to carefully, if that's a thing while using a large hammer, tap the bushing into place.
10) This step is just sitting back and admiring your work with a beer! So literally several hours and a trip to harbor freight later I finished my project. I hope that this helps someone out there in the same predicament.
I will say that the replacement bushings seem a lot less sturdy than the original Toyota ones, and ultimately after i finished the replacement I had just about the same play in the Birf. Oh well, if anyone ever decides they "need" to do this like I did, hopefully this helps.
