Sub Frame Bushes.

Tue Jun 18, 2013 5:40 pm

Ok so, I need to change my subframe bushes, the centre aluminium part is detatched completely from the outer metal sleeve. I followed the Wiki, which is amazing may I add, but I cannot for the life of me get the metal sleeve out. I tried cutting it out with a hacksaw but it's just too small for the saw to get inside it, I tried wedging a screwdriver in to try and pry it down but it just snaps the end of the screwdriver off. Has anyone got any suggestions at all for how I can get that metal sleeve out of the subframe please? Thanks. Jay

Tue Jun 18, 2013 5:54 pm

Get a bigger saw so that you can put the blade through the hole but the handle/frame outside it. Or get a cold chisel and a 2kg hammer and be prepared to batter the shit out of it.

Tools, technique and trying

Tue Jun 18, 2013 5:56 pm

How big is the ring roughly? I had a similar problem when I did the front bushes on mine. I used either a vice and two sockets, one big for the outside of the ring, one smaller to push the ring out or like it says on the wiki, dis-assemble a hacksaw, put it back together inside the ring and cut nearly all the way through, then hit it with a screwdriver/chisel to collapse it in on itself.

Tue Jun 18, 2013 6:06 pm

Yeah the blade does go through the hole but there is too much other stuff in the way for the saw frame to go there, petrol tank etc. I tried to batter it but can't get enough force on it I guess with the hammer so close to the ground.

the size of the sleeve is about 24mm I guess, but it's hard to get anything above as the petrol tank is there, I tried to do a makeshift puller with a spanner and a spring clamp but it kept slipping.

I guess then my only option is to spend the £100+ on the tool?

Thanks chaps.

Tue Jun 18, 2013 6:15 pm

Ah, I didn't realise you still had the beam in situ. If you want to save the money, just drop the beam.

Tue Jun 18, 2013 6:20 pm

Yeah I guess, I hadn't thought of that. I'll look it up on the wiki how to do it later. Thanks

Tue Jun 18, 2013 6:22 pm

Have you tried a gear puller and a socket or something similar? My sockets have a sort of taper so they fit just inside the ring at one end and outside at the other end of the socket. With the arms of the puller on the outside of the frame and the threaded part of the puller in the hole of the socket (you might need a small washer too) it acts like a sort of press really.

Does that make much sense?

Probably not much different to how the BMW tool works but it doesn't cost £100! Is it worth it for tool that you will only use a few times?

Tue Jun 18, 2013 6:35 pm

No definitely not, but I haven't got nor heard of a gear puller haha

I'll look one up before I take the whole thing off, Might save me some tie and effort

Thanks mate

Tue Jun 18, 2013 9:18 pm

I dropped my beam completely, used a jigsaw to cut out the bushes (probably not recommended!) and got a local garage to press the new ones in. I did try a hammer to get them in but that just damages the alloy insert and gets you nowhere so had to buy another

In the wiki if you have the whole thing off you can see the threaded bar and washer technique.

Tue Jun 18, 2013 9:40 pm

milescook wrote: I did try a hammer to get them in but that just damages the alloy insert and gets you nowhere so had to buy another

It might well be possible to hammer them in (not recommended!), but you have to hammer against the outer steel ring, not the alloy centre bush. If you hammer against the centre bush, all the energy from the hammer blows is dissipated in the rubber and in distorting the alloy. Virtually none will go towards sliding the bush in.
Once you have something suitable to transfer the hammer blows to the outer ring, you may as well do the job properly and add some threaded rod.

Wed Jun 19, 2013 1:04 pm

I got a threaded rod but it just messed the thread up and bent the bar lol. I really didn't want to have to take the whole beam off but by the looks of it I really don't have a choice.

Wed Jun 19, 2013 3:33 pm

The other option is to get a Dremel and some slit discs. It'll take about an hour to cut your way through the metal sleeve, but it can be done in situ and then a chisel will bend the sleeve until it drops out.

It's slow and laborious, but probably quicker and less effort than dropping the diff to drop the subframe, then refitting.

Mon Jun 24, 2013 8:24 am

It might be to late now but if you haven't sorted this yet it might help, I had this problem a couple of weeks ago and I used a special hack saw from B&Q that just fits in the hole, it still took a while and a lot of patience to cut them out but I got there in the end.

http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/handtools-st ... d=11758862