

| Subject: | Piece of metal rod stuck in rubber bushing, how remove? |
| Date: | Wed, 17 Jul 96 19:53:32 EDT |
The right front link of the sway bar on my '82 westy is broken off just where it attaches in a rubber bushing on the control arm. The upper part of the broken link popped off the sway bar with a little persuation and soap water. Problem is that despite trying several different methods I can't get the remains of the lower part out of the rubber bushing on the control arm. The link sheared off just below the bushing. The bottom part with the treaded portion is still intact. Methods to get it out I've tried so far: Hitting with hammer both from below and above, with soap water and liquid wrench liberally applied. Heat up bottom part with pencil torch and hammering. Try to turn it by wrench on nut on the treaded lower part. I did this carefully to not break the treaded part off in case it is useful for future removal attempts. Hammering may not be the best method, since the piece is suspended in the rubber bushing. I also tried to push it out with a hydralic jack, but only thing that happened was that the front end of the bus lifted up. Does anybody have better suggestions? I could try drilling it out, but I'm not likely to be able to drill straight for 2 inches with a handheld drill, and will most likely just ruin the bushing, while still having part of the metal rod stuck in there. Thanks to Tim Smith, Bill Kennedy, Joel and Bob Hufford for suggestions on how to fix instead of replace the broken link. This link seem to be a common thing to break, and several people have just drilled and threaded the bottom of the link for a bolt, and bolted it back on. /Martin
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