Welcome to the North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club Thursday March 28, 2024
Home Forums Images WikiNASIOC Products Store Modifications Upgrade Garage
Click here to visit TireRack
Brakes & Suspension Forum sponsored by The Tire Rack

Losing traction? Need new tires?
Click here to visit the NASIOC Upgrade Garage...
Go Back   NASIOC > NASIOC Technical > Brakes, Steering & Suspension

Welcome to NASIOC - The world's largest online community for Subaru enthusiasts!
Welcome to the NASIOC.com Subaru forum.

You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our community, free of charge, you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is free, fast and simple, so please join our community today!

If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.







* As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads. 
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 02-27-2015, 11:26 PM   #1
Fairlaner
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 271222
Join Date: Jan 2011
Chapter/Region: SCIC
Location: Central Coast, CA
Vehicle:
2002 WRX
WRB

Default Group N Rear Trailing Arm Bushing Garage-Built Install Tool

I built up a tool to install rear Trailing Arm Group N Bushings in my '02 Wrx using basic hand tools (Dremel, hacksaw, hand drill, vise).

I used about 6" of a 2.25 OD baseball bat, fitted into a 2" to 1.5" pipe adapter, with a 1.5" pipe cap as an end cap. I ground a small taper on the ends of the pipe fittings so they would "self-center" on each side of the knuckle. I also ground the threads out of the inside of the pipe cap. A piece of a 3/8"x8" pipe nipple was slid over a piece of M12 threaded rod for a push rod.

The tool worked far better than I thought it would. Once the bushing was installed into the tool, it took less than 5 minutes to put the tool into the knuckle and install the bushing.




Using the end cap to center the bushing ...

* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.

Last edited by Fairlaner; 10-06-2015 at 09:09 PM.
Fairlaner is offline   Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.
Old 02-28-2015, 06:41 AM   #2
JarHarms
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 138994
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: apparently I "spread the hate"
Vehicle:
2006 WRX, 6MT, 5x114

Default

Good job
JarHarms is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-28-2015, 11:03 AM   #3
Bikelok
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 254851
Join Date: Aug 2010
Chapter/Region: BAIC
Location: Nor-Cal Bay Area
Vehicle:
2002 WRX wagon 5mt
PSM

Default

Nice!

Can you post an exploded view of the tool?
Bikelok is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2015, 10:58 AM   #4
Fairlaner
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 271222
Join Date: Jan 2011
Chapter/Region: SCIC
Location: Central Coast, CA
Vehicle:
2002 WRX
WRB

Default

As requested, more pics of my tool ...


From left to right you see:
  • End Cap (note taper ground around the inside to center the tool)
  • Tapered portion of a baseball bat press fit into the pipe adapter
  • Screws to attach the centering cap to the top of the tapered tube
  • Lubed Group N Bushing
  • Slug so the push tube pushes squarely against the bushing
  • Push Tube
  • Centering Cap
  • "Bearing" (nylon washer sandwiched between two steel washers)
  • Push nut





The Bushing is then installed into the tapered tube, and the centering cap is attached to the top of the tapered tube. A backing nut for the end cap is installed, and now the tool is ready to be installed into the knuckle.





A few more pics ...







The tapered tube did not pop off the bushing until the bushing was fully installed ... note the push slug right up against the knuckle in this pic




Again, I was amazed how well the tool worked. It centered nicely and the bushing took very little effort to push in ... the hardened threaded rod and thick nuts were definitely overkill.
Fairlaner is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2015, 01:37 PM   #5
Bikelok
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 254851
Join Date: Aug 2010
Chapter/Region: BAIC
Location: Nor-Cal Bay Area
Vehicle:
2002 WRX wagon 5mt
PSM

Default

Excellent, thanks.
Bikelok is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-09-2015, 12:04 PM   #6
passion4JC
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 46389
Join Date: Oct 2003
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: Gaithersburg, MD
Vehicle:
2003 WRX Stg 2.5
PSM

Default

Fairlaner, thanks for this write up. I made a tool using your parts, except I substituted the pipe adapter and the baseball bat with this McMaster P/N: 45605K745, which is an unthreaded, 2 x 1-1/2 Pipe Size, Reducing Coupling. It works well and the inside diameter is actually 1.500, which is close to the 1.572 ID of the knuckle.

Thanks again.
passion4JC is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-09-2015, 09:28 PM   #7
Fairlaner
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 271222
Join Date: Jan 2011
Chapter/Region: SCIC
Location: Central Coast, CA
Vehicle:
2002 WRX
WRB

Default

Good deal ... I'm glad you got something to work for you.

While these bushings are near impossible to push in without assistance, if a guy is just a little bit handy, it's pretty easy to cob something together to make installing the bushings a simple task.
Fairlaner is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-10-2015, 07:41 AM   #8
blue sedan
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 311622
Join Date: Feb 2012
Chapter/Region: Tri-State
Location: Pa.
Vehicle:
2020 WRX
Lapis Blue

Default

Nice job! Thanks, Ill be making a tool like this soon.
blue sedan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-11-2015, 01:36 PM   #9
REX_WGN
Scooby Guru
 
Member#: 107618
Join Date: Feb 2006
Chapter/Region: Tri-State
Location: NY
Vehicle:
06 GG WRX / 09 FXT
@florencedestinedfxt

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fairlaner View Post

Fairlaner, where did you source that brass think washer in this picture? I'm looking for something similar to this for another purpose. My TMIC is slightly crooked because of my phenolic spacers and my current solution is using an oversized nut as a spacer but your washer seems to be a better solution. I can superglue that bad boy to the bracket and not be worried about that thing falling into the engine bay everytime I remove the IC.
REX_WGN is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-11-2015, 08:28 PM   #10
Fairlaner
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 271222
Join Date: Jan 2011
Chapter/Region: SCIC
Location: Central Coast, CA
Vehicle:
2002 WRX
WRB

Default

That slug is actually plated steel, and I have no idea where it came from (I pulled it out of my can of misc. hardware). I'm sure a good online hardware site would have something that would work for you ...
Fairlaner is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-12-2016, 11:28 AM   #11
todd_fuller
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 79004
Join Date: Jan 2005
Chapter/Region: TXIC
Location: Austin, TX
Vehicle:
2005 Impreza WRX STi
Crystal Grey

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by passion4JC View Post
McMaster P/N: 45605K745
Thanks to both of you. I picked up this reducer. With a combination of sockets and a c-frame press, I was able to press these in easily. I tried a threaded rob, but that felt like something was going to break. To maintain the alignment you get using a threaded rod, I used a socket that fit into the end of the c-frame press and a long 3/8" extension to guide the bushing in straight.

I looked a lot at how to do this and there weren't many ideas out there to press in the OEM bushings DIY-style.
todd_fuller is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-06-2018, 03:07 PM   #12
sub9lulu
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 36946
Join Date: May 2003
Location: CFL
Default

Try this

sub9lulu is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-06-2018, 03:11 PM   #13
sub9lulu
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 36946
Join Date: May 2003
Location: CFL
Default

One more
sub9lulu is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-07-2018, 01:44 PM   #14
Turn in Concepts
Former Vendor
 
Member#: 93646
Join Date: Aug 2005
Chapter/Region: MWSOC
Vehicle:
Many Track Records
Let us help you go fast!

Default

I'll throw my hat into the ring while tooting my own horn and say that split bushings are so much less work.

Turn in Concepts is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-07-2018, 03:54 PM   #15
Fairlaner
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 271222
Join Date: Jan 2011
Chapter/Region: SCIC
Location: Central Coast, CA
Vehicle:
2002 WRX
WRB

Default

With a hobby, sometimes the journey is half the fun…

Thanks for reposting the pics… I no longer have the tool nor the pictures.
Fairlaner is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-21-2020, 12:04 AM   #16
sdh7711
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 150593
Join Date: Jun 2007
Chapter/Region: NESIC
Location: Boston Metro, MA
Vehicle:
2004 Impreza WRX
JDM V7 Sti

Default Cap Grinding

Bringing this back from the dead a bit as I am in the process of making one of these myself. What you use to grind out the threads on the end cap?
sdh7711 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-21-2020, 09:33 AM   #17
Fairlaner
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 271222
Join Date: Jan 2011
Chapter/Region: SCIC
Location: Central Coast, CA
Vehicle:
2002 WRX
WRB

Default

I used a dremel with a grind stone ...
Fairlaner is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2020, 05:45 PM   #18
Winterhawk
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 463763
Join Date: Feb 2017
Chapter/Region: NWIC
Location: Whidbey Island, WA
Vehicle:
2002 WRX Sedan

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by sdh7711 View Post
Bringing this back from the dead a bit as I am in the process of making one of these myself. What you use to grind out the threads on the end cap?
Please update after you have it built and have used it. I'm also looking to install the group n bushings and would rather build my own tool then having someone else install them.
Winterhawk is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-01-2020, 03:08 PM   #19
REX_WGN
Scooby Guru
 
Member#: 107618
Join Date: Feb 2006
Chapter/Region: Tri-State
Location: NY
Vehicle:
06 GG WRX / 09 FXT
@florencedestinedfxt

Default

While I haven't tried installing a Group-N bushing before, it seems that an alternate method would be to use a ball joint press tool kit to press the new bushing in. Either use one of the existing pieces in the kit or a large enough socket to push the rubber of the bushing in

For removal, I'd just burn the old bushing out.
REX_WGN is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-09-2020, 03:50 PM   #20
kingsalami
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 206257
Join Date: Mar 2009
Chapter/Region: MWSOC
Location: Yukon, OK
Vehicle:
2009 WRX 5-door
White

Default

I used a DIY setup like these to install Group N bushings on my rear lateral links & toe arms:
https://www.suspension.com/blog/how-...thout-a-press/
https://www.e46fanatics.com/threads/...hings.1044146/
kingsalami is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-10-2020, 11:00 PM   #21
2slofouru
Scooby Guru
 
Member#: 90539
Join Date: Jul 2005
Chapter/Region: South East
Location: SWLA
Vehicle:
My BOV goes
COVFEFE!

Default

Sort of related, but I'm wondering if the oem trailing arm bushing is spherical under the rubber or just rubber. I replaced all four wheel bearings last week and when the rear arms are disconnected from the knuckle they hang down. They seem stiff if you try and bend them left or right but move up and down as if they aren't solid. A good alignment shop aligned it (because our machine is inop) and got everything in spec. He didn't mention any issues aligning it and is very experienced.

I'm considering pressing in new oems if mine are damaged, because it's a 07 2.5i and it's my comfy quiet daily.
2slofouru is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-11-2020, 12:08 PM   #22
REX_WGN
Scooby Guru
 
Member#: 107618
Join Date: Feb 2006
Chapter/Region: Tri-State
Location: NY
Vehicle:
06 GG WRX / 09 FXT
@florencedestinedfxt

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by 2slofouru View Post
Sort of related, but I'm wondering if the oem trailing arm bushing is spherical under the rubber or just rubber. I replaced all four wheel bearings last week and when the rear arms are disconnected from the knuckle they hang down. They seem stiff if you try and bend them left or right but move up and down as if they aren't solid. A good alignment shop aligned it (because our machine is inop) and got everything in spec. He didn't mention any issues aligning it and is very experienced.

I'm considering pressing in new oems if mine are damaged, because it's a 07 2.5i and it's my comfy quiet daily.
If it's an oem bushing, then it's definitely rubber. For the GDs, only the STI 'pink' trailing arms are spherical. There's a few brands like Cusco and Hardrace that offer spherical but I'm thinking you don't have those. It may just be a torn bushing.

I'd say it wouldn't hurt to go Group-N but if comfy and quiet are priorities, then yeah, a new oem bushing would be great.
REX_WGN is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-11-2020, 05:38 PM   #23
kingsalami
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 206257
Join Date: Mar 2009
Chapter/Region: MWSOC
Location: Yukon, OK
Vehicle:
2009 WRX 5-door
White

Default

If I was pressing in a bushing anyway, I'd just press in a Group-N. They last much longer than stock, and don't generate much NVH. I think they're perfect for a DD.
kingsalami is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 04:01 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.0
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2024 Axivo Inc.
Copyright ©1999 - 2019, North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club, Inc.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission
Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.