Removing rear wishbones - replacing bushes etc

[Guest 2JZ GE W58]

Ok i brought a 93 manual NA back from the scrapyard (F&F stylee) and got it going as a daily driver. while rescuing it i tested all the bushings and they seemed legit, however NCT (irish MOT) says the rear wishbone's rear bushing (on both left & right sides of car) need to be replaced.

i checked again and there was only a tiny bit of play - so i took the wishbones off my spare/donor 94 auto NA and transferred to my daily driver 93 manual NA.

 

anyhoooo they are a bit of a pain in the balls and i couldnt find much useful info on the net so i said id contribute to the site for a change and stick up a step by step

hopefully will come in useful to someone

 

 

These are basically the tools you'll need - the balljoint (lets call it BJ for the laugh) splitters is the only real exotic there

 

Small hammer, big hammer, selection of flat scubadivers, couple of 19mm sockets (highly recommend the flat/hex type not the splined type, and d 1/2" drive), 1/2" drive ratchet, 1/2" drive breaker bar, big G-clamp, 19mm spanner, balljoint splitters (the one i have is barely big enough...)

 

1. 19mm ring spanner (and quite possibly help from a lump hammer to break it loose) to loosen off the BJ nut

 

2. Wrench nut down until flush with end of bolt

 

3. Use a flat scubadiver to lift the BJ rubber (lol) so the BJ splitter (lol) does not pinch the rubber. you'll need a good intact rubber to keep moisture out and prolong BJ life.

Use the BJ splitter to put pressure on, and when you think she's ready to pop, hit her a slap of your big hammer (lol)

 

4. Use a big G-clamp to pull the BJ partially closed again, only far enough so the BJ bolt stops turning when you try to remove the nut completely

careful to be sure the clamp is against something solid

 

5. When nut is off, remove G-clamp and use the hammer to tap the BJ open again

 

6. Pull down the wheel hub so the BJ will drop down further - this gets it out of the way and opens up the gap at the back a little more

 

7. 19mm spanner up through the small space and onto the wishbone's rear bolt

 

8a. Use breaker bar and flat/hex 19mm socket (not the splined type one it may skip the nut/bolt head edges) to loosen bolt. this takes a fair amount of torque now mind

 

8b. Tip: turn socket by 90 degrees on the breaker bar's square drive for each iteration of the levering. the range of movement is just such that this way works

 

8c. finish off removing the bolt with a ratcheted wrench

 

9. Use long flat scubadiver and hammer to tap the circlip off the front wishbone bolt

 

10. Use fingertips to remove the thingy that goes over the nut

 

11. 19mm spanner up through the little gap again and onto the nut

 

12. Same drill as before with the breaker bar and ratchet. Tip: the gap between the wishbone and the chassis is slightly different from 1 car to the next, and also each side of the car to the other, so you may get better space with the wishbone in the upmost position instead of down

 

So i did 4 removals and 4 fits in total - first removal took me a few hours but the 4th was 30 mins.

Edited October 27, 2013 by 2JZ GE W58 (see edit history)

[Ian C]

I need a flat Scubadiver

 

Great how-to post