Any chance of a photo of your installer/30306 bearing cup/washer hardware/tool---and a photo of a moment during the installation process? All of us will be facing this project sooner or --- well just sooner.

Hi Dave and Mark, sorry but no photos, although I cd knock something up. I put the taper race directly on top of the radius arm. I put a jubilee clip around the top of the bush, not really to compress it, but to stop it spreading. You don't need to weld a pipe on top. To push you'll need a few thick washers ID more than 24mm and OD 58mm, which will clear the bush core, and then a 58mm pusher to drive the whole thing down on an m12 bar. To stop the washers sliding around (if you can't find large enough m24s) I jubilee clipped the washers and pusher together. I used M40 washers, OD 58mm, and an eBay bush pulling kit which has all the sizes you need to drive. Make sure you grind the inside of the radius arm until it's shiny (get some decent grinding stones). Have an sds drill on hand in case the radius arm bolts are stuck in the bush cores, cut the spare thread and loosen the nuts, keep the nut half on the thread to retain the tip of the sds chisel when you pull the trigger, they will give up soon enough. Get new nuts and bolts, for sure.

Rob--Thanks for your description.

Sounds like with the correct taper bearing race --which you found --you pretty much do what needs to be done to press in the Rubber through the bearing into the hole. Stability and good alignment key.

Thanks--You saved me a bunch of trial and error with your generous share of part numbers, sizes, tips.

I was thinking that you welded the bearing to the top of a short tube having the matching diameter---sort of compress the entire bushing-- like done in those mushroom head tire plug kits. Knew I was overthinking it.

I have a 17-ton press--- is this enough?

Judging by my experience with the tool I made having a support tube above the taper bearing race will ensure that the bush does go in straight. My version only has a short parallel lead in and will try to slip sideways a bit if the bush isn't properly lined up. All pulls straight as it goes through the taper though. With 20-20 hindsight I'd have made the parallel bit longer.

But thats with a press pushing from the top.

If you are pulling it through with a bolt or stud it will have some self aligning capability so long as its reasonably close to true as it enters the taper race. Personally I'd bore a tube with the requisite diameters and push the race into the bottom with about an inch of straight bore above to keep the bush straight. Bit less to worry about holding in place. All those washers would drive me nuts!

Bottom line is that it clearly does come into alignment when just pulling through the race but a bit of extra support will make life easier.

Mark

My press is nominal 12 tons, Chinesium bottle jack power so what it really is I hesitate to guess, and that pushes them in easily. But, with my version of the tool, you can feel the bush settling into alignment as it enters the taper. I'd not care to use the naked bearing race and stack of washers in a press. Too many loose parts and the bend in the arm makes it much harder to keep things dead straight. Frankly if I were doing a bunch I'd add some bits to my 12 ton hydraulic puller kit so I could take the press to the radius arm rather than the arm to the press.

Do you want the pdf of drawings for my kit?

Clive

Clive-- if you have a pdf I would love to have a copy.

Mark

PM me your E-Mail and I'll send it over. Be warned its, ahem, comprehensive! I bought the Laser Tools kit that doesn't fit the P38 and did a re-worked version that would fit and drew out all the parts. Most of which aren't needed if you use a press rather than a pull screw.

Clive

Thanks for the description romanbob. I am also using a press so I think I will look round for a piece of pipe to weld onto the bearing.
Problem is I have not long done mine so won't need it for a few years unless I get another p38.

As a matter if interest has anyone done the rears? I haven't even looked at how to do them. I only know the trailing arms are composite.

Arms themselves are composite but the ends are steel. I've removed a rear axle which involved taking them off, or at least that's what I thought. The was no way I could undo the bolts securing the front or the arms to the car. I even tried putting my trolley jack under the end of a breaker bar and jacking up on it. All that did was lift the whole car! If the car was on a lift so a really big breaker bar could be used, I suspect they could be undone but not with the car on the ground. I ended up disconnecting the axle from the trailing arms and leaving them attached to the car.

I had to replace one of my rear arms a few years ago when I was a bit heavy handed with the level sensor and tore the rubber mount off !!!

I replaced the whole arm with a s/h one and I don't remember any difficulty with the bolts.

So on one arm the bushes are 19 years old and unknown age on the other.

I have kept the old damaged arm so I will have a look at it.

Yep I think the race method would be tricky with a press, too much of a balancing act to keep things true, then again if you have an M12 threaded bar/ vice and impact gun then the press can stay in the corner. Biggest learning was to make the inside of the radius arm shine : o) I needed to use a 1m breaker bar to drive my first two bushes into poorly prepared holes. On the second two holes I took out 1-2mm of crud to get to to 58.5mm and the bush ran in with just the impact gun (and some grease). It also just occurred to me that a second 30306 race, inverted (ie small side facing the bush) and jubilee clipped to a 70mm drive cup, could be quite effective to push down on the outer plastic cup of the bush, it would only need to be removed once it touched the lower compressing race and replaced with the M40 washers for the final drive into the arm

Bit rubbish, but there's a vid here https://youtu.be/RiAycOtZOwQ

Clive603 wrote:

RR

PM me with your E-Mail and I'll throw a pdf copy of my "complete" tool drawings across.
More than you need but its all there.
I think! Needs someone else to check them anyway.
My drawings are for one actually intended to be used with a pull screw as per the Laser tools "doesn't actually fit a P38" jobbie. Tried my set. It would work but nuts take a deal of turning to generate enough force to shove things in. Realistically a press is far better. Worst thing about press is holding things straight. Not quite got that bit sorted for doing on my own yet.

Or if you don't fancy making I guess I could box my bits up and send them by courier.

Clive

Hi,
I would like to receive your PDF & pm SENT.
Thanks in advance.

Got it , thanks.
Appreciate sharing valuable info.

Just don't go sharing it with that other lot over there....

(Gilbertd, also sometimes known as Richard_G)