Trying to remove compensator bushings from rod/bolt

[Tony Aprile]

Any tips on removing the compensator bushings from the bolt/rod that goes through it. They both are very stuck and in medium to good condition so I don't want to ruin them. I want to remove them during my restoration of the undercarriage. I have them off the spring but still attached to the bolt. The nuts are off.

[Dick Weiss]

Tony,

If the bushing(s) are not in the rubber(s), you could soak it w/Kroil for a while (or other 'rust-busters'); also you could use a hammer to impact/shock them w/a hammer, or use a little heat from a blowtorch. Then you'll be able to knock it out.

Dick

[Tony Aprile]

Thanks dick. I think heat will cook the rubber but it might be the only way. I tried soaking in liquid wrench. No change.

[C J Murray]

I would spray it with your favorite rust buster with hope that it will sink in over a day or more. I would then press the bolt out of the inner sleeve of the bushing using a bolt together bearing removal press fixture and a press. You need to set the bearing fixture to a width barely wider than the bolt and too narrow to allow the sleeve past. You can't use heat on a rubber bushing and you can't make any removal progress pushing against rubber.

[Martin Benade]

It may not make a difference for this problem, but I am convinced that "Blaster" or some other products (Kroil?) are much better than Liquid Wrench. I used to think they were all the same, but I don't any more.

[C J Murray]

+1 for Blaster

[Jeffrey Leeds]

Somewhere on this Forum is an earlier discussion of penetrating oils, but I couldn't pick it up again. So here is a link to a snapshot summary of testing done by Machinist's Workshop Magazine:
http://www.nyspeed.com/showthread.php?2 ... Works-Best

Turns out a 50/50 blend of Acetone and ATF fluids is the champion.

[Jim Breazeale]

Any tips on removing the compensator bushings from the bolt/rod that goes through it. They both are very stuck and in medium to good condition so I don't want to ruin them. I want to remove them during my restoration of the undercarriage. I have them off the spring but still attached to the bolt. The nuts are off.

Tony

Some things just can't be done. I have tried to remove stuck rear compensator bushings from dozens and dozens of 356s for the last 45 years. I have used every trick in the book and have been successful maybe 10% of the time. You can always get them apart, but at the detriment of the bolt. I live and work in beautiful "Rust free" California and can't begin to fathom how someone in areas known for rusty cars can get them apart. The bolts are available from time to time. Why not just leave that useless thing off you car and dispense with the frustration? If you want to keep trying, get some Rost Off by Wurth. Don't buy it in California, though. We have a "reformulated" version of Rost Off due to our wonderful environmental protections, in this state. It just came out so I am holding on to my current stock of the good stuff and only using it in dire situations.
Rost Off trumps any other penetrant IMHO.

Regards

Jim

[C J Murray]

You can make a bolt pretty easy.(pun intended)

[Brad Ripley]

Save the big rubber mount (current price $435), sacrifice the bolt, buy a new one http://www.stoddard.com/695-333-241-01.html $38.

[Tony Aprile]

I got it done. Soaked rod shaft in rust buster for a few days. Set pin in semi loose vice with threads up. A good hard smack with a large ball peen hammer and bolts came loose. Cleaned up the threads and they are very reusable.
Thanks for all the help everyone.