Hello to everyone,i have recently been given my grandparents old 2001 Fabia  1.4,they owned the car from new and it only has 31,000 miles on it,its needing a bit of work done on it,wishbones,wheel bearings and anti roll bar bushes,

 

I managed to remove drivers side wishbone today and i then cut out old console bush,passenger side wishbone did not want come out of hub at the balljoint,no matter how much i hammered and levered with a large bar it would not drop out.

 

Anyway when i tried to insert new standard bush into console on drivers side it would not go in,i only had WD40 and washing up liquid to hand that i used as lube but could not get it in,what i was wondering is it possible to insert bush without the made up tool with the metal discs and threaded rod or do i 100% need this?, i was going to try and do as much work on car myself  before i get local garage to do the rest,i have not got the tools to do wheel bearings so was planning getting garage to do them

 

My plan was to do wishbones,anti roll bar bushes then paying to get bearings done but i am stuck now,so any ideas i would be very grateful.

You need the tool mate, it takes seconds to fit the bushes with it. I have fitted quite a few now and it's very good. I bought the sealey one whice is around £70 but you can fabricate your own for much cheaper. If you fit poly bushes or psb variety no tool is needes to fit these. 

I hope this helps mate.

Olly 

passenger side wishbone did not want come out of hub at the balljoint,no matter how much i hammered and levered with a large bar it would not drop out.

 

 

You can take out the three balljoint to arm bolts instead, leaving the balljoint attached to the hub. They do sometimes snap though, so you may need new bolts.

You can take out the three balljoint to arm bolts instead, leaving the balljoint attached to the hub. They do sometimes snap though, so you may need new bolts.

I managed to get 2 bolts out but the other has been chewed in the past so i removed ball joint nut and wrecked the rubber on the joint trying to remove wishbone,the new wishbone i got has the bushes already on it so i wasnt concerned about the rubber,i must have spent about an hour bouncing up and down on bar trying to release wishbone and hammering it,will maybe get someone to hammer wishbone side on while i try and lever it of at the same time ?,as for the console bushes i will need to look into getting the tool for fitting them into console,thanks for the replies people.

even with the tool it's wise to make sure the console bore is good to the bush size   the ally can grow and make it a tight fit--polish with abrasive cloth paper first  mutch easier

Polibushes are easyvto fit with a hammer

Polibushes are easyvto fit with a hammer

 

I'm probably the weakest guy I know and I managed to just push mine in with no tools needed so deffo worth going for these :P

Read the guide, it's all explained including why Powerflex are the best option all round from both a design,longevity and ease of fitting perspective. If you don't go with them then you need either the tool or to remove the consoles and press the bushes in/out.

As to the ball joint top nut every time and get a ball joint separator, not a pickling fork. They'll come apart in seconds. Check the drop links (fit OE or Meyle uprated versions).

Edited 18 May, 201412 yr by Avalon

As to the ball joint top nut every time and get a ball joint separator, not a pickling fork. They'll come apart in seconds. Check the drop links (fit OE or Meyle uprated versions).

 

Do you have to pull the CV joint out to get a separator in? There isn't much room as far as I can remember. A separator certainly is the best tool to use though.