longislandwrx

My Aluminum lateral links were pretty nasty. They had a nice layer of undercoating, oxidation and rust from the bushings.

I started out with some solvent to get the rubber off (a razor blade helped get the rubber out of the grooves) and then gave them a quick sanding with 400 grit and then did a quick polish with wet 600 grit which gave them a nice shine. I guess they could be further polished but they are perfect for me.

Next step was pressing out the old rusted bushings. If you are planning on reusing yours you may want to use an actual bushing tool. I wasn't planning on it so I just did it the quick way and pressed them out with the press itself, the aluminum is soft so make sure its well supported on the other side. They pop right out without much pressure. a little silicone spray lube on the top helps as well.

I cleaned up the inside with the 600 grit to get a smooth finish for the new bushings, here you can see the before and after, before the final cleanup.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]19564[/ATTACH]

The next step was to install the new bushings. I ordered these bad boys from Turn in Concepts:
[url]http://turninconcepts.com/product_info.php?cPath=1_9_7_479_43_1329&products_id=1204[/url]

I also ordered the trailing link bushings and got $15 off. BOOYAH!

The crush tubes are stainless so rust should be a thing of the past.

A little lube and they slide in. I'm very happy and the whole process took less than an hour. Keep in mind one of the crush tubes is smaller that's for the forward inside camber bolt. Here's some more shots.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]19565[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]19566[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]19567[/ATTACH]

I plan on running 4 of these as they are lighter than the steel link and the 818 doesn't require the endlink mount.