front lower wishbone bushes (lollipops)

[Stratts]

I have a pair of lollipops (with the remnants of the old bushes inside them still) if you want them for a small fee?

I was going to cut the old bush out and sell them all cleaned up and looking nice, but if you want them as they are then we can work something out.

[mpm]

Meyle HD ones ordered

[sk93]

Bought a pair of OPEC direct replacements from ECP in their sale mid-last week for just over £25 for both inc vat.
Got round to fitting one this evening and will replace the other side tomorrow.

one thing to note when doing the replacement is: have some dish soap handy!
I tried silicone grease. I tried a rubber mallet. I tried sacrificing a small child.. nothing helped with getting the new ones on.

Tried a dab of dish soap on a re-cleaned arm and bush, and with one tap of the rubber mallet, it slid perfectly into place first time.

so yeah.. dish soap now lives in my toolbox.

[sk93]

so day 2.. and the other side just will NOT go on.
i can get it on a few centimeters, but it just pops right back off again.
no amount of human pushing helps, and it is pointless hammering it, as it just bounces right back immediately.

help!?!

[hopz121]

so day 2.. and the other side just will NOT go on.
i can get it on a few centimeters, but it just pops right back off again.
no amount of human pushing helps, and it is pointless hammering it, as it just bounces right back immediately.

help!?!

Cheap part maybe?

Take it back to ECP and maybe try a replacement

[sk93]

this is nothing to do with the cost of the part.....
its simply a fitment issue, and the more googling I'm doing, the more common it appears to be.
even more so with 'tougher' units such as poly bushes

[sk93]

an example of someone experiencing the same problem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HB0mJyu6iR4

[GuidoK]

Poly bushings (the powerflex ones) pop on by hand. It's a thin&soft insert; that's the easiest part of the install.

This is clearly a poor tolerance issue, if the one side goes on easily and this side gives a lot of trouble. I mean the control arms hex endings are the same.

The only thing I can think of is putting some kind of clamp on it that presses it further. Hammering on rubber is tricky, as the force of the blow gets dissipated in the rubber and thus is less effective than on hard materials. Constant force is better maybe.

But I don't know if you can get a clamp to grip on something (or maybe a rope that you twist togheter).

^ oh wait, maybe a ratcheting strap. That's a nice idea.

[sk93]

off to get a ratchet strap and give that a go.

[sk93]

and done!

ratchet strap did the job perfectly - went on even easier than the first side if i'm honest!

simply hook both ends of the strap to the gaps in the control arm, take up the slack, then align the lolipop by hand.
push the lolipop on with one hand, then use your other hand to operate the ratchet, using it to take up the slack and stopping it from popping back off.
once you've pushed it as far as you can by hand, tighten the ratchet slowly until there's some tension, then give the lolipop a tap with the rubber mallet, and bingo!

took it for a quick spirited drive around my local b roads and the improvement in handling is excellent - possibly better than when I bought the car!

cheap parts or not, these have a 2 year warranty, cost feck all, handle perfectly, even when pushing it at speed, and I have no doubt they will last!

time for a beer!

[hopz121]

Well done sk93 glad its all sorted

[sk93]

cheers.
appreciated all the input, even if I didn't sound like it

[Bradders75]

Nice one Ian, always satisfying to do these things yourself.

Would you say it would be an easier job to replace the whole wishbone and bush assembly together? I've bought new wishbones and lollipops but not sure whether or not to tackle it! I'm reasonably competent but a bit light on specialist tools.

[sk93]

I'd say if you've got a ratchet strap, a rubber mallet and some dish soap, changing the lolipops is easier... no ball joints to piss around with!

granted, as you've got new wishbones, you don't need to worry about keeping the old balljoints in tact, but even still, they can be an arse to separate sometimes.

If it helps, I got my ratchet strap from the shelf at B&Q for £7. 25mm wide, 5m long... perfect for the job

however, if you're changing the wishbone, then it will undoubtedly be easier to mount the lolipops to the new bones outside of the car...

[Bradders75]

I'd say if you've got a ratchet strap, a rubber mallet and some dish soap, changing the lolipops is easier... no ball joints to piss around with!

granted, as you've got new wishbones, you don't need to worry about keeping the old balljoints in tact, but even still, they can be an arse to separate sometimes.

If it helps, I got my ratchet strap from the shelf at B&Q for £7. 25mm wide, 5m long... perfect for the job

however, if you're changing the wishbone, then it will undoubtedly be easier to mount the lolipops to the new bones outside of the car...

Thanks for the advice. I'll get a quote and then take it from there. Anything over £100 will probably have me reaching for the trolley jack.