I had a silentbloc bush fail over the weekend, while pulling out of my
driveway, no damage, but I am trying to get the car back on the road so it
can be present at a show I am running, a week from Saturday, but I have run
into a snag. I will provide more details about the failure in a seperate
post, as this definitely is a serious safety issue for others too.
I have everything dissasembled, EXCEPT the stud from the center of the
silentbloc which is mounted on the steering box drop arm. Without removing
the steering box or upper control arm I cannot get a puller on the stud. I
have heated the joint with MAP gas(high heat content propane type
cylinder), but cannot get the joint hot enough to glow. Also, I have been
soaking it with penetrating lube for two days. There is insufficient
clearance to get a good hammer swing in to us the two hammer approach to
loosening the tapered fit of the pin to the drop arm.
Last night I slackened the adjustment on the top of the box in the hope I
could gain enough slack to swing the drop arm further around enough to be
able to reach it with the puller, however it didn't gain me much clearance.
I was wondering....If I remove the top of the steering box, while it is
still in the car, will I be able to swign the idler arm further around
towards the front of the car? I could then get the puller on the stud. It
looks like I can pull the cover with the box in the car, but I am not sure.
Will getting a welder with an Oxy-acetylene torch to heat the joint to
cherry red make much difference here, or do I have to pull the steering box
or upper control arm? I have been keeping tension on the joint with a
vicegrip, during my heating sessions.
Have I overlooked anything? Are there any alternatives?
Thanks in advance.
Jack
TS69032L
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