Clark

Okay, so in the past I've removed 1 lower arm where the compliance bushing collar was seized and I had to cut it out. I've done another where it was not and it came out easily. Now I am baffled.

I have arms I need to remove which were re-bushed with a stiffer bushing (I have to see if I can find it but I think it may have been the Powerflex bushings). It was @ 3 years ago that I installed these and then had got interrupted. Now I'm trying to remove the compliance bushing and it is so weird. They're not seized. The collar spin just fine. I just can't seem to get them to want to come out. I worked with one and it has @ 1/2" vertical movement and pretty loosely too depending on the angle of the arm. But feels like it's hitting on some sort of stopping point as opposed to sliding out. I've tried pulling with vice grips, attempts to tap with a hammer & chise, prying. Again it is baffling.

I haven't worked as much on the other side other than to establish that it is also not frozen but the collar isn't showing signs of wanting to come out any easier. Any idea what is going on?

Perhaps I can post a quick video later today but I just wanted to get the thread out there and get any 'it's obvious you dumbass' answer asap.

Thanks

THMotorsports

They should come out pretty easily since the powerflex is sort of like a spherical in that it has a rotating element in it. That should pretty much eliminate any of the binding issues that make the collar hard to go in in the first place. Have you tried prying on it with a pry bar? I assume you've completely removed the bolt from the sleeve. Could there have been a burr or perhaps the tip of the sleeve mushroomed and is preventing it from coming out?

noodels

Have you removed the drop links

Fokker

Am I interpreting correctly that you removed the adjustment eccentric? If not, I put a box end wrench on each end and worked them in opposing directions, back and forth, which breaks up any corrosion and gets the shaft loose from the cap. One required a small bit of assistance with a flat blade screw driver to drop it out. After that, the arm should come out with some pulling and pry assistance if necessary. I used a tapered drift punch to help pry the compliance end of the arm out.

Clark

Yes Fokker, I have removed the adjustment eccentric on top after removing the top nut and thankfully having the long bolt just drop right out. There is literally no corrosion as these were clean and new. I installed them a couple years ago but the car just sat in the corner of a garage the whole time. The adjustment collar spins freely and even has some vertical play which is very free (unless I bind it up by moving the lower arm a lot).

I did pry on the camber adjustment eccentric lip on the bottom as I have plenty of clearance. More than just a screwdriver, I was able to get a crowbar in there and I was starting to bend the mounting flange and feared I would bend or damage something the way I was going.

I didn't get a chance to take pics or video today but I'll try to asap.

Clark

Noodels, I don't know what you mean by the drop links. Do you have a pic I can reference?

Forget the question. I realize you were referring to the anti-roll bar. It is uninstalled.

Clark

That is exactly what I thought. Keep in mind though I installed the arms with the new bushings and new adjustment collar a couple of years ago, the car sat in the corner of my garage since then. It has seen no weather and hasn't even been driven, merely pushed around a bit. I expected everything to just slide right out like butta. The bolt which usually seizes sure did, but the collar is feels like it is hitting a detente of some sort (it could be a burr though I don't know how as there was no problem putting it in). I can spin it with my fingers looking for a 'way out' but prying or pulling with vice grips gets me nowhere. I'm confused as all get out on this one.

Car Analogy

My thoughts are the mushroom condition already mentioned. If the eccentric tube were still a perfect cylinder shape, it should just slide right out. But if its mushroomed, it would do exactly what you are seeing. It would slide until the mushroomed spot binds. It would spin fine, and slide up and down fine within the limits of mushroomed area binding.

How could it mushroom? Bolt torque when it was previously assembled is my guess. Somehow the eccentric tube clearance was greater then the bushing collar, and bolt torque applied crushed it into mushroom.

It does seem odd. That would be a lot of torque to do that, but it otherwise fits.

If this is the issue, the only option seems to be cutting it out again.