Chuck 98 RT/10
Enthusiast
Anybody got tool recomendations? I like to use the right tool for the right job but if anyone has any other suggestions short of sending them out I'm open to them. I like to do my own work.
Control arm bushing removal
- Thread starter Chuck 98 RT/10
- Start date
GTS Dean
Enthusiast
For under $200, you can buy the Miller #6990 Viper Service Tools kit off eBay. You'll also need the C-4150 ball joint separator tool.
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TexasPettey
Enthusiast
On my Gen1, the control arms were heated and then the bushing pressed out. I don't know if it is the same on a Gen2.
Chuck 98 RT/10
Enthusiast
Hey Deano, that Miller kit looks like it just sets the alignment. Are you sure it will remove the bushings?
Miller 6990 Viper Essential Tool Kit ***NEW*** - eBay (item 110389010901 end time Jan-01-11 17:27:47 PST)
F8L SNK
Enthusiast
Not trying to answer for Dean but it appears there is one in the kit. At least by the picture. It is the cylinder that has the threaded section going into it.
Chuck 98 RT/10
Enthusiast
Yeah, Deano knows his stuff that's for sure.
If it works as advertised, you could set up shop to do the changeout for folks for $$$, I have a bunch of control arms with worn ball joints that I can't seem to get replaced. Perhaps I'm confusing bushings with ball joints.....
Phun70
VCA Venom Member
Send them to my shop, I'll be happy to do them.
GTS Dean
Enthusiast
Correct. It will remove both the lower and upper wishbone pivot bushings. It will not remove the ball joints themselves. There is also a special bolt/sleeve combination that works at the rear - but I can't recall whether it is for the upper or lower ball joint. Look at the diagrams in your service manual and you'll see which pieces do what job.
The 4150 tool will gently pop the ball joint studs out of the tapered sockets in the knuckles without ruining the rubber boots.
My memory is a little fuzzy on this:
All of the Gen2 wishbones are swappable left-right except for the rear lowers. Some of the ball joints may be replaceable, (screw type) but some are definitely not (pressed). I think the manufacturer of the wishbones carefully heats the socket end and inserts the non-removable ball. When it cools, the joint is locked in. Trying to press the old one out at ambient temps will gall the hole and render it useless. If you apply heat, you'll ruin the temper of the wishbone. Heat-treated aluminum is finicky and not territory for amateurs.
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Dean's explanation of the heat-press-cool process is what I've been consistently told. Doesn't seem fundamentally difficult BUT the temps and rate of heat exchange to the control arm have to be precise or the metallurgy changes. PHUN, does your shop have experience with this process?
GTS Dean
Enthusiast
Here's a photo of the right tools for a bushing job. The large pieces on each end are NOT part of the 6990 kit.
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