Dear All,

I'm not sure if this is method has already been "discovered" but I thought I'd show what I did any way...

I've been following the Peach Parts Wiki front end rebuild

http://www.peachparts.com/Wikka/W123FrontSuspension

But got a little bit stuck getting the new bushings into the Lower Control Arm (LCA). Pushing them into place with KY Jelly was fine but they ended up wriggling out so there was always a gap...



You can see the gap here on the bushing that has got a bit of masking tape on the end (more about that later)

I was inspired by the Whisky Dan Method (WDM) of installing and removing trailing arm bushings (W123 1984 300TD wagon rear trailing arm bushings R&R) and so I came up with this:- A wooden vice with a hole in one end so you can finish off the aluminium tube that holds the two bushings in place.



Please ignore the angle grinder wire brush attachment - it just happens to have a 12mm bolt on it and I couldn't find another at the time... I will go to virtually any length not to have to go back to the shop again to get yet another bit...

I like wood for these sorts of solutions - the chances of over tightening or squashing stuff is small - and when you are done you can just throw it away and not clutter up your tool kit with yet more special tools (that you probably won't use again).

To make the vice you need:-

Two bits of chunky cheap wood
Two lengths of threaded bar (that can also be used for other things such as fitting trailing arm bushes using the WDM)
Four washers
Four nuts (you don't need the angle grinder wire brush attachment!)

Drill two holes towards the ends of your chunky cheap wood for the threaded bar (see photograph)

Drill one hole in the middle of once piece of your chunky wood that is wide enough to pass a W123 wheel bolt through (about 23-24mm)

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