W123 300D Steering idler bushings removal

[Stretch]

Hi Folks,

I thought I'd post some pictures of a little problem I had - and my solution.

Having removed every component of my front suspension I got round to trying to remove the steering idler bushings. My Haynes manual cheerfully says to remove them with a hammer and punch. This may work for some but in my case after 30 years of sitting in the same place the bushings seemed to be welded in place...

My plan of attack was to cut the inner metal sleeve and then using my trusty old screwdriver to curl the inner sleeve inwards so that only the plastic outer bushing carcase remained in contact with the chassis.



This worked a treat - you need to be careful to only cut the bit you are removing though!



I found that I needed to cut from the bottom and the top to make sure I didn't damage the chassis.

When I got the bushings out I actually noticed that the inner metal sleeve has a join along its length so if you can find that you may not need to go through the cutting process. Because they are made with a split (or a cut if you see what I mean) along their lengths you could use this to prise and curl the sleeve inwards.

Here is a picture of the stubborn bits when I got 'em out


I hope this helps any future DIYer's who haven't done this before.

Does anyone have an easier way (assuming the bushings are stuck fast like mine were)?

[Carpenterman]

I heated the bushings with a torch until the rubber softened, then knocked them out with a long punch.

[layback40]

I pull the metal inners out. Normally one of the end flanges has become unattached, just drift the rubberized metal bits out with a socket of the right diameter or use a piece of pipe.