I was originally just going to replace my rear struts with Quick Struts that I got off of Amazon. Once I got down in there, I found that my rear trailing arm bushings (both sides) are SHOT. Now, I can't drive them out without having the trailing arm bushings out, and I can't get those out without disconnecting the e-brake cables from each drum. To disconnect the e-brake cables, I have to disassemble the rear drum brakes, SO I decided to just do a rear brake job while I'm in there. Anyways, on to my question:

Does anybody have any experience driving these rear trailing arm bushings out by hand, as in this video:

OR am I going to need to take the entire thing to a shop and get them to press them out? For anyone considering doing this themselves - give yourself some time. It turned from a simple shock replacement to a pretty lengthy process...and that's just the rear! I'm afraid what will happen when I get to the front ... :-/ Thanks for any help.

 

I used to rent out a tool that you could remove the trailing arm bushing with removing the entire trailing arm from the car.

Ex: Automotive Tools - Schley 65130 Bushing Extractor for Honda & Acura

 

I already have both arms out, but it would have been GREAT to be able to do it with them still inside the vehicle. Oh well. I bought the two bushings off of Amazon and it recommended that tool, but I didn't have an extra $100+ lying around. Do you think AutoZone would have this in their loaner tool set?

 

This is a highly specialized tool, so no your local auto parts store will likely not have this tool. They may a similar tool that you could try to use but it'll be difficult.

 

I use a hammer to whack it out.. and whack it back in.. just be aware of the alignment of the bushing when doing so, or just goto local shop and have them press it for you..

 

When you replace them, be sure to score the rotation of the bushing on the arm so that they don't bind.

I used a hammer to whack them out and two c clamps and some spare metal to press them in. It was not fun.

 

It doesn't look so hard, even without expensive tools :