Club 80-90 Forums

I need to replace my radius rod bushes, I've read the wiki and understand that measurments need to be taken for correct refitting. How easy/hard is this job to complete?

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Hopefully not but thats scarey stuff

That repair work looks excellent...

Job isn't too bad as long as none of the bolts have seized. Soak all the nuts/bolts in PlusGas a few days before you do the job and cross your fingers.

Another good tip, that I stole from another forum member, is using a ratchet strap when refitting the new bushes.

This will allow you to compress the new bushes enough to get the end bolt on.

Thanks for the tip, I saw that thread so will be doing that

You will need to unscrew the radius rod from the bottom arm, and these are generally very tight. This can only be done with an open ended spanner, so you'll need a beast of a 27mm open ender. The job will destroy yer average adjustable. I use a 1+1/16inch Ferguson tractor spanner (which is almost exactly the right size) plus a long extension made of angle iron. Many vintage tractor enthusiasts have one of these spanners.

The alternative might be a very large stillson wrench, but these make a mess of the hexagon.

I see your van is an 83, so it may have a different earlier design. If that's the case, then please ignore my previous ramblings!

Thanks for the input, will check what my setup is tomorrow but pretty much everything on my van is early. I was more concerned about taking measurements so that that all go back together ok.

Pretty sure I used a socket as I don't think I've got a decent spanner that size.

I don't have a ratchet strap but I managed to fit the new bushes by fitting the new inner with the old outer rubber and tightening all that up. Then undid the nut again and swapped the old outer bush for the new one. This was with the arm disconnected from the lower arm (early van like yours should be).