Knuckle Bushings

[bigbaby1234]

Are they hard to replace and are Dorman;s Bushing suitiable replacements and should I replace all Thank you the previous post was correct it was the bushings and the wheel Hubs You Guys on here are great friends as well as the epitome of Mechanic Knowledge because some at the dealsership just doing a job to bring in the money and also sould I have the shoucks replaced and suspension compressor thanks a million.

[BodybyFisher]

Here is our most recent thread detailing the history of the rear knuckle bushing issue. Toward the end you will see details from members who have done the job you are considering, good luck and post photos and your experience, Mike (formerly Scotty)

I replaced mine with scrap yard knuckles but finding good knuckles in the scrap yard is very difficult because there was NO aftermarket bushings until recently. As a result, OLD knuckles from the scrap yard were in great demand.

http://caddyinfo.ipb...h=1entry96764

[rockfangd]

not bad at all, I have done many. I use a balljoint press to remove them and thenew ones come with the sleeve for installaton.

Pretty easy actually, remove brakes, remove torsion bolt, be sure to unplug the abs plug from the rear of the hub. place jack under the control arm and remove the knuckle bolts, remove the knuckle and remove and install the bushings. I coat the knuckles with never seize before installing them.

NOTE wen you install the knuckles on the car do not tighten the stabilizer bolt until the vehicle is at ride height to not stretch the bushings.

What I do is the jack that I put under the control arm I raise up and judge the ride height and tighten the bolt. becaue with the wheel intalled it is not accessable

[joeb]

worn knuckle bushings are fairly common. but worn or loose rear wheel bearings are not very common. sure you could have worn parts but be wary of a shop trying to talk you into replacing lots of parts. yes taking off the rear rotor is not hard. using a ball joint c-clamp to press out the bushings is awkward on the car. the press usually has large diameter adapters that interfere with the backing plate. good for you if you find a tool set that has small pads. easy to bend backing plate and if its out of whack, it can rub on the rotor.

[KHE]

The worst part is removing the hub/bearing assembly from the knuckle. Be sure to wire-brish the rust from the knuckle and the hub and apply some anti-sieze lubricant to the interface area so if it wever has to come apart again, it will be east.

Also, as rockfangd says, tighten the toe link bolt with the suspension at ride height. Also apply some blue threadlockr to the toe link bolt.

[bigbaby1234]

my Mechanic said he could not install the bushings can I take in to an alignment shop the mechanic at the Midas shop here said he did not know what I was talking aboout when I said Knuckle Bushings so what do I do?

[winterset]

my Mechanic said he could not install the bushings can I take in to an alignment shop the mechanic at the Midas shop here said he did not know what I was talking aboout when I said Knuckle Bushings so what do I do?

For starters, PLEASE don't take your caddy to Midas or Jiffylube!!!

[rockfangd]

ok first of all you do not need to remove the hub assembly from the knuckle. it stays in the knuckle. you should be able to rent a balljoint press tool and that should suffice to do the job. It is cake once you take off the knuckle.one nushing presses one way and the other goes the other way. And you should not need alignment once the bushings are done unless something else was done.

Modt of these shoops dont know *smurf* about cadillacs because they are not money makers. If they cant sell tires or alignment, or brakes they dont even want to touch it. that is why I do my own work.

I understand it may sound easy from my side but I do understand others situations, knowledge, lack of parts and reliable service. amd time

[KHE]

ok first of all you do not need to remove the hub assembly from the knuckle. it stays in the knuckle. you should be able to rent a balljoint press tool and that should suffice to do the job. It is cake once you take off the knuckle.one nushing presses one way and the other goes the other way. And you should not need alignment once the bushings are done unless something else was done.

Modt of these shoops dont know *smurf* about cadillacs because they are not money makers. If they cant sell tires or alignment, or brakes they dont even want to touch it. that is why I do my own work.

I understand it may sound easy from my side but I do understand others situations, knowledge, lack of parts and reliable service. amd time

I didn't have a ball joint press when I did mine I used some pipe nipples and my bench vice to press the new bushings in. As I recall, the hub seemed to be in the way and it was easier to remove the hub in irder to make it easier to drive out the old bushings.

[joeb]

you really need to find a shop that has some experience doing bushings on a car with independent rear suspensions. quite a few newer GM cars have them. any shop can remove a rear knuckle and replace it. i think the job is rare enough that many shops have not done it. now you tell them to change the bushings and they freak out. a few folks here have done it and its not hard once you do it. i don't think shops like to change bits. they want to replace the whole knuckle. do the math. knuckles are 400. bushings are 50. what do you think the shop wants to change?

[rockfangd]

multiple times I have seen shops say the rear bearings are bad unknowing that it is the bushings.

the first time I did this I used bolts, washers, and a few sockets with a vice.and voila homemade tool lol