How to swap these inner front lower control arm bushings to poly on the aluminum Subaru STI arms without a hydraulic press. Keep in mind, this is how I did it with the tools that were available.
*Also I shouldn't have to tell you to wear the proper safety gear. This method uses a torch, have a water hose or fire extinguisher close. Don't be dumb!!!
1. Choose your bushings. Those Whiteline bushings fit the Legacy front crossmember and the STI arms.
2. I used a steering wheel puller to remove the inner steel sleeve. You could just torch the rubber and smack it out.
3. Then hacked 2 slits in the outer most race on opposite sides using the inner race as a guide since it was already split. Careful not to cut to deep!
4. Bust out the sledgehammer, a torch and a tool to smack what's left out of the arm.
5. Heat only the outer aluminum area all the way around the bushing. You will hear little "tings" as the aluminum expands off the race.
*The entire arm will start to get hot! Keep the flame away from the rubber or it WILL catch fire!
6. While the arm is hot, take your tool of choice and smash the thing out of the arm. You really have to hit this like Thor, don't be afraid.
*I first tried without cutting the slits but the bushing would not budge.
7. Use some sandpaper or dremel to smooth out and clean up any burrs.
8. Pop in the new bushings, easiest part. They are usually a 3 piece set, push the poly parts in first then the tube into them once they are in the arms. You might need to use a hammer or bench vise to get the tube in place and of course the supplied grease.
The problem I ran into with the other bushings meant for these arms is the length of that inner sleeve/tube. (Middle/black is stock.) So I hacked off 5mm on the Super Pro set (left, SPF2429K) and rounded the edge of the bushing. The Whiteline bushings (W51709A, very 1st pic) are meant for the steel arms but will work with no modifications.
*This issue may only apply to Subaru's that orginally had the steel arms or non-turbo models.
