I have explored every different method of doing this job and using the following method with the car driven onto ramps, both sides can be replaced in under an hour, lying on your back on your drive.
Tools Needed
18mm combination spanner
'Large' ring spanner
18mm flexible head ratchet spanner
10" Shifting spanner
Lump hammer
Piece of timber (as a wedge)
The two securing bolts are best undone by fitting the 18mm combination spanner upside down and another large ring spanner looped through the jaws to gain extra purchase.
Once you have cracked the two bolts, undo them by a couple of turns and spray some releasing oil on the bolts and on the hexagonal end of the lower arm where it goes through the bush.
Leave it all to soak.
Tighten the rear bolt back up, then undo the front bolt. You can wind it up by around 3/4" using the ratchet spanner, but no further as you'll get the spanner stuck on the anti roll bar
Wind the front bolt out the rest of the way with your fingers
Now undo the rear bolt.
The arm at this point will now be free to articulate, so with your piece of wood, wedge it in place against the subframe.
The old bush can now be knocked rearwards off the arm.
Clean up the lower arm and noting the place where the old bush was located, lubricate it with a water soluble product, Liguid soap, swarfega, etc.
Now fit the new bush to the lower arm, aligning the fore and aft position with the clean part of the lower arm. Orientate it correctly on the hexagon so the mounted position is correct. Position bush holes to match subframe.
Next fit the rear bolt into the subframe, when entering the bolt, rotate anticlockwise until a click is heard, then with fingers only, tighten it to ensure it's not cross-threaded
Once you're sure it's entered correctly, it can be tightened down to a "just nipped" position, which while holding the bush absolutely parallel with the subframe, will allow it to be rotated around the bolt.
Here is where it becomes slightly tricky. Open the jaws of the shifting spanner to place it over the parallel sides of the loop of the bush housing.
This allows for easy alignment for the front bolt. Drop the bolt into the bush and wiggle the housing until the bolt enters the subframe hole.
Again, rotate the bolt anticlockwise until the click is heard and start off with fingers until you're sure it's not cross threaded. Spanner it down tight.
Since you won't be able to apply the torque wrench, use the 18mm combination spanner with another looped through the jaws to apply the final nip. Make it as tight as you can.
Brian
