best way to press bushings?

am looking at replacing LCA bushings (and maybe more)
they seem cheap
I have access to a shop press, but I can't get the arms to fit in/on the press. I'm not sure how Toyota dealer techs do it, if at all.

What's the best way?

Bottle jack seems popular. To push the outward from inside (old). After that, squeezing a table vice might push the new ones in.
Anyone know which bottle jack size can be used?
I might stop by Harbor Freight to buy their cheapest one and try that. Hopefully it fits/works.
They're only like $20.
So if bushings are $10 per LCA, and $20 for a bottle jack to keep forever,
seems like a good deal; better than buying whole new arms because at least you end up with a new tool to keep...



edit: their most popular bottle jacks are 8-ton ($26) and 20-ton ($40)
maybe either of those would work, with preference towards higher ton
4 ton might not work, because that's pretty low.
because sometimes 10-20 ton shop presses even struggle with things, meaning a 4-ton might struggle even more/be impossible.
because on a 100k mile Tacoma, those bushing casings will be more stuck with corrosion/rust, etc.

 

Have you tried those ball joint press from autozone? Doesn't cost anything to rent besides leaving a refundable deposit. I don’t see why something like this wouldnt work. That bottle jack method would seem like it would bend the CA if you encounter a stubborn bushing or from not pushing on the bushing evenly.

 

100% agree with above, I wouldn't use the control arm as part of the pressing force since a stubborn bushing could ruin the arm. A kit like above should do the job for nothing. A trick I like is to freeze the bushings I'm going to install for a few days, take them out just before pressing them in...should contract the metal just enough to make the install a bit easier.

 

When I did mine on my T-100, I used some 5/8" threaded rod, some washers and a couple of small blocks of oak with 5/8" holes drilled in them. Oil the threaded rod well and get to cranking. It worked fine but took a little work.
When I did my Tacoma, I used my press.

 

Adding heat with a cheap propane torch helped mine slide out like butta. I used a 3/4"diameter, 9-inch long bolt and coupling nut to press outward. After turning out the coupling nut firmly with a crescent wrench, I applied the heat and it practically popped out by itself after 90 seconds or so. Once the heat breaks it, it don't take much force to pop it out. I put a pic on the Redneck bushing/LCA thread.

 

I'm surprised that you could press out a bushing with the arm clamped in a vise as shown. I'd think it'd rotate in the vise before the bushing moved, but if people say it works....

 

Set fire to the bushing drive the remains out with an air chisel.

 

To get mine out, I drilled the rubber and then took a punch, a chisel and a hammer and started destroying them in the LCA. They'll finally come out. THEN, you can sand out the gouges you made in the LCAs.