Outer shell for lower control arm bushings, where to buy?

[O.G.]

Hello fellas, I bought a set of Prothane Control Arm bushings. I got my arms off with ease and send them to the machinist. I told him what he needed to do and went out of town on a business trip. Come back and the Outer Shells are all bushed to hell. I saw on the Daizen bushing kits, there were new outer shells but that kit went for $100 more than just the one with bushings and the only difference was the outer shell. My question is does anyone know where I can either order a set of new outer shells for the lower control arm bushings or the size they were inorder to try to make a set myself. They shouldn't cost that much. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Daryl

 

[spf_lexus]

Sadly, the outer press-out shells are not sold individually. I have done bushing overhauls on a few lexus models and have been in the same situation before. I know Lextreme used to sell the Vlamos OEM press-in bushings but cannot verify if they are still available. I am mentioning these because they have an OEM rubber bushing with the outer shell included which would solve the problem. If you cannot find the Vlamos bushings, i would try and pick up another used control arm from a junk yard. Of course the shell will have to be pressed out and damaging it a 2nd time is possible. My local machine shop made me a special shell press thats the exact same size so they press out cleanly. Im pretty sure you could find a used arm w/ a busted balljoint for real cheap. I currently run the prothane kit on my 92 sc400.

 

[O.G.]

I saw that the Daizen Bushing kit does have a pair of outer shells for there kit in case you wanted to purchase them but they cost an extra $100 going by what the price of the bushings were verses what the kit was with the OEM shell. Do you know what the OD of the shell is by any chance? I can't see why it wouldn't be hard to make one. From what I can see, these are just a pair of Type C Lap Joint Pipe

 

[spf_lexus]

Everytime I hear Daizen I always preach this. Before you give them a credit card, make sure you have a solid date for shipment. Vendors for Daizen are very few and some of the worst customer service out there. if your told they are on backorder, you will be waiting an indefinate amount of time. I pulled my credit card when I ordered their camber kits. The person running TM Engineering was super rude and sarcastic. Club Lexus has a few threads about their poor service.

I do not have the ID of the arm but any rspectible metal supplier should offer the same size tube with same wall thickness and ID/OD. One thing to remember is that the sleeve can be made, but you need that outer flange that keeps the shell from moving around. Easy fix would be to tack weld the shell before installing the bushings.

 

[stevechumo]

Don't use Daizen. I used them before and they squeak after every 2-3 months, although they're greased properly. Many other users complained about the same thing. I ended up giving the Daizen and bought the Supra LCA. They fit perfectly on the SC. They have more solid handling due to fatter bushings.

 

[brawls43]

So the Supra LCA has the same mount points, just bigger bushings?

 

[stevechumo]

So the Supra LCA has the same mount points, just bigger bushings?

Yep. 93-98 Supra. Same for everything. The bushing shell is the same, but the internal rubber is more filled up and makes it more rigid.

 

[brawls43]

Sadly, the outer press-out shells are not sold individually. I have done bushing overhauls on a few lexus models and have been in the same situation before. I know Lextreme used to sell the Vlamos OEM press-in bushings but cannot verify if they are still available. I am mentioning these because they have an OEM rubber bushing with the outer shell included which would solve the problem. If you cannot find the Vlamos bushings, i would try and pick up another used control arm from a junk yard. Of course the shell will have to be pressed out and damaging it a 2nd time is possible. My local machine shop made me a special shell press thats the exact same size so they press out cleanly. Im pretty sure you could find a used arm w/ a busted balljoint for real cheap. I currently run the prothane kit on my 92 sc400.

Spf, what size is the special shell press that your local machine shop made? Can you share the specs so I can make one also? I'm going to change the bushings on my SC400 race car this winter, along with doing a few extras as spares.