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Steeda LCA Bearing On-Car Swap

galaxy

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Has anyone (or can it be done) ever swapped out the LCA spherical bearings (555 4117) on the car? Didn't know if some of these hand held bearing presses, like the loaners from AutoZone, would do the job without taking the whole control arm off the car. Just a thought?
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Wolvee

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I have and it's a PITA. If you've got heat, a sawzall and an impact along with the BJ press, you'll get it eventually. I have another set to do soon but I'll be using my 20 ton press for it this time.

Edit: You can get a cheap 20ton press from Harbor Fraud for around $160. You probably won't know how often you need it until you have one. It's why even Used presses cost as much as the new ones. They are invaluable.
 

Danmg202

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Big 20 ton + press and plan to remove the entire thing from the car, I personally wouldn't even attempt it otherwise.
 

fatbillybob

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everyone says this job a real B. I have the parts but dread starting after hearing all the pain from others. I'm going to try putting the arm in the oven and see if the arm expands more than the old bushing. I have heard of people burning out the rubber and cutting the shell and then collapsing it. That sounds like work!!! I might get lazy and just have the machine shop guys push it out. From what I hear no possible way to do this on the car.
 

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Replacing the RLCA bearing with the control arm in the car is like replacing a spark plug without removing the coil. Even the 20 ton press may not be enough, so be prepared to use the sawzall.
 

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galaxy

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I’ve done one other mustang the hard way by burning out the busing a little at a time and then trying to get the old bushing frame out of the hole afterwards. Never again. I’d either take the whole arm to a competent shop or live with the stock bushing.
 

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The stock bushing sleeve is very tough to get out. I bent the press ram on my brand new 12 ton hydraulic press trying to remove the stock bushing sleeves from my RLCAs. I ended up enlisting help from my buddy, who has a 20+ ton press and even that struggled to get them out. Take it to a reputable machine shop instead and save yourself the trouble, because there will likely be trouble doing this job.
 

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Big 20 ton + press and plan to remove the entire thing from the car, I personally wouldn't even attempt it otherwise.
Same did mine off the car on a 20T press after debating to try it on the car. So glad I spent the time to take the rlca off. You’ll either spend the time doing that, which is pretty straight forward, or spend 2-10x the time under the car trying to do it without a press, cussing to high hell. And maybe still end up pulling it to finish on a press.
 

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For removal, it's almost always an easier to cut a wedge out of the outer sleeve. It'll still be stuck in but you won't be fighting against the sprung pressure anymore. It can be done without but it's a quick couple cuts.

Air chisels can be a blessing as well.

Always try on your own first before paying someone else to do it and at least get the experience.
 
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galaxy

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Sounds like the thing to do with this job is yank the control arm off and run it up to the local speed shop and throw the tech $20 and lunch to swap the bearings out!
 

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NGOT8R

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Sounds like the thing to do with this job is yank the control arm off and run it up to the local speed shop and throw the tech $20 and lunch to swap the bearings out!
FYI, I don’t know if your car is a track only or daily, but if it’s a daily, you might double check with Steeda on the RLCA bearings. There is a member on here that said Steeda told him they didn’t recommend the bearings for a daily driven GT350. Why Steeda told him that, I don’t know. I don’t have any problems with mine on the street, although I haven’t logged many miles on the car with the bearings (about 1100).

I f you do take the arms to a shop, try and find a shop that at least has a 20 ton hydraulic press. My brand new 12 ton press was no match for the bearing removal and bent the press ram on my press.
 
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galaxy

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It’s a street car, for the most part. Not saying it’s not a thing, but this would be the first time I’ve heard not to install these on a street car.
 

NGOT8R

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I was surprised to hear that too, especially since there are many GT Mustangs running them on the street. If the GT350 has the same rear suspension then you should be good to go.
 

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It’s a street car, for the most part. Not saying it’s not a thing, but this would be the first time I’ve heard not to install these on a street car.
LRCA bearings are an odd choice cor a street car when you can get most of the results from bolt on braces and smaller more outboard parts replacements which require less labor. Spherical bearings also don’t last forever.

I only did mine because I had torn through the rubber on a stock bushing so at least one had to go anyway. The bearings have nocticeable less wheel hop than a torn rubber bushing of the same size :p.
 

aleccolin

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I did mine off the car, with a lift, 20T shop press, torch, lots of press plates and cups, and I still had to jerry rig my setups and would have loved a second pair of hands. Not worth trying in my opinion.
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