Super Pro Polyurethane Bushings on 240 Series Volvos Installation Manual
I installed a set of Super Pro bushings in my 1980 Volvo 244, using suspension components from mixed donor cars: some were from a 1977 242 DL, some were from a 1979 242 GT, and some were from a 1984 245 DL. Though these vehicles are very different, installation should be typical since none of them used parts specific to that model.
The tools I used were: ¼” air die grinder with carbide burrs, 3/8” air drill with assorted hole saws and a “drywall saw”, ¼” wood rasp drill attachments, propane torch, Vice-Grips, a really big hammer, flat blade screwdriver, large drift, 5” angle grinder, cold chisel, and a bench vise. You may be able to complete the installation without some of these tools or with better ones of your own choice, but if you get all the necessary bushings pushed out by a shop it’ll save you lots of mess and aggravation! Many Volvo dealerships will charge a minimal fee to press out these bushings.
It should be noted that this article was written after the very first set of bushings had been replaced and we used whatever method we felt was appropriate with the tools we had. Subsequently we have found most of these bushings can be removed much more easily with some heat from a propane torch. It’s important to note that “burning” out the bushings is not what we recommend. Melting them out is the key. Heat up the shell just enough to break the bond between rubber and steel and push or pull the bushing out. You are then left with a shell to either remove or clean up. I’ve used the heat method numerous times now and many times in a closed garage. If it’s done correctly, there should be no smoke, no fire and relatively little smell… I’ll break up the removal of all the rubber bushings into the individual pairs below.
Front control arm, front bushings:
This is one of the worst bushings to remove because the amount of rubber in between the inner and outer races is so thin, I couldn’t get a hole saw in there. I ended up heating this bushing with the propane torch until it started to get very soft, at which point the inner race began to ooze out of position and I grabbed it with the Vice-Grips and twisted it out. You need to get the outer race out of the control arm to install the poly bushing, so I cut a deep groove into the race with a carbide burr on my die-grinder, so that at the deepest part of the groove I almost cut through the bushing shell. Then I bashed out the outer race with the drift and big hammer. This procedure was used in all but two pairs of bushings.
Front control arm, rear bushings:
This bushing requires that you leave the outer race in place, so all I did was cut the rubber bushing with the hole saw and hammered out the inner race. That left what remained of the bushing still bonded to the outer race. I then used the hole saw to help shave off most of the rest of the bushing and a wood rasp to clean off the rest of the bushing. Remember not to remove the outer race!!! Alternatively, one can use a propane torch and heat up the bushing shell until it starts to sizzle. Grasp the inner sleeve with some vice grips. When the heat is evenly distributed and the bond between the rubber and steel shell has been melted, twist and pull on the vice grips. The bushing should pop out, leaving only a small amount of residual rubber to clean up.
Rear lower trailing arm, front bushings:
This bushing is pretty straightforward – cut the inner race out with the hole saw, big enough that you get as much of the bushing with the inner race as possible. Because the inner race is so long, you may have to cut it flush with the control arm to be able to get the hole saw as deep as possible. You may need some heat too, because this bushing is so long you may not be able to get all the way through it, even going from both sides. Once you get the inner race and rubber bushing out, you’ve got to remove the outer race using the method described in the front control arm, front bushing.
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