I am getting the 1995 scrambler I bought ready to work on and I am going to replace the a arm bushings on it since the one side is wore pretty good. I looked in the service manual and it is pretty vague on replacing the bushings themselves, just how to remove the a arm itself. Any tips on how to remove the old bushings and install the new ones? I read something about freezing the bushings and heating the a arms to make them easier to install. Will that do or is there an easier trick?

Another question. I plan on replacing the bearings in the hubs, tie rod ends and the ball joints. I can get all the bearings in a kit along with the seals and I usually use caltric for the tie rods, but what brand is good for ball joints? I have heard to stay away from the all ***** ones since they are cheap. I can go through my local NAPA and get them for around 20 bucks a piece and they have a warranty. Has anyone used the NAPA ones?

Thanks,
Mike

 

I'd get the Napa ball joints as they at least have a warranty. As far as removing the a-arms to service the bushings, I always had a wrench on the inside bolt,air ratchet on the outer bolt and used the ratchet a little first,then manually loosened the inside bolt. Back and forth and you can get both out.If you do just one side at a time,the a-arm shaft may just turn around on the other bolt.Then you'd have to reinstall the one bolt and work both out back and forth anyway. The new bushings will probably be longer as most have changed over the years but no big deal. I never had problems on replacing bushings. I Just used a dead blow or plastic face hammer and drove them in. I guess you could throw em in the freezer if you like,don't think you'd have to heat the a-arms up.On assembly just use a little blue loctite and start both bolts in.Many cases when I used the ratchet on the outer bolt,the inner bolt would tighten also. Then you can do a final snug down.

 

Thanks OPT.

I think with bushings, ball joints, tie rods and all the hub bearings, it should handle like new again. The guy I bought it from had the rear swing arm bushings done and put all new chains on it. After spending the money on that and going through the whole engine, I would have thought he would have spent a little more and finished up the front end before he let his kid ride it. Not sure if I will keep this one since I'm not a sport quad fan but we will see, maybe the purple on this thing will grow on me, lol.

Thanks,
Mike

 

Wouldn't over look steering post bushings as many do especially on sport machines. If the steering post has front to rear play,replace the bushings.