If Your Volvo Trailing Arm Bushings Look Like This:

Photos Courtesy of Art Benstein

You Need This:

Homebrew Volvo Trailing Arm Bushing Tool

Special thanks to Jim Holst for taking the time to do the measurements on the actual Volvo tool, Don Foster for the tip on using 2" NPT End Caps, and my buddy Psycho for helping me set this web page up. I've added some pictures from Art Benstein who is another one of the Brickboard guys. He did what I should have done - took pictures while building the tool and while it was on the car. All of the machining and "on car" pictures are courtesy of Art. Thanks a lot for the pictures, Art!

After finding out the cost of a genuine Volvo Trailing Arm Bushing Tool was about $190, I decided to try  to build my own. With the help of the guys mentioned above and a little time spent in the workshop, I came up with this concoction for under $20. And you don't need any "special" tools to create it. I found it to be very sturdy, and after the bushing job was done, there were no real signs of wear on the parts. Without a doubt, the toughest item to manufacture was the part of the tool that pushes the bushing out, but even that wasn't really hard. Just took a little time and patience. By the way, I don't know if it was the camera, the lighting, or the background, but the parts used are silver  or black colored, not gold colored. Also, Warren Kernaghan  asked me to mention that this tool is used on the 240 series cars, and not the 700/900 series. I'm not sure if it fits all years, but you can take a look at your rear suspension and determine that. 

Some of the people on the Brickboard asked me to post the techniques I used to build it, and I'm in their debt for years of help, so here it is. If you do decide to build the tool, I'd be interested to hear how it went. You can contact me at the bottom of the page. 

NOTE: Some people have mentioned that they're having problems with the coupler. I don't know what they are buying, but when you're buying the coupler, take your new bushing with you and make sure that it fits into the coupler. It should slide in smoothly with a little wiggle room. The NPT caps should easily screw all the way into the coupler. If it doesn't, you don't have the right coupler. Yes, I know that a tapered plug would have a tendency to tighten as it's screwed in, but if you've got the right coupler, it won't.

                                                                                                                                                                                      Photo Courtesy of Art Benstein

More Pictures of the Tool on Art's car

Parts Needed:

Qty.1    8-1/2"-20 Grade 8 Bolt (specifically chosen for it's strength and fine pitch thread)

• Available from McMaster Carr

• Part # 91257A493

• $3.83 ea.

• See Item D in picture below

Qty.1    1/2"-20 Grade 8 Nut (specifically chosen for it's strength and fine pitch thread)

• Available from McMaster Carr

• Part # 90499A825

• $6.80/ 50 (Have to buy a box  of 50)

• See Item F in picture below

Qty.2    1/2" Washers

• Available from any hardware store

• See Item G in picture below

Qty.2    2" NPSC (National Pipe Straight Coupling) Fully Threaded Coupling, 2" length

• Available from Home Depot Electrical Section

• Part number unknown, just make sure it's the 2" coupling, and it 's 2" length (actual 2.125")

• Steel City is the mfg and the name on the box is "Rigid Threaded Conduit Coupler" and it has a part number of TRC2-1

• Cost is about $2.50

• See Items B and E in picture below

Qty.2     2" NPT Steel End caps

• Available from Home Depot Plumbing Section

• Part number unknown, don't buy cast iron. Make sure it can screw into the 2" coupling listed above with no effort.

• Cost is about $2.00

• See Items A and C in picture below

Tools needed to fabricate bushing tool

• Bench Grinder

• 3/8" drill (better if you've got a 1/2" drill)

• 3/8" and 1/2" w/3/8" shank drill bit

• Hacksaw

• Dial Caliper

• Metal File

• 2" long 3/8" bolt and nut if you've got a 3/8" drill

• 2" long 1/2" bolt and nut if you've got a 1/2" drill

Fabrication instructions

  Item A

Item A) This is the bushing pusher.

1. Use the hand file on the top of the end cap to file a flat surface. 

            Here's Art working on his.    

            After futzing with the file, Art opted for more power.     

2. If you've got a 1/2" drill, drill a 1/2" inch hole in the center of the cap. If you've only got a 3/8" drill, drill a 3/8" hole in the center. Try to get the hole as close to the center as possible. There's some room for slop, but not much. Art had a couple of methods he used to find the center. And yet another simpler way to find the center... Dennis Burns noticed that the inside of the cap has a concave dimple on it. Dennis used that as the center mark for the cap and drilled it out from the bottom. He said that after drilling, the hole wasn't centered on the top surface of the cap, but it was centered to the circumference of the cap, which is the most important thing. Thanks for the tip, Dennis!

3. Insert the 2" long 3/8" (or 1/2") bolt so the threads of the bolt are sticking out the top of the cap. Put the nut on the bolt and tighten it. Put the shaft of the bolt in the drill chuck and tighten it down.

4. Using your bench grinder, hold the drill with the end cap and bolt at a right angle to the stone face. The direction of rotation of the bench grinder is down, so the rotation of the drill with the end cap will be up. Move the cap back and forth across the face of the stone until you achieve an outside diameter of 2.184". It's better to make it a little bigger than smaller. Stop and measure often. This took me about a half hour to do this. Art came up with a quicker method using an electric motor and special arbor tool. 

            Here's part A mounted up.     

            Here's the arbor tool he used.        

            And here's the machining in process. Man, do I love sparks!    

 5. With the end cap still in the drill chuck, turn the bottom of the end cap towards the stone, and put a nice flat surface on the bottom of the cap. This is the surface that will contact the bushing. This is what it should look like when it's done.

6. Remove the bolt from the end cap. If you used a 3/8" drill, use the 1/2" drill bit with the 3/8" shank to achieve a 1/2" diameter hole in the top of the end cap.

Item B and C

Item B) This is one part of the bushing receiver

• No fabrication necessary. Works as is.

Item C) This is the other part of the bushing receiver. It screws into Item B.

1. Follow steps 1 and 2  from Item A.

2. Drill a 1/2" hole in the center of the cap.

Item D) This is the bolt that you'll turn to move the bushing pusher. Grease the threads when you use it.

• No fabrication necessary. Works as is.

Item E) This is the piece that fits between the 2 brackets that hold the bushing to the axle. It keeps the brackets from bending as you press out the bushing.

1. Using your hacksaw, (or if you've got a sabre saw with a metal bit) cut the coupler in half length wise.

2. The dimension that Jim Holst gave me for the width (bracket to bracket) of this piece was 2.124". If you want to use that dimension, you don't have to do any machining to this part. Even though this is supposed to be a 2" width, it's actually 2.125". I thought it was a little to tight, so I ground down the edge to 2.100".

3. Art Benstein mentioned that sometimes this piece doesn't fit snugly enough to stay on the bracket. He came up with the idea of using a hose clamp to temporarily hold this piece to the bracket. Here's a picture Art sent me. Thanks again, Art!

Note: If you check the inside diameter of this piece against the diameter of the brackets on the axle housing, you'll notice that the this piece is not wide enough. Not to worry. When you place it between the brackets, use a hammer to pound it in. It'll bend to the shape of the bracket.

Item F) The nut on the end of the 8" bolt.

• No fabrication necessary. Works as is.

Item G) The washers used at the head end of the 8" bolt. Grease these well before cranking out the bushing.

• No fabrication necessary. Works as is.

Here's the new bushing installed

Photos once again courtesy of Art Benstein

Tips and Hints

• Number One Hint: Once you've built the tool, don't loan it to Johnny Chan of Seattle Washington. I loaned mine to him in the beginning of November '02 for the cost of shipping and he hasn't returned it. Doesn't even answer my email anymore. Apparently, since he couldn't get me to build one for him, he decided it's within his rights to keep mine. Hopefully, the little twerp will be on the receiving end of some cosmic retribution.
• When you remove the trailing arm, remove the rear bolt first. If you remove the front first, the rear will tend to slide around when trying to unbolt it.
• The Trailing Arm Bushing Removal tool must be lined up so the edge of the bushing pusher (Item A) is centered on the bushing. You may have to remove the steel tube from the old bushing to do this. You can use the Tool to do this. Remove Item A and use a half inch drive socket. As you torque down, the steel tube will push out.
• Item C can be screwed in or out to adjust the depth of the bolt.
• Don't worry that the bushing receiver is only 2" long. Once you get the old bushing out about an inch to an inch and a half, you can wiggle it out the rest of the way.
• Be sure the amount of overhang for the new bushing on both sides of the bracket is the same as the old bushing you removed. 
• Use a little dish soap as a lubricant during installation of the new bushing
• An impact gun and penetrating oil makes bushing removal easier, but it can be done with regular old 1/2" breaker bar
• Some people have said that they have had to remove some of the threads on item B (bushing receiver) to allow the old bushing to fit into it during removal. I had no problem with mine. I suggest you take your new bushing with you when you buy the receiver (coupler) and make sure it fits. 
• When you install the new bushing, make sure that the head of the grade 8 bolt is towards the differential. If you put it in from the other (wheel) side, you'll never get the bolt out when you're done installing the bushing. This tip is from Dennis who didn't leave his last name.

My Disclaimer: Always use safety glasses, jack stands. I am not responsible for improper use of this tool. This is not an original Volvo Tool. I make no claim as to the quality of construction or it's sturdiness. I just know it worked for me.

Official Disclaimer

Questions, Comments, contact Neal Wilcer