bradleyheathhays

Been spending the past couple days cutting out and pressing in my first bushings and so far, well mostly good. Got the leaf springs off the 96 XJ and finally got all the bushings out. Pressed the smaller rear bushings in first and both went in using a 2 ft breaker bar and a ball joint kit w/ the big C clamp and cups etc. The bushing OD looked slightly larger than the hole it was going into and took all that breaker bar to get it in place.

Problem comes when I start on the larger front bushings. I get the first one started w/ my masons hammer and lo and behold the whole thing goes in fairly easily with less than 10 moderate blows. Not sure it's weight but it's like a mini sledge. After it's in all the way it feels solid with no movement but it's fit isn't nearly as tight as the rears. Same bushing on the other leaf spring goes in the same way.

Besides forge heating and reshaping the end of the leaf springs is there anything I can do to make these bushings fit any tighter?

zr2toxj

I just put the end of mine in a vise and squeezed it together some. Mine have an open eye, so that would make a difference I'm sure.

4.3L XJ

10 blows with a 2 lb hammer. That should work. It just needs to be tight enough it won't turn in the eye

bradleyheathhays

Thanks for the info. The smaller ones that were harder to get in were the first ones I've done so I thought that was the norm.

4.3L XJ

They should go in with some resistance. But those eyes are formed hot and are not an exact science