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I had my lower A-Arms taken out and brough to a recomennded GM tech (I am service manager at a Honda store) and had a tech of mine suggest a tech at the local GM store he knew whos "the GM GUY" to do my ball joint and bushing pressing. So he did them, originally went to get them and the Caster bushing was 90* off on the left arm, so I left it. The right arm is about 20* off of ideal spot, but Im not that guy, so I just took it.
Installed both arms, and got a deal on a OEM GM J tool for alignment off of ebay. Took it to my work and my lead tech and myself attempted to align this thing, but arms kept slipping out of adjustment and wouldnt hold adjustment, and was a big fight to even get it close. Took it to a shop that does lots of alignments and has a few EX GM etchs there. As soon as he looked at it, he saw the issue. The camber bushings werent installed fully and the left one actually came un-pressed! Which would be our alignment fight explained. So having them take arms out, re-press and check all of the GM techs work and then align it... sucks when you cant trust peoples work now a days... /rant
Left side bushing depth after pressing 90* off originally right side 20* off Right side before taking it to shop Left side seemingly unseated and arm against K
I recently did all new bushings and ball joints and went through something similar with the caster bushing alignment. I had previously removed all bushings and let the arms sit for a while as I collected parts. Assembled everything a couple of months later then saw a thread here about bushing alignment and sure enough I installed them wrong. Maybe I would have caught it if everything was done all at once however this little bit of information seems to be lacking out there. I did not see anything in the instructions either.
So I purchased new problem solvers (which I wanted in the first place) removed the arms and installed them. They are a way better design and allow for more articulation plus there are no issues with clocking them. It sounds like one of the bores is distorted and that’s why the bushing will not stay. I burned the rubber out and made slices in the shells for removal. I prepped all of the bores before assembly, set up shim plates/sleeves how I wanted and made test runs before making the final install.
I used my 20 ton press, shims, and a harbor freight adapter set, all surfaces need to be supported so they go in correctly. Another thing I always do is freeze the bushings for at least an hour. Everything went together nicely and I just took my time until completed. I honestly think your an arms are now no longer usable and starting over is the only option. Sometimes that “I know a guy” thing doesn’t work out too well. Go aftermarket or find a nice used set then take them to an alignment/suspension shop and you should see better results.
I recently did all new bushings and ball joints and went through something similar with the caster bushing alignment. I had previously removed all bushings and let the arms sit for a while as I collected parts. Assembled everything a couple of months later then saw a thread here about bushing alignment and sure enough I installed them wrong. Maybe I would have caught it if everything was done all at once however this little bit of information seems to be lacking out there. I did not see anything in the instructions either.
So I purchased new problem solvers (which I wanted in the first place) removed the arms and installed them. They are a way better design and allow for more articulation plus there are no issues with clocking them. It sounds like one of the bores is distorted and that’s why the bushing will not stay. I burned the rubber out and made slices in the shells for removal. I prepped all of the bores before assembly, set up shim plates/sleeves how I wanted and made test runs before making the final install.
I used my 20 ton press, shims, and a harbor freight adapter set, all surfaces need to be supported so they go in correctly. Another thing I always do is freeze the bushings for at least an hour. Everything went together nicely and I just took my time until completed. I honestly think your an arms are now no longer usable and starting over is the only option. Sometimes that “I know a guy” thing doesn’t work out too well. Go aftermarket or find a nice used set then take them to an alignment/suspension shop and you should see better results.
hey that’s for the input buddy!
it’s at the shop now, from my pics it looks like the shop stopped pressing at the taper as it wasn’t fully seated from day 1. They are going to repress and see how things feel and go from there.
That could be part of it, the other part is the stock arms are built for road duty. Rubber bushing will ride much better than poly, and especially rod ends or rotojoints. The stock arms themselves won't be as prone to cracking over rough pavement either. Most of the tubular stuff has always been aimed at drag racing, and the aftermarket arms intended for road racing aren't any lighter than the stock arms.
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GM Bushing Pressing *RANT* 
