Rear Control Arm Bushing Problem

I took out the rear axle in my new toy and decided to put new control are bushings in. When i pressed out the old bushings, despite my best efforts the arms got a little bent, but nothing a little finesse and a hammer counldn't take care of. But when i went to place the new bushings in the arms i noticed that one hole on each arm had been enlarged so the bushing goes right in. The bushings pressed into to other hole just fine but both wiggle in the other hole. Even the old bushings wiggled in the hole too.
Are these arms any good anymore? or should i just junk em?  
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It may not be the fastest or prettiest, but i can pretend

just curious... these are for your 87 caprice wagon... right..

when pressing bushings out and then back in ..   spacers are needed to prevent the control arm from bending in...

several chunks of pipe that have been cut to just a little longer that the width of the gap.. cut along one side..   bent from a C into a U shape to fit around the bushing while it is installed...  then ground to fit for length...

the big bushings may need to 2 and a half inch pipe sections...     having them.. as they take 10 to 20 minutes to make ... makes life simple...

most rear control arm bushings are slightly tapered..  perhaps... somebody installed the first set backwards...

i have run into other gm bushings...  that  after they were installed.. the non flanged end was expanded.. this prevents the control arm from loading only half the bushing...     once you make  a spacer that fits tight... you can also take a socket with a little taper... and press that into the small end of the bushing.. if you have selected it properly..  it will expand the end of the bushing outer to fit tight in the control arm..

i hope my rambling makes some kind of sense.,..

 you might also want to put the rear end back in..  and the bolt in..  but leave the springs out..   and the shocks off.. jack the rear end up to ride height..  and tighten all the bushing bolts..     if you tighten the bolts with the rear end hanging.. when the rear end gets to ride height.. the bushings will be loaded... when you bottom them out.. they will be at the point of them tearing..  

Wow never though about that ride height thing. Thanks for the warning.

The 87' shell has gone to storage, and its drivetrain lives on in a 88 caprice wagon. The 88' has bent control arms (I think from sliding off a highway in the white mountains), the arms i am rebuilding are from a 78 Pontiac Safari (That had factory Posi!!)

I did use spacers in the arm which helped but i didn't put as much time into them as you did. I did notice when they were coming out that the bell end had released but the non bell end needed a few whacks from a hammer, and after they shot out the lip on the arm was cracked in 3 places.

Luckily i used the 88 arms, so i am going to put in all 4 of the 78 arms, which were in great condition, and either save up for some new arms or box the hell outa these ones.

Oh ya  Anyone know were to get new bolts for the control arms?  
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It may not be the fastest or prettiest, but i can pretend

i seem to recall that those bolts are stepped...   have duel size shanks...    i don't personally know any sources other than gm or a junk yard..    some of the suspension suppliers...       there are a lot of bolt manufacturers .. but batches of 10,000 are hard to justify..  and that one will take special tooling.. for the dual size shank..

be sure to check them for length...   there may be some differences between the decades.. i am not sure just something to check...  

Well looks like it is time to take the new (newly purchased) Lathe for a spin.

I did notice that the bolts would wiggle in the old and the new bushings, are they suppose to be snug?

Thanks  
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It may not be the fastest or prettiest, but i can pretend

are the old bolts broken????       they are normally loose going in...   that way they can get them in on the line without too much hassle..    

if you want new bolts...  buy them...    don't modify existing bolts...     you don't have a top fuel dragster there...   stock GM bolts will work....   if you use a torque wrench to properly torque them... at ride height...

when the bolts go in...   they get torqued and the ends of the inner bushing tube are held tight to the sides of the control arms...   there will be no movement .....


heres a tip for other cars that have non solid bushings... and the car owner want them stiffer...  

dynatron/bondo brands make a urethane bumper repair kit part number 660... i have cleaned the bushings.. used masking tape on one side...  and filled them with small batches of the urethane i have just mixed....  when it hardens in 10 minutes... i usually let it sit for a few hours before i try to drive the car..    i have used it a lot on taurus transmission mounts...   and on hondas motor mounts for serious little racers...  i have also used it with a lot of care and taping off of surfaces...  to stick plastic lower exterior door moldings back on along with the factory fasteners..  they used to get knocked off when the door was opened against a curb or grass... not any more...    it comes in handy even fixing the chunks torn out of endura bumpers... i would think that with enough masking tape and care.. it could be used to  glue a fiberglass hood scoop on to a metal hood...  if it gets on a painted surface.. it will not wipe off cleanly..  and it cures in minutes.. i have not tried it ... buy i bet it would fill the cracks in the rim of my steering wheel...

just a tip....  

no no broken bolts i just though they where worn out being 22 and 31(off my old Pontiac) years old. It makes sense now, the cradles are clamped onto the inner bushing tube. Now i get it.
Well i am going to throw in the old arms with the old bushing and Im going to box and brace the other ones before i put them in.

THANKS  
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It may not be the fastest or prettiest, but i can pretend