Spring bushings install 53 coupe

[johnod]

I'm removing my leaf springs to install new bushings.
The manual states to coat with white lead, I have no idea what that is, I was planning to use either grease or anti sieze, leaning towards anti seize.
Has anyone done this or know what to use?

Thanks

John

[64V-K7]

anti-seize is good, I don't think white lead is available any longer

[53k]

If you haven't already found out, getting the old bushings out of the spring ends and especially the frame can be one of the meanest jobs on the car. Prepare to shed blood and much bad language. You might search for threads in the past for tricks people have used to remove the things.
I used anti-seize for the installation of new bushings.

[Michidan]

Once I gave up and used a sawzall, removal of the old frame bushings was not so bad.
Installation of new ones....that was a pain. They are pretty much a press fit situation. Not easy without a special tool.

[Captain Billy]

John...when installing the bushings in the spring...

take an old chisel or screw driver and hammer it into the end of the spring 'curl' this will open it up and make installation/removal easier

[johnod]

Thanks for all the info, so far i have one spring out, and bushings out of the spring, tomorrow i tackle getting the bushing out of the frame, and installing the new bushings on the one side. Bought some threaded rod, nuts and washers to make an installer/puller of sorts.

[johnod]

Thought I'd just finish the story..in case someone might find some useful info here.
Well I finally got it all done, I found the single hardest part was the removal of the front mounting bolts.
They're in a tight spot, even if you can get the nut off, the bolt is probably rusted to the inner sleeve and won't come out.
I think if you're good with a cutting torch ( I'm not) that would be the way to go, watch you don't light the spring liners on fire.
Failing that you can use a sawzall, but those are some really hard bolts in there, and you can spend a long time before you see any progress.
What i did was heat the bolts up with a torch, so as to remove the temper, and let them cool naturally, then use the sawzall and it will cut right through easily and quickly.
To remove the bushings from the eyes, i did in 2 steps, first the inner sleeve and rubber, then the outer sleeve. The easiest method i found to remove inner is to heat bushing, ( not eye) with torch to soften the rubber, then using a punch or in my case a nut on a bolt, just drive the sleeve out. Easy

For the inner I cut thru it using a hack saw right at the eye joint, cut thru the sleeve, and then drive it out with a cold chisel. Clean well with file, sandpaper, lube with anti sieze, and drive in a new bushing using a press. That's about it.

Thanks one and all for the suggestions and answers to all my questions.