Welp... I dragged the inside of the beam multiple times with several hooks, including the windshield center rod I'd just removed. No sign of the inside bushing. It was very easy to feel on the old beam, so not sure what happened.
Maybe they just forgot to install it? Maybe the control arm seemed fine and stable until I put stress on it by actually driving the car?
Seems far fetched. But I know I shook that wheel hard several times in the past three years, particularly after setting the wheel bearing lash. It never moved.
Anyway finding no inner bushing, I dug around the shop for some implements of reconstruction to pull out the needle bearing.
Started with this lag bolt that came out of the deck 10 years ago. A little grinding on one side and it could just slide in against the spring pack and get the round part of the head behind the bearing.
By pulling it against this bit of tubing that was used to crate the lift, I could start to walk the bearing out, a little on the right of the spring pack, then a little on the left...
A few minutes later it was at the lip, and I was pulling it against the tube. I needed a bigger bit of tube.
Luckily I saved the leftover stuff I used to extend the frame rails.
This piece is just a little bigger than the top tube of the beam. Perfect. But now I needed a bit of flat stock to fill the space and give the smaller tube something to push against...
A few minutes later and
Ordering the new bearing and bushing now.
Can you believe how much fun this hobby is? I honestly have no idea why everyone on Planet Earth isn't into this ****.
