Workshop Tools

Two jobs separate people who fit their own suspension from people who pay someone else. Pressing bushings, and knowing what the alignment actually is afterward.

The tools here cover both, and both pay for themselves faster than most garage purchases.

What Is in the Workshop Tools Range

The suspension tools here are deliberately few, covering the two operations that stop most enthusiasts doing suspension work at home.

A bushing press kit, listed as a press and pull bushing removal tool, handles removal and installation of bushings and bearings using threaded force rather than impact.

A string wheel alignment kit, the wheel alignment tool in the range, lets toe and camber be measured and set without a four post alignment rack.

Both are built for repeated use rather than a single job, which is what separates a tool from a consumable.

Why a Bushing Press Tool Beats a Hammer

Bushings are an interference fit by design, meaning the outer sleeve is slightly larger than the hole it sits in.

That interference is what stops the bushing rotating in its housing under load. It also means the bushing cannot be pushed in or out by hand, and the force required is considerable.

Hitting it with a hammer and a drift applies that force unevenly and in short shocks. The bushing goes in crooked, the housing distorts, and on an aluminum control arm the housing can crack outright.

Burning the old rubber out is the other common approach, and it works while damaging the arm, filling the workshop with smoke and leaving the outer sleeve still to be cut out.

A press applies steady, square force through a threaded spindle. The bushing moves in a straight line, the housing is supported, and nothing is shock loaded.

What the Bushing Press Kit Contains

The kit is built around sleeves rather than a single pusher, which is what makes it work across applications.

Eighteen sleeves run up to 113mm in 5mm steps, so there is a size that matches the bushing being pressed and another that supports the housing on the other side.

Four press plates spread the load across the housing face rather than concentrating it where the spindle sits.

Four pulling spindles in M10, M12, M14 and M16 cover the range of force required, since a larger bushing in a steel housing needs a heavier spindle than a small one in aluminum.

Spare bearings and bearing plates are included, which matters because the thrust bearing is the wear item in any press setup and running one dry damages the spindle.

The kit presses and pulls, so a bushing can be drawn out of a housing that cannot be supported from the other side.

Press, Pull, and Why Both Matter

Some bushings press out and some have to be pulled, and a tool that only does one covers half the job.

Pressing works where the housing can be supported behind the bushing, with force applied from the front and the bushing exiting the back.

Pulling works where there is no access behind, with the spindle drawing the bushing toward a supported plate on the accessible side.

Control arms frequently need both on the same part, since one end sits in an open fork and the other in a closed boss.

That is the practical difference between a bushing press kit and a generic puller set. The kit covers the awkward end as well as the easy one.

String Wheel Alignment

A string alignment is the method used in motorsport paddocks long before alignment racks existed, and it is still how most track setups are checked.

A string wheel aligner uses two frames sitting at the front and rear of the car, carrying strings that run down each side at hub height. Those strings create a reference rectangle around the car that is parallel to its centerline.

Measuring from each wheel rim to the string then gives the toe at that corner, front and rear, independently, which is what determines how the tires find grip on turn in.

The accuracy depends on setting the strings up correctly rather than on expensive electronics, which is why the method survives.

Why a String Aligner Belongs in a Performance Garage

A four post rack is more convenient and considerably less available at eight in the evening before a track day.

Track setups change from one event to the next. A car running a different tire, a different circuit or a different driver often wants different toe, and paying for a rack visit each time stops that happening.

Checking the alignment is as valuable as setting it. After a hard session, after clipping a curb, or after transport, confirming the alignment has not moved takes minutes with strings set up.

It also lets you verify what a shop actually did. An alignment printout shows what the machine measured, and a string check shows what the car is doing on your own floor.

For anyone running alignment correction hardware, being able to measure the result is what makes the hardware worth fitting.

Setting Up a String Alignment Properly

The method is only as good as the setup, and three things matter most.

Level ground is the first requirement of the three. A sloping or uneven floor changes the readings, so the same patch of flat concrete used consistently gives comparable results even if it is not perfectly level.

String height should be at hub center, since measuring at a different height introduces camber into a toe reading.

Equal offset each side is what makes the rectangle parallel to the car. Measure from the hub center to the string at front and rear on one side, make them equal, then repeat on the other.

Tire pressures and fuel level should be consistent between sessions, since both change ride height and therefore the readings.

Roll the car forward and back after adjusting rather than lifting it, so the suspension settles into its natural position before measuring again.

Pressing Polyurethane Bushings

Polyurethane behaves differently to rubber during fitting, and knowing that avoids damaging a new part.

Rubber bushings are usually bonded into a steel outer sleeve and pressed in as a complete unit. The sleeve takes the force and the rubber never sees it.

Polyurethane bushings are frequently supplied as two halves with a separate crush tube, designed to be pushed into a housing the old sleeve has already been removed from. That means the old outer sleeve has to come out first, which is often the harder half of the job.

A press handles that cleanly where a hammer and chisel damage the housing bore. Once the bore is clear and clean, the polyurethane halves usually go in by hand with the correct lubricant.

Use silicone or PTFE based grease rather than petroleum, which degrades polyurethane over time.

Check the housing bore for scoring before fitting anything. A new bushing in a damaged housing will not sit square and will squeak from the first drive.

What a String Alignment Can and Cannot Measure

Worth being straight about the limits, since it is not a replacement for everything a rack does.

Toe is what strings measure best, front and rear, and it is the setting that changes most often and matters most for tire wear and turn in feel.

Camber needs a separate gauge, either a digital level on the hub face or a camber gauge, used alongside the string setup rather than instead of it.

Caster cannot be measured directly using strings alone. It is derived by measuring camber change through a known steering sweep, which is possible and fiddly.

Thrust angle and individual wheel positions relative to the chassis are where a proper rack earns its money, particularly after accident damage.

For a track car being adjusted between sessions, toe is the setting being changed, which is why the string method remains standard in the paddock.

Tools for Fitting Your Own Suspension

The economics are straightforward on a car that gets worked on.

A bushing press kit costs less than a single shop bill for pressing a set of control arm bushings, and it stays in the garage afterward.

A string aligner costs more upfront and replaces every alignment visit for a car that gets adjusted regularly, which on a track car is several times a season.

Both tools change what is possible at home. Bushings, control arms, camber bolts and roll center kits all become jobs you can do and verify yourself.

And both reduce the chance of damaging the parts you just bought, which is the real cost of doing suspension work with the wrong tools.

Find Workshop Tools for Your Garage

Browse the workshop tools range including the press and pull bushing removal kit and the string wheel alignment kit. Both suit home garages and professional workshops, and both are built for repeated use rather than a single job. Everything ships within 24 hours with 30 day returns and a US based support team.