Hi
thought i would let you know, ive just changed the bushes this after noon without removing the rear axle completly and not disturbing the break linings/ cables/ abs etc. all that was removed was the springs, shocks lower bolt and bracket.

I worked only one side at a time, and left the other complete.
I got a set of bushes complete with new bolts and they appear smaller than the originals as they slid in snugly without having to take down the outside diameter, made the job a breeze (now to see if they last!!)

the hardest part of the job was removing the old bushes, they were not that bad this time as i fitted them last time round.

it can be a bit awkward working under the car but no worst than any other job, and i would say a lot easier than removing the whole assembly as alignment at the end is much easier especially if you keep all your jacks in place when doing the work.

these are the bushes i purchased

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300675619298?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
roy

That's how I do them, done 4 sets now, takes me about 2 hours a side. Did the rear bushes on our Multiwagon over a year ago, done well over 20,000 miles on them now and had no problems, bushes are perfect still.

What did you use to push the new bushes in?

roy lovelock said:

I got a set of bushes complete with new bolts and they appear smaller than the originals as they slid in snugly without having to take down the outside diameter

they were not that bad this time as i fitted them last time round.

Click to expand...

Perhaps the Fiat service bulletin saying you should only replace the bushes once is because the bush housings in the axle expand. :chin:

Shadeyman said:

That's how I do them, done 4 sets now, takes me about 2 hours a side. Did the rear bushes on our Multiwagon over a year ago, done well over 20,000 miles on them now and had no problems, bushes are perfect still.

What did you use to push the new bushes in?

Click to expand...

i think the new bushes had a smaller diameter, i started to push them in by hand and they caught like they do, pulled it out and checked for burs and used my wire brush on the drill to remove them and then pushed it in half way then about 3 hits with a hammer - not even hard hits they slid right in!
I had heated the axle beforehand to help with removal of old bushing so i think that and the improoved sized bush helped no end.

Last time i spent about 30mins grinding (i dont have a lathe anymore) to get the outside down to a useable thickness., then it was still a pig of a job.
Davren
The service annoucement im sure is if you use a press to put the bush in as originally designed, the riddiculas levels of tolerance they imposed for the bush will cause undue stress on the axle when fitting and removing. If you had a machine to fit them as designed then i would agree that the axle would need changing.
Another factor for me would be how long has it been banging for, this in itself can cause damage and metal fatigue, fiat probo found a car that had a rear axle banging around for 6 weeks whilst off roading and was on its second dealer fit bush and was written off.
with a new clutch and dmf coming soon an axle change would make my car uneconomical to repair.