Hey guys I'm in the process of overhauling my suspension, coilovers are ordered and now I have a couple of questions about bushings. replacing all the bushes seems like a pretty big job, the tech article mentions ~70hrs i think? What I want to know is if its worth getting a shop to replace all the bushings (with a press obviously) or should I just buy all new control arms etc which I could install myself. Is it really time consuming to press out the old rubber bushings? Also, does anyone have experience with polyurethane bushes in the rear control arm as COZ mentions this creates quite a harsh ride? Any ideas or comments appreciated! Cheers
70 hours times $100.00 per hour = $7,000 you could buy a whole car for that. JUst buy the bushes and do it yourself. Unless you are building a ball tearing race car just stick with OEM replacements
70 hours!?! Pfft, as if. Maybe if you have never touched a suspension bush or a zed before. Once the arms are out of the car you can change a bush every 15min or so. Subframe bushes are a PITA though. You can do it without a press too, I did most of mine with a blowtorch and hacksaw. Then pushed the new bushes in with booker rod and nuts and washers.
They aren't too hard You can do em at home if you have a simple press, another option is to drill the rubber soak the bush in petrol overnight and light em Up the next day, then give em a quick paint (gloss black) install new bushes and re assemble.
I bought a complete rear sub frame to rebuild at my leisure, then all i have to do is swap it over. Rear sub frames are cheap at the moment so its also very cost effective way of doing it with the least amount of downtime. Even better would be to do a swap with someone and give them yours once your done.
U could always remove the suspension components yourself, then just take them to a workshop to have the old bushes pressed out and new ones pressed in. That's what I'll be doing. Cheaper than getting it all done at the workshop, and easier than trying to do the bushes yourself
Send a pm to MickW Hes been doing a bit of study lately regarding the suspension. He might be able to give you some tips.
I did my front lower control arms, and its not an easy feat - for two bushes, there is a lot of stuffing around.. I ended up using a wire brush to clean it up in the end, looking back, probably woulda saved a lot of heartache to remove everything yourself, and just take the parts to get pressed in/out - can't imagine it costing that much?
Cheers for the responses guys, seems like taking the parts to a workshop to get bushes pressed out/in might be the best way to go. As much fun as burning the bastards out seems I dont really have the time or space for that hehe have u guys found the outer ball joints generally need replacing as well? and Is anyone running urethane bushes throughout the rear (subframe/diff carrier/control arms) does it really make for a harsh ride? Cheers
he asked if you have the hicas and if your going to keep it? (he's at work and can't reply to the forum)
Yes I have HICAS, wasnt planning on deleting it as its working fine, but if there is a good enough reason to get rid of it (especially now) then I dont mind doing that
tell buzzniss to check the arms. if they have play in them (like mine had about 1mm) the arms are fked, and expensive to replace. the most time consuming part is taking it all apart and putting it back together. for 100$ for a press he might aswell do it himself. it will be alot more than 100 to get them all pressed in. the sub frame is also very heavy, it was hard for 2 ppl to get it into a trailer. (this was a complete sub frame with wheels) Don't bother with burning them, just use a press, sounds fun to burn them but its just messy and smells bad, and i found on the sub frame it didn't help much I did the diff carrier bushes, they are easy when the sub frame is out, don't know how the ride will be yet, im also changing the rear shocks. These wont be as harsh as the solid sub frame bushes ;-) If you decide to do it yourself recommended tools. Dremal for cutting the inner rings out (there is 2 in each one) drill with a wire brush makes light work of cleaning the rubber. grease for pushing the bush in. Hammer cold chisel Other stuff im doing while the sub frame is out: Diff oil, its out makes it very easy to change, steering arms are fked, outta balljoints are fked so they are all getting replace.
