s13 Bushings

[drzsnapj]

like many s13 out there, mine is getting close to its 20 years. i want to replace most, if not all, of my suspension bushings. i dont drift, street race, drag race, auto cross (not yet), or anything close to that, its my a to b car (my only car) and just want a good ride. has anyone replaced all of their bushings, how difficult was it, what kit did you use?i was planning of purchasing the RS*R S13 D1 Spec Complete Car Bushing Kit, because it is the most complete kit with everything needed except for the ball joints. here is the link:http://www.frsport.com/RSR-77-....html

thanks in advance guys

[disrupt]

I have these bushings. My car is still in a rebuild stage. Understand when buying these bushings that it is a lot of work that requires time and patience. I would be willing to say with a vice and a hack saw it will take you up to 10 hours to remove all the old bushings. each OEM bushing is a metal sleeve with rubber around it with a metal shell inside the bushing location.

[drzsnapj]

I know that it is gonna take a lot of manual labor. I was planning on using a blow torch to burn the old bushings out, and the press at the shop I work at to press the new poly bushings in.

[disrupt]

personally i would avoid using heat since you don't know what temperature you are heating the control arm metal to. Possible problems that might result: warp the metal due to it being thin or change the mircostructure of the metal resulting in loss of strength or brittleness. if you have a press you should be able to press out most of the bushings without removing the inner sleeve. best of luck.

[Gabes13]

I've only replaced my sway bar bushing and boy what a difference. I stayed away b/c I didn't have a presses (and don't play with fire very well) or have the time to replace all the bushings.

That kit must do wonders for your car though.

[IanS]

personally i would avoid using heat since you don't know what temperature you are heating the control arm metal to. Possible problems that might result: warp the metal due to it being thin or change the mircostructure of the metal resulting in loss of strength or brittleness. if you have a press you should be able to press out most of the bushings without removing the inner sleeve. best of luck.

I would disagree, heat is a huge help. As long as you dong go cooking the arms to glowing hot you should be fine. When doing bushings I just use a propane torch to warm things up. It allows the rubber to slip from the sleeve in a much cleaner fashion.

As for getting the sleeves out, I've found the best method is to use an air hammer with a cutting chisel.

Im running the Energy suspension master kit on my S14, and I absolutely love them. They greatly increased how much feeling I have, and the ride is much quiter, no more clunking. This is a little more road noise/vibration, but its worth it.

I will say this though, installing a full bushing set is easily one of the most labour intensive jobs on a car. Luckily my S14 was in storage, so I did the bushings over a 3 week period.

[mick]

People tell me the urethanes squeak if you don't keep them greased. And the ride will be harsher. SPC has some tension rods with hardened rubber bushings.

[IanS]

If you dont grease them properly, they will squeak, but I went buck while with lube, and so far mine are silent.

I put ES urathane bushings in my buddies WRX over a year ago, and did the same with his. To this day they are quiet.

[drzsnapj]

im going to inspect all of my bushings during next week to see which need replacement. is it possible to purchase seperate poly bushings, because i have a few suspension arms?

so far i have decide to change the following for sure:1. front and rear ball joints2. inner and outer tie rods3. steering rack bushings4. sway bar links and bushings