I just attempted to install the new front LCAs with E.S. bushings in them and this is what I found. The front bushing is a two-piece deal with a steel inner sleeve for the bolt. The two halves install from each side and the bolt goes through them both.

Well, on my kit (both arms), the steel inner sleeve is about an 1/8th inch short of the length of the bushings. Consequently, when you install the arm in the car, the ends of the bushings bind up to the subframe and the arm will not move. Anyone else have this problem? Upon inspection of another set of arms I have, the OEM bushing inner sleeve sticks out further than any portion of the bushing itself, therefore the sleeve is what contacts the subframe when all is tightened down.

I'm calling the Energy Suspension Tech line tomorrow. Bummed out my weekend, though. On the plus side, it's only my racecar so I don't have to drive it to work!

 

Talked w/ E.S. tech man today named Mike. Nice guy and helpful. He couldn't comment on why the kit didn't work, but he made the effort to fix my problem.

E.S. says that the sleeve for the front LCA kit should be 2.330" in length. Problem is, the bushing that came out with the old arm measures 2.370", so the ES sleeve is .040" short. This, plus the end caps on the ES bushings being thicker, causes the whole thing to bind up when tightened down.

The fix:
Mike located a part number for an identical sleeve that is 2.700" in length and I will fit it to the subframe then install it in the LCA. That should do the trick.

What sucks is that he is mailing them from CA to FL via USPS, so I won't see them for a week. When I asked him to speed up the shipping at my expense, he said he couldn't, since they don't sell directly to the public and are not set up to take payments!

 

Any more IT.Com guys show up here and we're going to have to petition for our own forum here

Interesting, I'll have to keep that in mind.

PaulC

 

hmm, I have the ES FCA bushings sitting here I was going to get them in this week... hope I don't have a problem.

what did you measure? I should check mine before I start.

 

i had no problems with mine. went right in.

 

tell us how it turns out

I want to now how it feels and can you turn noticably better. that would be my last upgrade.

 

yeah, I'll have to check that out too. I was planning on installing my set tomorrow

 

I was measuring the inner steel sleeve that the bolt goes through in the forward bushing. The arms I am installing are from an '87 car and mine is an'89. However, the part number is the same for all 2nd gens., so that shouldn't matter.

The OEM bushing measures 2.700" end-to-end on the inner sleeve. If you install your new kit, and the steel bushing does not stick out each end, then your arms will go into bind when the bolt is tightened down. Make sure you pivot the arm up and down by hand before you attach the spindle to the ball joint.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

Silk,

We don't need a special forum, since we can't mod our rides nearly as much as the rest of these guys!

 

up!

I'm having an incredible binding problem as well with ES bushings in my FC- I can stand on the front arms and they very very slowly move downward.

Has anyone ground down the bushing a little bit or used a longer inner sleeve?

Thanks
Ben

 

so is this happening on both s4's and s5's or is it happening on just one of them???

 

I have an S4. I don't think S4/S5 matters since the front suspension frame mounts/a-arms are the same on both.

I've been in contact with Energy, I'll post an update after some measurements are taken.

Ben

 

Ditto, all fit like a glove. Best money I've spent on the car so far bang for the buck wise. This is on an 88 TII but I also installed new sway bars and struts/springs at the same time.

 

Mine fit perfectly too. No problems.

 

How fast (or slow) did the install go?

 

I had a machine shop press in my energy suspension bushings into the lower control arms. They bolted up fine and I have an S5

 

Mine went in no problems

 

Yeah with a press the install of just those is < 30 min. Depends on the skill of the operator and the available dies for pressing stuff in and out and if they need to jury rig something.

 

what gains do you get by installing all the subframe bushings with poly ones?

 

My rubber bushings were about 18 years old- the rubber is softer and more compliant and at this stage, probably breaking down. The rubber gives a more vague feel when driving and is no where near as precise.

Ben