i've been kicking around the idea of doing the energy suspesion bushing kit on my car to replace all that horibly comlpint cracked rubber. i can pick the kit up for about a $100 and i have plenty of time since this is the summer.

my question is, is it worth it on a street driven fc and how difficult is this for me (typical handy man type with typical handyman tools) to do on my own.

 

A hundred bucks is pretty cheap. If you want to do it, but are unsure of yourself, pick up another set of control arms and such and install the bushings in them. When you are done, swap them into your car. Less down time and you can polish your aluminum parts (hint, hint! I'm waiting for someone to clean up the look of the suspension without spending a fortune on custom made parts).

 

Opelbits is exactly on point. The bushing swap is very difficult to do by a driveway mechanic. Getting the old bushings off is a ridiculous PITA.

-a

 

Be Aware...
they DO make a good difference, but unless you oil them regularly, they make LOTS of noise, sounds like squeaky springs or something...

 

When I put poly's on my Opel, I installed 'zerk' fittings in very particular spots, these are the fittings that grease guns pop on to. You can then get a packable grease gun and load it with the appropriate grease for your bushings.

Whe I remove old bushings, I find the easiest way (especially with some poly bushings that require the reuse of the old bushings inner and outer sleeves) is to put a bolt through the inner sleeve, put a nut on it and tighten it, then, using a wrench, torque it, putting the bushing under tesion. Then take a knife or something, gouge the rubber where it is connected to outer sleeve, and squirt "Carb and Choke" cleaner (or whatever the local brands are) into the gouge. The chemicals in the 'Carb and Choke" devulcanize the rubber and it just peels right off the metal sleeve. You won't believe just how easy this is and it leaves the sleeve just as clean as can be. Much better than burning it out!

 

its cheaper if you buy just the bushings caue the kit basically comes with the bushings plus the ball joint dust boots, which would be stupid to replace unless you like you coots the same color of you bushings. The front lower control ares are a pita, the rear trail are bushings are easy, just hit the metal ring with a chisel and hammer and the bushing comes right off. I try to press thes out but the metal sleave was still stuck in there so i had to press that out. Then i find out that if you knock out the sleave first, the bushings comes right off, the sleave is a two piece with a lip that sticks out.

 

I'm confused here?
I thought you greased them for installation, then the bushing would bond to the socket after a week or so.

Can any suspension pros shed some wisdom here?

 

anything that moves will dry up after a while and squeak. There are several bushings, so not all need to be relubed. I couldn't hear the squeaks over my N1 cat-back anyway.

 

I installed the Energy Suspension bushing kit on my FC last year and it was no problem at all if you have a vise and use some brains. I used a socket just small enough to fit inside whatever piece I was working on and used the vise to push out the old bushing. A little sand paper will clean up any remaining old rubber still stuck to the metal and the new bushings fit in perfect. They come with a grease to use, it's sticky and thick and I've not had to regrease anything since the install. It's the best bang for your buck out there. No more squeeks, creaks or sloppyness. It makes the car feel like new. Well worth the time and money. Took me about 2 evenings to replace all of them.

 

Interesting stuff West Tex RX-7, that does sound like a good way to go!
It looks like with your suspension mods, yours will handle very well!