FD rear toe links/trailing arms question
 

Ok so my car has a loud clunking noise in the rear end whenever I take off, or step on the brakes. Im thinking about replacing the 6 pillow ball bushings to correct this issue, but I also noticed that when the vehicle is in the air, I can steer the rear wheels side to side.

Question is, do I buy all 6 rear pillow ball bushings PLUS the toe links and trailing arms
OR
are some of the pillow bushings already included in the toe links and trailing arms? Im somewhat confused about this :Wconfused

The 6 pillow balls are seperate from the toe links and trailing arms. Check out your diff bushings also, as they can also cause a clunking noise and are a good upgrade if you have not replaced them yet.

There is a replaceable bushing on one end of the trailing arm which bolts to the chassis. The other end of the trailing arm bolts to the lower control arm into a pillow ball. The toe links also have replaceable bushings.

I read that aftermarket toe links and trailing arms, may cause more vibrations for a daily driver so Im choosing to go with factory parts but they are too expensive.

If I replace all the bushings for the toe links and trailing arms, will this tighten up the rear suspension so that the rear wheels will no longer have side to side movement?

Since all of the aftermarket toe links and trailing arms use heim joints, it may cause more road noise, but hardly noticeable if at all IMO. If you replaced your trailing arm bushings with Delrin, then you would probably have the same result since the Delrins are extremely hard.

The only bushings that I know of that are made for the toe links are the Superpros, and Mazdaspeed for the inner bushings only (or is it the outer?).

Are you sure that either are bad? When my pillow balls were excessively worn, I could move the wheels because of the play in the pillow balls, but the toe link and trailing arms were fine. You can take a prybar and check to see which bushings might be the issue.

Honestly im not sure if the toe links/trailing arms are bad or not. When I moved the rear wheel with one hand in the 9 o clock position and other hand in 3 o clock position, I was able to very slightly move the wheel side to side, both rear wheels do this.

The MAIN issue however is the clunking from the rear. It happens when braking, taking off from a stop, and shifting into another gear. Would you say its best to replace the six pillow balls to fix the clunking and go from there?

The 6 pillow balls are the most common problem for clunking issues, so that would be a good start. You can take a prybar to those as well to see which ones are really worn, but most replace them all at once since they will all wear in time.

The trailing arms are a very worthwhile upgrade while you're in there, as are diff bushings as I mentioned above, especially if they are worn. There's some debate on if there is any big benefit to stiffer toe link bushings over OEM, but if they are worn and have play, then it's a good time to upgrade.

I did my 6 pillow balls (with dustcaps) and inner and outer toe links recently. Made a huge difference. Make sure to get the car realigned once you've installed the bushings or you'll wear out your new set pretty quickly. The immediate sensation once replaced is pretty incredible. The back end of the car will feel very planted and solid with NO clunk whatsoever. Good luck!

Ok well so far after a LOT of work, I got the 6 new pillow balls installed. Also, replaced the toe link and trailing arm bushings with the super pros.Now, I have absolutley ZERO play in the rear wheels which im happy about. I have not driven the car yet, but so far with the car in the air I dropped the clutch without stepping on the gas to put stress on the rear end and no clunk what so ever. ( where as before when I did this test, I heard a LOUD clunk from the rear)

I will let you guys know once I take it for a test drive, thanks for all the help

ok so today I drove the car to work finally, and.... no more clunking in the rear!! Ive had this problem for almost 2 years as long as ive owned the car and now its finally gone! The entire car along with the rear end DOES feel more solid and firm, with the eibach springs with tokico Illumina's and 4 new shock mounts, oil pan brace, Noltec motor mounts, new inner and outer tie rods, new pillow balls and urethane toe link and trailing arm bushings, everything just feels tight like a new car. It rides firm but not rough no vibrations what-so-ever. Thanks for the help!