HOW TO: Remove/Replace Suspension Bushings
04-03-05, 07:44 AM
#104
Just another report:
I used the Harbor Freight 3-in-1 tool (not this, but the same thing for $40 without the three parts starting from the bottom-left in the picture: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=4065) today to replace all 6 pillow ***** in my rear suspension. I used the big c-clamp and one of the "muffin" things, but I didn't use any of the receiver tubes. My sockets seemed to be a better fit for the arms. Compared to my orginal technique (http://maxcooper.com/rx7/how-to/susp...lls/index.html), the C-clamp has some advantages and disadvantages. Once you have everything lined up, it it is nice to not have to deal with washers bending or running out of threads on a bolt. But it is harder to line up since the c-clamp is heavy and there is no bolt going through the middle to keep everything in place. I think I will use the bolts and washers again next time if I still don't have a proper shop with space for a press.
Some of the pillow ***** were quite loose and others didn't seem so bad, and the pattern was not symmetrical. I'm not sure why, but I've got all new ones now. The Unobtanium nylon bushings in my trailing links seem to be holding up pretty well (no noticable play). But I did notice some play in the bushing on the body side of the lower lateral link in my passenger side suspension. And the other side moved very freely, though I couldn't detect any play by moving the arm with my hands. I've got a spare one of those links -- perhaps I will swap it into the passenger side.
Did anyone see this HF doo-dad?: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=42496
HF needs to come out with a $100 set of corner scales.
The cheapest ones that I know of are available from Pegasus and they use what looks like bathroom scales with wheel pads on levers that distribute known proportions of the pad weight between the ground and the scale. $400, IIRC.
-Max
I used the Harbor Freight 3-in-1 tool (not this, but the same thing for $40 without the three parts starting from the bottom-left in the picture: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=4065) today to replace all 6 pillow ***** in my rear suspension. I used the big c-clamp and one of the "muffin" things, but I didn't use any of the receiver tubes. My sockets seemed to be a better fit for the arms. Compared to my orginal technique (http://maxcooper.com/rx7/how-to/susp...lls/index.html), the C-clamp has some advantages and disadvantages. Once you have everything lined up, it it is nice to not have to deal with washers bending or running out of threads on a bolt. But it is harder to line up since the c-clamp is heavy and there is no bolt going through the middle to keep everything in place. I think I will use the bolts and washers again next time if I still don't have a proper shop with space for a press.
Some of the pillow ***** were quite loose and others didn't seem so bad, and the pattern was not symmetrical. I'm not sure why, but I've got all new ones now. The Unobtanium nylon bushings in my trailing links seem to be holding up pretty well (no noticable play). But I did notice some play in the bushing on the body side of the lower lateral link in my passenger side suspension. And the other side moved very freely, though I couldn't detect any play by moving the arm with my hands. I've got a spare one of those links -- perhaps I will swap it into the passenger side.
Did anyone see this HF doo-dad?: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=42496
HF needs to come out with a $100 set of corner scales.
The cheapest ones that I know of are available from Pegasus and they use what looks like bathroom scales with wheel pads on levers that distribute known proportions of the pad weight between the ground and the scale. $400, IIRC.-Max
04-03-05, 05:13 PM
#106
Originally Posted by bolo_fd
max, did u use the bolts and washers method for removing and installing the unobtanium bushings as well?
-Max
04-03-05, 09:11 PM
#108
Lives on the Forum
Originally Posted by eyecandy
Damn for some reaon my 12ton will not rmove any of the bushings 
Not sure why.
Not sure why.What exactly is happening?
04-04-05, 06:06 PM
#112
Super Snuggles
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by eyecandy
I will have to check that out, the things brand new (well 4months old).
Make sure you're pressing the bushings out in the right direction, and that the socket or sleeve that you're using isn't interfering with the movement of the bushing. The sleeve or socket you're pressing into must clear the bushing completely, and the sleeve or socket that you're pressing on must clear the edges of the control arm. Finally, make sure the bushing doesn't have a flange on the side that you're pressing against. The "flange" on the bushing in the picture above was created after it stopped moving...
Hope that helps.
06-30-06, 12:45 AM
#114
Super Snuggles
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by o0Dan0o
Jim, any comment on how the all pillow ball suspension compairs to the nylon bushing suspension. Is it a noticeable difference in terms “slop” in the suspension?
Dan
Dan
BicuspiD could give you a better idea of the ride quality of the metal-on-metal bushings. I never drove my car with them installed. Of the three cars I drove with my Nylon bushings, none felt any different than stock, and I didn't notice any more noise than usual.
06-30-06, 01:32 AM
#115
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Originally Posted by jimlab
Nylon will have a little more "give" to it, but very little. A pillow-ball suspension is basically a racing suspension.
BicuspiD could give you a better idea of the ride quality of the metal-on-metal bushings. I never drove my car with them installed. Of the three cars I drove with my Nylon bushings, none felt any different than stock, and I didn't notice any more noise than usual.
BicuspiD could give you a better idea of the ride quality of the metal-on-metal bushings. I never drove my car with them installed. Of the three cars I drove with my Nylon bushings, none felt any different than stock, and I didn't notice any more noise than usual.
Dan
04-30-07, 02:57 PM
#118
Super Snuggles
Thread Starter
If a moderator wants to edit this thread (and the duplicate thread in the archives), I'll be happy to look up the missing pictures.
They weren't attached to this thread because it was created during the period when the forum was so overloaded that you'd often time-out while trying to upload. If the picture uploaded successfully before the time-out occurred, you'd get a message on retry saying that the picture name already existed. I ended up hosting some of them, but I no longer have that account, hence the missing pictures.
They weren't attached to this thread because it was created during the period when the forum was so overloaded that you'd often time-out while trying to upload. If the picture uploaded successfully before the time-out occurred, you'd get a message on retry saying that the picture name already existed. I ended up hosting some of them, but I no longer have that account, hence the missing pictures.
04-30-07, 03:40 PM
#120
Lives on the Forum
Originally Posted by jimlab
If a moderator wants to edit this thread (and the duplicate thread in the archives), I'll be happy to look up the missing pictures.
