200k suspension refresh, what to do?

john! · Postby **john!** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 10:17 am

So, having recently turned over the 200 thousand mark, I am now seriously looking at replacing and refreshing suspension parts to take me through the next few years of driving.

The must haves so far for me are:

Bushes, I want to install superpro ones. Is it true the lubrication can dry out or be squeezed out, leading to squeaks and premature wear? How much work is it installing additional lubrication points? I am trying to understand the various items in the superpro bush set and work out what it includes and whether there are any additional ones I need to buy, like steering rack etc.

Wheel bearings, tie rod ends and ball joints etc. How long do they normally survive? Worth replacing them at the same time?

Anything else that it is worthwhile attending to at the same time?

john

timk · Postby **timk** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 11:28 am

Dampers...

john! · Postby **john!** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 11:44 am

saboteur wrote:Dampers...

Already fitted a set of second hand bilsteins a couple of years back, which I will look at either rebuilding or throwing some teins in eventually. For the moment they are fine.

manga_blue · Postby **manga_blue** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 7:05 pm

I did wheel bearings at 160k. Just a minor improvement to noise/vibration/harshness.

Steampunk · Postby **Steampunk** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 7:22 pm

Unless you have proper tools & equipment, I would get Fulcrum to install their SuperPro bushes, and from what I have read, the advances in design and composition minimises and virtually eliminates squeaks.

Teins are always the go if you can afford them, but others have had pleasant experience with KYB AGX dampers with appropriately matched King Springs.

As with other bits, if it was me, and I can afford it, then yes, I would do everything in one go, otherwise just wait and replace them when they start to rattle or squeak or clunk

MxJadeMonkey · Postby **MxJadeMonkey** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 2:43 am

Super pro, because of the way they are designed are what we call \"a self lubricating bush\" to touch one from the packet without lube on it it feels slippery almost but will leave behind no residue.

if installed correctly (fulcrum) you will have no issues, all bushes are a good thing to replace, inc steering rack bush after 200,000km.

as for ball joints and tie rods, no one makes aftermarket one's here, and i would only put mazda one's back in, tie rods should not need doing though, but ball joints could.

StanTheMan · Postby **StanTheMan** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 7:53 am

If you are talking refreshing.....I'd do all the sway bar & link end bushes before i did the rest of all my bushes. I loved it. it made a big difference. Probably enough to last a year or 2. If I was to do it over again. I'd go OEM. It will cost more. But I'm still strugleing with the harshness over bumpy roads with mine. But that could be because i'm having a midlife crisis. I found my car had sooooo many other rattles once the polyurathanes were installed.

Having said that.....the polyurathanes are still better than really crappy worn out OEM bushes.

& don't bother with the offset camber bushes.

StanTheMan · Postby **StanTheMan** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 7:56 am

MxJadeMonkey wrote:

if installed correctly (fulcrum) you will have no issues, all bushes are a good thing to replace, inc steering rack bush after 200,000km.

could you elaborate on the steering rack bush?

MxJadeMonkey · Postby **MxJadeMonkey** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 7:55 pm

Graham (fulcrum) last year had a manual steering rack to chassis mount bush made for MX5, i think they might have done the power steering one too? help not too sure.

After a lot of Klm's under a clamp (like a Sway bar D bush) or power steering rack mount bush, the OEM rubber become hard and cracked from heat and compression. so they now change them!

that help?

Cheers Josh