Suspension bushings: a diy job?

jerrah · Postby **jerrah** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 1:51 am

I'm fairly certain the suspension bushings on my car are shot. Is this something that I could fit at home or am I going to need a press to get them in and out?

StanTheMan · Postby **StanTheMan** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 7:17 am

a press makes the job so much easier. The press will be worth its weight in gold.

yes you can do it with out one.

Caffeine · Postby **Caffeine** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 9:00 am

Prick of a job though

mazdatenfive · Postby **mazdatenfive** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 9:15 am

jerrah wrote:I'm fairly certain the suspension bushings on my car are shot. Is this something that I could fit at home or am I going to need a press to get them in and out?

I used a vise and some sockets to press them out & in. If your after bushes, I have floxflex and Super Pro. Please send me an email as I don't use PM.

rascal · Postby **rascal** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 10:32 am

If its not your only transport, then best of both worlds is to take the arms out yourself and take them down to a local shop to get pressed in/out.

Depending on how well you know the shop you will get them done for a small fee (or free..) and then refit the arms again..

Saves paying for someone to R&R your arms and saves the pain of pushing the bushes in/out...

Steampunk · Postby **Steampunk** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 11:13 am

I would hate to try it without a press. My recommendation is to also have three pairs of hands, as many tools as you can muster, lots of WD40 or the like, and set aside at least half a day to do it.

A hoist is also a big help. Ask Richard nicely and he might allow you to use one.

Mr Starlet, GP14, Muzza2 and I did two cars in one day, but that was at Muzza's parents' shed which was brimming with every conceivable tool, including a hoist.

tbro · Postby **tbro** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 6:15 pm

If ya got the right tool!!!! :lol:

PM me.

zossy1 · Postby **zossy1** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 7:18 pm

Not easy without a press. Rascal's suggestion is a good one as the job is quite easy if you have someone else press the old bushes out.

Do you have heat? Oxy or a butane plumber's torch? That can make it a lot easier.

Whatever you do, be careful not to bend the wishbones if trying to get them out yourself.

Are you doing rears also? If so, you will definitely need heat to get the carrier bush out of the top of the cast upright.

jerrah · Postby **jerrah** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 1:04 am

I'll have to find a cheaper place to buy my bushings. I've been looking around and it's pretty expensive for poly bushings and rubber ones seem to be worse... :shock:

Caffeine · Postby **Caffeine** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 6:24 am

jerrah wrote:I'll have to find a cheaper place to buy my bushings. I've been looking around and it's pretty expensive for poly bushings and rubber ones seem to be worse...

About $500 to $600 was the going rate for poly bushes when I did mine...

Pamex · Postby **Pamex** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 9:33 am

Yeah, they're an expensive item. $500-$600 is about right.

Have a look at all your bushes though. You might want to do them all, or you may want to do a select few main ones.

I know a few places sell them individually. If there's only a few you want to change... it could work out cheaper for you.

Just remember to use lots of grease. :mrgreen:

zossy1 · Postby **zossy1** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 11:00 am

There were some very cheap ones for sale on the FS forum recently, I don't think they ever sold either (was it you, Larry?)

Steampunk · Postby **Steampunk** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 12:07 pm

Since this is going to be eventually tracked more than daily-driven, you may want to consider Energy Suspension as it works out cheaper, especially with the exchange rate.
JDM Obsession had a fantastic deal recently on SuperPro's

manga_blue · Postby **manga_blue** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 2:03 pm

Go to 949 Racing for the Energy Suspension bushes. Dead cheap there now at $172. http://949racing.com/energy-suspension-bushings-miata.aspx. Don't even think about their diff mounts though.

I needed to make a press and also use heat from a plumbers gas torch to get my old bushes out. Total prick of a job. The old rubber bushes were bonded onto the arms and you had to get just the right amount of heat to melt a thin skin against the arms without turning the whole lot into a gooey mess. If I didn't use heat then huge chunks of rubber were left behind and they were much harder to remove than whole bushes.