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1G Can my Eagle be saved? Rear subframe crossmember bushings

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j_norton

10+ Year Contributor
31
5
Nov 27, 2010
Norwich, Connecticut
My mechanic tells me that my rear subframe crossmember bushings are perished and repair will require a new subframe and bushings, which are not available. He says that the car needs to be junked. Everything else on the car is in superb condition (100K original miles). Anyone know if there is a way to save my Talon Tsi AWD? It is a daily driver, not a racer. Any help is greatly appreciated.
 
Yea you can order bushings and do them as long as it’s not really really rotted, as a plain jane mechanic he just may not want to do the work because it may cost a very pretty penny
 
Contact @boostx and get new subframe bushings from him then your car will magically be saved.
He says that the subframe is toast as well.

To the O.P.: Just do a visual inspection of your subframe, and if its fine then I agree that new subframe bushings should be fine to fix it.
 
Agree. Pics will tell us more.

My 2 92's were both sitting for years in fields, and the rear subframes are a lil surface rusty, but otherwise fine. The bushings are definitely needed but I haven't done them yet.

Unless your subframe is falling apart from rust I doubt it needs replaced, and if it does I'm sure there's one you could find for sale, or get one from @99gst_racer if all else fails. Bushing are almost always dry rotted or just plain worn by now.
 
Thank you so much guys for giving me hope. The subframe looks solid to me but the mechanic showed me that the bushing was squished and there was about a 1/4 inch play. His theory is that this motion may have enlarged the bolt hole in the subframe therefore requiring a new subframe. He may have been blowing smoke because he really did not want the job. I will post photos.
 
Thank you so much guys for giving me hope. The subframe looks solid to me but the mechanic showed me that the bushing was squished and there was about a 1/4 inch play. His theory is that this motion may have enlarged the bolt hole in the subframe therefore requiring a new subframe. He may have been blowing smoke because he really did not want the job. I will post photos.

im gonna say thats unlikely, theyre quite beefy and youd notice some pretty crazy driving conditions if the play was enough to smash those bushing sleeves out of shape.
 
Attached are 4 photos. I value your judgment so let me know how to proceed. Thanks.
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Find a new mechanic.
Try RRT up in Canton, They installed aluminum subframe bushings into my 2G subframes for a few hundred bucks. I did drop off the subframes separate from the car though.
 
i agree with @ileagleracing , your mechanic sounds like hes avoiding work or looking to have you spend more than is needed.

while a bit crusty, i dont see any major rot or holes in the subframe that makes it beyond saving. some new bushings and clean up the subframe by wire-wheel or get it media blasted, then por-15 it. should last longer than the rest of the car then!

heres a link for bushing as well:
https://www.rtmracing.com/xcart/product.php?productid=19530&cat=1779&page=1
 
Eccentric bolts for toe and camber adjustment might be seized though. I changed my upper control arms a few weeks ago. One was seized and had to cut it off. My subframe looks like yours as do most that haven't been cleaned and painted.
 
I guess my Eagle is not ready for the crusher. Thank you all for your input and thanks to ileagleracing for RRT Motorsports of Canton. Raif at RRT Motorsports is da man.
 
Don't bash the mechanic, guys -- jobs like this are honestly not for a "mechanic," they're restorations. To do a good job, that subframe needs sanded/blasted, (possibly patch welded), repainted, and new bushings all around. Most shops just don't have time to do that kind of job, and if they did charge you the standard $100/hr for the time it would take, you'd pay at least a grand.
 
There is one thing to not bash the mechanic when they don't know something or otherwise doesn't want to do something but causing panic in the customer by spouting nonsense like a subframe is toast is a different story.

I have just recently dropped my subframe, sandblasted it and getting ready to put new bushing in. It isn't that difficult of a job. The essentric bolts were an absolute pain the butt though. I went through 3-4 Dewalt reciprocating saw blades before I got a $20 one that finally was able to do the job. Penetrating fluid and heat are your friend. I bought new essentric bolts from STM but they were for a 2g, no clue if they have 1g or if they are compatible.

I'm pretty sure Protane makes 1g subframe bushings don' t they? Either them or Energy Suspension.
 
There is one thing to not bash the mechanic when they don't know something or otherwise doesn't want to do something but causing panic in the customer by spouting nonsense like a subframe is toast is a different story.

I have just recently dropped my subframe, sandblasted it and getting ready to put new bushing in. It isn't that difficult of a job. The essentric bolts were an absolute pain the butt though. I went through 3-4 Dewalt reciprocating saw blades before I got a $20 one that finally was able to do the job. Penetrating fluid and heat are your friend. I bought new essentric bolts from STM but they were for a 2g, no clue if they have 1g or if they are compatible.

I'm pretty sure Protane makes 1g subframe bushings don' t they? Either them or Energy Suspension.

I know this too late. But I used a cut off wheel with a new disk. Literally took 2 minutes to cut off the bolt for the upper control arm.
 
Don't bash the mechanic, guys -- jobs like this are honestly not for a "mechanic," they're restorations. To do a good job, that subframe needs sanded/blasted, (possibly patch welded), repainted, and new bushings all around. Most shops just don't have time to do that kind of job, and if they did charge you the standard $100/hr for the time it would take, you'd pay at least a grand.

I was a service adviser for over a decade and I agree with what you're saying, but being honest with the customer is the best way to handle situations like this. There's a difference between explaining the current situation, and telling the OP that his car needs to go the junkyard.
 
I know this too late. But I used a cut off wheel with a new disk. Literally took 2 minutes to cut off the bolt for the upper control arm.

Way easier for sure but I was a bit scared about cutting the subframe. Not the most skilled with cut off wheels yet. But the expensive blade turned the job into a 10 minute affair. Completely doable of you don't have access to a cut off wheel for sure.
 
Way easier for sure but I was a bit scared about cutting the subframe. Not the most skilled with cut off wheels yet. But the expensive blade turned the job into a 10 minute affair. Completely doable of you don't have access to a cut off wheel for sure.

I just barely touched the subframe but nothing to worry about. Just threw some primer and paint on it when I was done. Spent a good hour with map torch and pb blaster trying to beat the snot out on one side. :beatentodeath:
 
They don't make them because it's actually considered part of the subframe. There's only one guy in Florida that makes them.

I am mistaken. It is Engery Suspensions that I was thinking about but it is the front subframe bushings that they make. My bad. 5.4105r, for reference. For my swap, I just could not find any bushings from my 2g front. Ones that are typically for sale are not currently. I had to find a decent deal on a new front subframe. Sometimes you've got to do what you've got to do I guess. It did ultimately save me time considering how much effort is involve in refurbishing an old subframe. I may end up going sold on the front at some point but I was really hoping to find good poly bushings.

@j_norton While you are in the process of figuring out the subframe bushing problem, don't forget to get out or your rear diff bushings as well. Being 1g, I personally do not know how or where to acquire them but while you have the subframe dropped, might be something to address as well. I ended up getting solid bushings for my 2g swap as the only poly ones I've seen apparently are pure junk.
 
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