mbyoung424
15+ Year Contributor
- 148
- 6
- Jul 19, 2007
-
Alexandria,
Virginia
Seems like there is a lot of different threads about this, but I wanted to try and combine some of the tips into one post.
I'll start with the control arms. I started my project without looking on here for help first so I just used a vice and a few different sized sockets to press the rubber out of my old control arms. A small socket to press the rubber out and a larger socket for the rubber to be pressed into on the opposite side worked great. I did this mostly to practice prior to working on my new control arms and the process was very easy. I tried doing the same thing to my new control arms and ended up bending the handle on my vice when I used a cheater bar.
Then I took it over to a hydraulic press, but that didn't work due to the way the press was setup and the angles on the control arm. Then I came on here and saw people just burning them out.
Even this didn't work too well as the rubber was just charring and not burning or melting. I tried brake cleaner and gas (be cautious of explosives fumes if you do this) and although they helped they didn't work. Finally I drilled some holes in the rubber then used the torch at the bottom instead of the top. The added airflow sucked the fire right up through the holes and in no time I was able to push the bushing out and take a wire brush to the inside for the rest of the rubber.
The other bushing can be pulled off by hand if it's new or use a sawzall to cut at an angle and just peal it off if it is stuck on.
Next was the Front Subframe. Lowell put together a nice thread here for a super easy way to do this. Instead of taking the subframe off he just took the nut and washers off, then pried the bushings out with two screw drivers like a pair of chopsticks. He didn't replace the upper portion of the bushing, but this should take 20-30 minutes. I was replacing the steering rack and decided to take the subframe off and clean it up and again I hadn't looked on here yet so I was going to try my drilling technique again and accidently found a magical trick. First take a box cutter or something and cut off that rubber flap that covers the rest of the bushing.
Since the top of the subframe is cupped to hold the bushing in you can't drill right through so be cognoscente of that. Having said that, if you start towards the edge of the bushing and drill in, the bit will spin around the bushing and pull it right out. I started with a larger bit, but this should work with a smaller bit as long as it won't bend. I would say the smaller the better so that it doesn't scour the inside of the subframe. You can get all the bushings out like this in about a minute.
Last thing is the motor and transmission mounts. These are the only ones that require the inner metal sleeve to be removed so they are the most involved. First, secure them in a vice. For the front mount make two cuts (two is much easier then one) at the points where there is the least amount of rubber at the top corners. Start with a sawzall and go to a hacksaw.
Make sure you are cutting parallel to the outer metal piece so that you don’t cut into it. Go very slow at the end and once both cuts are through this whole thing pops right out without using a chisel.
You do the same thing for the driver side upper motor mount and I believe the passenger side mount at as well. If you look at the bushings like a smiley face you just cut at the corners and make it look like the Joker.
The last bushing which I believe is the lower rear bushing, but it may have been the passenger side bushing is solid. I drilled a few holes in the thin portion then got my sawzall in there and cut a circle around it so that the rubber was cut out. This makes it easy to make two other cuts anywhere you want. I found cutting at thirds worked well.
Installing the bushings is pretty easy. The front sway bar bushings were a massive pain. Using longer bolts would help, but with a little patience you can do it with the stock bolts. Three of the motor mounts are a two piece design so using your hands and/or a deadblow hammer is all you need. The last bushing is one piece with lips on both ends and was the only one I had difficulty with. I used a vice to press it in and after about an hour of me messing with it I was finally able to get it to go in straight without buckling one way or the other. If you use a screw driver to try pressing the lips in you’ll most likely tear it, which is what I did so I abandoned that method.
Putting it all back together is pretty easy too. I had the engine suspended with an engine hoist and had a few jacks underneath it so I found it easiest to attach the motor mounts to the engine/xmsn first, position the engine accordingly to attach the mounts, and start with the subframe. I did this because with the engine lowered there is enough space between the subframe and the car to the mount to the subframe pretty easily. Then I raised it back up and attached the sides and front.
No one makes poly bushings for the front cross member or the two mounts that attach the lower control arm to the subframe. Lowell (mentioned earlier) can make a set of aluminum bushings for the lower control arm to the subframe mounts at $60. He said you’ll need a press to get them in. Alternatively, you can order OEM replacements from JNZ Tuning. For a 1G you can order the OEM front crossmember bushings from JNZ tuning as well or as race_me89 pointed out on post #7 here you can go out and buy a second front subframe bushing set and use the smaller bushings.
1008 main bushing
1019 second part of bushing
15.10.177.39 sleeve
1 5.03.05.39 washers
JNZ tuning sells this as a set, but it’s the same price as their whole subframe set, not sure where the incentive is there. I was able to talk to Energy Suspension and get some individual parts that weren’t sent with my kit when I first ordered it, but when I called back to try getting these individual parts they said they don’t do that.
If you have a 2G, Mysticj says the 3G crossmember bushings are the same as the 2G, and Energy Suspension sells them with their 3G Manual Motor Mount kits. The bushings part number is 2476.
If enough people are interested, I was thinking about making some molds and making my own polyurethane bushings for the front lower crossmember, lower control arm to subframe mount, rear subframe, and mustache bar. RTM Racing makes an aluminum set for the rear subframe and mustache mounts, but $196 seems a little steep. This was just posted too as an alternative for $145.
I hope this helps someone.
I'll start with the control arms. I started my project without looking on here for help first so I just used a vice and a few different sized sockets to press the rubber out of my old control arms. A small socket to press the rubber out and a larger socket for the rubber to be pressed into on the opposite side worked great. I did this mostly to practice prior to working on my new control arms and the process was very easy. I tried doing the same thing to my new control arms and ended up bending the handle on my vice when I used a cheater bar.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
Then I took it over to a hydraulic press, but that didn't work due to the way the press was setup and the angles on the control arm. Then I came on here and saw people just burning them out.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
Even this didn't work too well as the rubber was just charring and not burning or melting. I tried brake cleaner and gas (be cautious of explosives fumes if you do this) and although they helped they didn't work. Finally I drilled some holes in the rubber then used the torch at the bottom instead of the top. The added airflow sucked the fire right up through the holes and in no time I was able to push the bushing out and take a wire brush to the inside for the rest of the rubber.
The other bushing can be pulled off by hand if it's new or use a sawzall to cut at an angle and just peal it off if it is stuck on.
Next was the Front Subframe. Lowell put together a nice thread here for a super easy way to do this. Instead of taking the subframe off he just took the nut and washers off, then pried the bushings out with two screw drivers like a pair of chopsticks. He didn't replace the upper portion of the bushing, but this should take 20-30 minutes. I was replacing the steering rack and decided to take the subframe off and clean it up and again I hadn't looked on here yet so I was going to try my drilling technique again and accidently found a magical trick. First take a box cutter or something and cut off that rubber flap that covers the rest of the bushing.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
Since the top of the subframe is cupped to hold the bushing in you can't drill right through so be cognoscente of that. Having said that, if you start towards the edge of the bushing and drill in, the bit will spin around the bushing and pull it right out. I started with a larger bit, but this should work with a smaller bit as long as it won't bend. I would say the smaller the better so that it doesn't scour the inside of the subframe. You can get all the bushings out like this in about a minute.
Last thing is the motor and transmission mounts. These are the only ones that require the inner metal sleeve to be removed so they are the most involved. First, secure them in a vice. For the front mount make two cuts (two is much easier then one) at the points where there is the least amount of rubber at the top corners. Start with a sawzall and go to a hacksaw.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
Make sure you are cutting parallel to the outer metal piece so that you don’t cut into it. Go very slow at the end and once both cuts are through this whole thing pops right out without using a chisel.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
You do the same thing for the driver side upper motor mount and I believe the passenger side mount at as well. If you look at the bushings like a smiley face you just cut at the corners and make it look like the Joker.
The last bushing which I believe is the lower rear bushing, but it may have been the passenger side bushing is solid. I drilled a few holes in the thin portion then got my sawzall in there and cut a circle around it so that the rubber was cut out. This makes it easy to make two other cuts anywhere you want. I found cutting at thirds worked well.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
Installing the bushings is pretty easy. The front sway bar bushings were a massive pain. Using longer bolts would help, but with a little patience you can do it with the stock bolts. Three of the motor mounts are a two piece design so using your hands and/or a deadblow hammer is all you need. The last bushing is one piece with lips on both ends and was the only one I had difficulty with. I used a vice to press it in and after about an hour of me messing with it I was finally able to get it to go in straight without buckling one way or the other. If you use a screw driver to try pressing the lips in you’ll most likely tear it, which is what I did so I abandoned that method.
Putting it all back together is pretty easy too. I had the engine suspended with an engine hoist and had a few jacks underneath it so I found it easiest to attach the motor mounts to the engine/xmsn first, position the engine accordingly to attach the mounts, and start with the subframe. I did this because with the engine lowered there is enough space between the subframe and the car to the mount to the subframe pretty easily. Then I raised it back up and attached the sides and front.
No one makes poly bushings for the front cross member or the two mounts that attach the lower control arm to the subframe. Lowell (mentioned earlier) can make a set of aluminum bushings for the lower control arm to the subframe mounts at $60. He said you’ll need a press to get them in. Alternatively, you can order OEM replacements from JNZ Tuning. For a 1G you can order the OEM front crossmember bushings from JNZ tuning as well or as race_me89 pointed out on post #7 here you can go out and buy a second front subframe bushing set and use the smaller bushings.
1008 main bushing
1019 second part of bushing
15.10.177.39 sleeve
1 5.03.05.39 washers
JNZ tuning sells this as a set, but it’s the same price as their whole subframe set, not sure where the incentive is there. I was able to talk to Energy Suspension and get some individual parts that weren’t sent with my kit when I first ordered it, but when I called back to try getting these individual parts they said they don’t do that.
If you have a 2G, Mysticj says the 3G crossmember bushings are the same as the 2G, and Energy Suspension sells them with their 3G Manual Motor Mount kits. The bushings part number is 2476.
If enough people are interested, I was thinking about making some molds and making my own polyurethane bushings for the front lower crossmember, lower control arm to subframe mount, rear subframe, and mustache bar. RTM Racing makes an aluminum set for the rear subframe and mustache mounts, but $196 seems a little steep. This was just posted too as an alternative for $145.
I hope this helps someone.
