rear upper knuckle bushings help

[RayBan GST]

hello there ,

my rear upper knuckle bushings took a crap and now the car is fish tailing and i have an uneven tire wear my tires need a change now because i have been driving it like this since 3 months. i am ordering it now on line because i can not find the bushings nor the knuckle here . can you please tell me if this is the right part ?

Eclipse 95 99 Polyurethane Knuckle Bushings Red | eBay

it looks different here , does it come seperated ? 2 pieces with the sleeves?

 

[estoyaqui30]

Those look correct. Prothane brand are 2 pieces with a sleeve as opposed to energy suspension brand whice are hour glass shaped and a bear to put in. I have the same ones in my 99 GSX. You might want to get the Prothane "total kit" it will have everything for the rear suspension. Since you are going through the effort, you might as well do all of them. It will need to be realigned.

 

[greengoblin]

The Prothane split bushing are the best. That is what those are. Like said above you might as well replace them all. They old ones are all dead or dying anyway.

 

[RayBan GST]

what is the name of the other ones that will be dying so i can change them ? what needs to be realigned ?

i saw 2 old bushings on the rear control arm , can i replace those as well or i have to buy the whole arm

if you have a kit please direct me i better buy it all

also what bushings are in the front ? is there anything that usually die like the knuckle in the back ?

is this what i need ? including the rear upper knuckle bushings? please let me know

does this kit have them all ?

13 201 Eclipse 95 99 Talon 95 98 Front Upper Lower Control Arm Bushing Kit | eBay

 

[estoyaqui30]

I believe that the Prothane 13-2001 total kit will give you almost every bushing for both front and rear. Once you replace all of the bushings the car will need a complete alignment. Rear caster/camber, rear toe, front caster/camber, front toe. I am not completely sure on the GST as I have a GSX. I have 6 bushings in the rear (2 upper control arm to body, 3 on the knuckle...upper control arm, trailing are and lower control arm. 1 on the lower control arm, 1 on the trailing arm) The front has 1 at top of the knuckle from the upper control arm and 1 where the shock/strut attaches to the lower control arm. there is 1 in the inner end of the lower control arm.

Please keep in mind this is a fairly large undertaking. getting the old ones out takes work and time. Some people choose to burn the out, but I am not a big fan of setting rubber on fire and the nasty black smoke that it creates. I used a holesaw that was just about the same size as the inner size of the sleeves. That just left an empty tube. I just cut the tube with a hacksaw and pushed them out.

Hope this helps...without being overwhelming.

 

[RayBan GST]

thx man, just quick question the knuckle bushings are all the same size? upper and lower are the same ? the one up is similar in size to the 2 low?

please confirm

 

[okm12346]

rear knuckle bushings are all the same..

Front and rear upper control arm bushings are the same.

Rear lateral arm and rear toe arm have the same bushings. The toe arm has an additional spacer.

 

[jtmcinder]

rear knuckle bushings are all the same..

Front and rear upper control arm bushings are the same.

Rear lateral arm and rear toe arm have the same bushings. The toe arm has an additional spacer.

The above is somewhat misleading, because of how it is written.

There are three bushings in the rear knuckle of a 2G. An upper for the upper lateral arm, a lower for the lower lateral arm, and a lower for the trailing arm. These can all be seen in the picture on eBay (see first post in this thread). The upper bushing in the knuckle is different from the lower two. The lower two are the same as each other. Given that the thread-starter has ripped the upper bushing (which is the weakest and most-likely to rip of the three), he or she needs this one in particular, which is exactly what was linked to.

With that said, I hope you have a hacksaw and patience. Most people replace that one without taking the knuckle off the car and it's not a fun job. Not difficult. Just annoying.

 

[RayBan GST]

thank you very much its very clear now , i will buy them now

thx

 

[jtmcinder]

You're welcome.

Please note that, on one side of the car, the pipe for the gas-tank is right there, so do not burn that bushing out with a torch (unless you send me your full name and Social Security number at least five days in advance so I can take policy out on your life). You need to cut the inner sleeve, then the rubber, then the outer sleeve of the bushing with a hacksaw, being careful to stop when you've cut the outer sleeve, so you don't cut a notch in the knuckle. Or you can cut the rubber (in a circle) and pop the inner sleeve out and then cut the outer sleeve. Either way. When the outer sleeve is cut, you pry it inwards a bit right next to the cut and suddenly it will be loose and fall out.

Alternatively, some people have had luck just putting a big C-clamp on the thing, with one side on the knuckle and the other side on the bushing, and just pushing the whole bushing out. I am not one of those people. I ended up trashing at least five blades on my air-powered reciprocating saw to do a whole car.

The other option is to take all the suspension bits off the car and use a bench press. This is the fastest in terms of the bushings, but might be the slowest and most complicated.

But doing the whole car is worth it. Not only is everything so much more responsive, but the bushings are no longer acting as non-linear springs. And you no longer have to loosen and retighten every bushing when you alter ride height.

edit: if that last bit made you go "huh?" then that could be why the bushing was ripped. When you alter ride-height on a car with stock bushings, you need to loosen every bolt and the retighten them with the rubber under no twisting load at static ride height. Otherwise, you are twisting the bushings all the time and super-twisting the rubber when you hit a bump on a lowered car. That will rip those bushings faster than anything else.

 

[okm12346]

The above is somewhat misleading, because of how it is written.

There are three bushings in the rear knuckle of a 2G. An upper for the upper lateral arm, a lower for the lower lateral arm, and a lower for the trailing arm. These can all be seen in the picture on eBay (see first post in this thread). The upper bushing in the knuckle is different from the lower two. The lower two are the same as each other. Given that the thread-starter has ripped the upper bushing (which is the weakest and most-likely to rip of the three), he or she needs this one in particular, which is exactly what was linked to.

With that said, I hope you have a hacksaw and patience. Most people replace that one without taking the knuckle off the car and it's not a fun job. Not difficult. Just annoying.

I hear you on the knuckle bushings having different part numbers, but i've measured them all with a digital caliper - they are identical.

OP. make sure you get Prothane 2-piece (split) bushings. They are much stiffer and easier to install. On the other side Energy Suspension bushings are one piece (solid) bushings and require a press to install them.

Recently I had a car come back to me with dry rotted ES bushings that I had previously installed.

 

[jtmcinder]

Interesting. It's been way too long for me to remember things like that.

And I totally agree about avoiding - like the girl that gave your buddy the clap - those press-in bushings from ES. . Those were awful.

 

[2slow4now]

Interesting. It's been way too long for me to remember things like that.

And I totally agree about avoiding - like the girl that gave your buddy the clap - those press-in bushings from ES. . Those were awful.

Yeah I remember getting those all greased up along with my fingers and then have it shoot out sideways across the garage floor picking up every bit of metal shavings and dirt along the way. Clean it all off, grease again, then same thing. I was ready to throw the knuckles through the garage door.
My vote is the prothane set.

 

[Cox Abele]

Pressing in the Energy Suspension bushings is not as difficult as these guys are making them out to be. I did choose to press the trailing arms, but the rest I did with a bolt, nut and a couple of fender washers.

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Anyone who tells you getting the new bushings in was difficult hasn't done them before. Getting them out can be difficult, getting them in is ridiculously easy.

 

[jtmcinder]

Anyone who tells you getting the new bushings in was difficult hasn't done them before.

My most profuse apologies, then, for lying about this. Damn. I didn't think I'd get caught.

 

[ZPartsHouse]

I hear you on the knuckle bushings having different part numbers, but i've measured them all with a digital caliper - they are identical.

OP. make sure you get Prothane 2-piece (split) bushings. They are much stiffer and easier to install. On the other side Energy Suspension bushings are one piece (solid) bushings and require a press to install them.

Recently I had a car come back to me with dry rotted ES bushings that I had previously installed.

The upper and lowwer knuckle bushings have the same outside diameter (O.D.). The difference the in upper and lower knuckle bushings is the outter flang of the bushings. They look very close but they are different. That is why there is two different part numbers on the picture you saw on eBay. I know because I am the guy that but these kits together.....

 

[2slow4now]

If your like me and it started with just the knuckle bushings and now has escalated to the entire rear bushing kit then I would probably add doing the front bushings too (to get more bang for you buck on the alignment), and sway bushings and maybe swap in a 3g control arm since they are tubular. It all depends on money and time though.

 

[DSM1491]

I think I need these too

 

[knochgoon24]

A sawzall works faster than a hacksaw. Just be careful when cutting. It's totally worth the investment.

All thread or a long bolt and 2 fender washers make pressing in Energy Suspension bushings much easier, but I'll do Prothane bushings next time. I've worn out a few ES bushings in less than 2 years. My front inboard lateral control arm bushing was ovaled out to almost twice the bolt size in that time.

 

[rhodes2010]

Sorry to hijack this thread, but it looks like a good place to start.

After having the passenger side upper knuckle (C arm) bushing go bad, we thought
why not buy a complete Prothane 13-301 kit and do them all.

And I am now sort of regretting it. But I must continue and am
looking for some guidance from those who have done this.

The good and the done: Right side knuckle has all old bushing out
and is prepped for new bushings.

What I learned: After reading the different methods, using a torch,
a press, and drilling around the bushing rubber, and then using
a hacksaw to cut through he edge of the sleeve - all were good ideas.

I ended up using a hole saw on a drill, the kind used for cutting circles in wood
to cut away the rubber. This worked really well , and where you can get to both sides the center part of bushing comes out easily.
Where I could not get to both sides the drilling a bunch of holes method worked good too.

I was ready to get a press if needed, never had to use a torch.


Lowering the subframe:
4 17mm nuts hold on the subframe. I removed the exhaust.
Undid the E brake cable restraints from frame.
Positioned floor jack under the read end. Loosened the 4 nuts.
Then removed the nuts from one side only. Dropped the subframe, just enough to clear
the bolt holding the Lower arm. Pulled it, put in new bushing, reinstalled it.
Raised up the subframe, put the nuts for that side back on loosely.
Repeat on other side. Now I got the two lower arms finished.
Put some red loctite on the 4 subframe nuts and reinstalled.

 

[Nick2g95]

Hey guys got a question on this topic? Is it necessary to replace the actual joint as well. My mechanic was saying I should replace but that's a dealer part and could pile on the expenses

 

[rhodes2010]

You are going to need to be more specific. Pictures would help.

A typical/general mechanic that only knows what the book or dealer says
will probably only have some limited answers.

Some parts on the rear of a 2G eclipse require you purchase a whole replacement part.
Like a lower arm with ball joint (one possible example).

If you are talking about the top of the arm that holds the rear wheel then this
bushing/joint is replaceable with non-dealer parts. For much less money than
the dealer (at least for the part, the labor will eat up that savings).
The upper bushing/joint on rear wheel from the dealer requires you purchase the entire rear piece called a knuckle or C Arm. These are no longer available.
So this saves some trouble deciding what to do.

Please take a picture of the part you are asking about.

 

[Nick2g95]

Yea sorry to be so general . Yea he said it was the rear upper knuckle joint that needed to be replaced.
Yea he said he was having trouble finding it for purchase. That's good though because that'll save me some money so that's always nice thanks man. I'll just replace the bushings as previously described
Btw couldn't sorry couldn't do a pic right now.