mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

Well guys wish me luck... I'm installing all 14 rear bushings today here at work... got the bushings for $105 shipped off ebay and this is looking promising - they came with ~decent~ instructions and plenty of their synthetic lube... hopefully there won't be any issues with this - I am half thinking about installing grease ports - maybe later if squeaking is an issue...

at any rate, I've had good luck with Prothane in the past with my DSM's, so, with any luck at all, this will turn out great...

turns out my upper rear bushings are shot...

RedPhoenix

iTrader: (10)

good luck!

miraluna

iTrader: (2)

let us updated... I was thinking of getting them myself...

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

wow..... talk about a huge pain in the ***....

I did the front lowers by myself in two hours flat... the rears - way harder, and time consuming like you wouldn't believe... One of the guys in the shop has been helping me, but man... pain in the ***... Biggest pain is the bushings that have the sleeves built in... uppers and also the strut rod bushing are the biggest pain in the asses requiring some air chisel skills and a press... the others press out nicely however...

the rest is just time consuming little BS stuff...

next, the alignment (that starts in 30 minutes)

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

wow, done...

playing around with rear toe a little - in theory I shouldn't need as much rear toe out as before (toe out is used to counteract acceleration force from the wheels, but with urethane bushings, there's nowhere near as much movement), so, not so much toe out as before, and got my camber exactly where I want it -2.7 rear, -2.0 front...

I just want to stress again how much adjustability there is in the rear of our cars (and front too) from the factory - my camber adjusters are dead nuts in the center, and there is about 2 degrees either way I can go with them (and the toe bars have plenty of room to move as well) car is lowered 1.8"ish

Sc dRifta

lol i tricked one of my mechanics to press out the old busing and press in the new ones. he thought it be super easy and i told him id give him $100.00 lol i got my money's worth congrats.

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

alright, well... the car is amazingly more stable now... no more wagging the rear end on acceleration out of a turn, and if it does lose traction, it feels controllable now, whereas before the tail was all over the place...

my uppers were shot, and I did all 14 just because I was already there...

toykilla

Any pointers you want to throw out? I am about to do this myself and dont have a press. I was planning on cutting/burning out the old bushings. Is a press required to install the new bushings?

I am ordering the front and rear prothane kits shortly but want to know what I am getting myself into first =)

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

three have sleeves which are a pain - you would probably be able to burn them out and cut the sleeves with a dremel

the other three are just stuffed in there and have no sleeves - melting / burning those out shouldn't be an issue either...

set aside a whole day for this - it's not going to be easy and especially not having a press... truthfully, it was way more work doing the pressing and chiseling than actually taking the stuff off the car, but then again, I have full access to air tools and a lift...

emoshun

iTrader: (11)

Any pics on the job?

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

I left my house without my digital camera yesterday.... I might be able to snap some already installed pics though...

AdvanSC300

So if I do them with all the required tools and a press(at my job which is a Toyota dealer),what would be the estimated time it would take???

sc250tt

how does the car ride? is it more harsh than the stock bushings? i wanted to do this with my car but after i installed these bushings in my sc 300 front lower controll arms ,the car felt like the rear did not exist .i wish i can get a ride in you car to see how it feels

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

it depends on how many times you get frustrated with the bushings that you are trying to press out...seriously - the ones in the upper aluminum control arms require some serious creativeness to get them out and even then, they are in there good... they are pressed in towards one another and they have to be pressed out away from one another... I had to use a c-clamp pressto push the center metal piece out, then used a rod through the middle of it to press out the opposite one - after getting scared I'd break the aluminum housing (20 ton press and I had all my weight on the bar and it wouldn't budge), I had to air chisel around the outer edge of the bushing on the outside edge - only after I did this, did it press out easier - it is crucial that you use the correct size press bits else you'll get one stuck inside there and have to press it out the opposite way... (ask me how I figured that out)

I think if you were working on it continuously with all the correct tools, probably 4-6 hours plus alignment...

one more note - the grease prothane gives you feels more like glue when it's on your skin - I recommend wearing gloves when working with that stuff... by nature, I don't wear gloves when working on cars, and man, I didn't think I'd ever get that stuff off me...

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

my wife doesn't even notice the difference, but I do... I equate it to the difference between stock 16" wheels and low-profile 19's... you feel the little bumps more, but overall ride quality has actually improved - it feels like the suspension is actually doing its job