trailing arm bushing ?

[92dxhatch]

i put my car on the lift last week and was looking at a few things and found the trailing arm bushing is very worn, and look like i need to replace it, can you replace it??? if so, who makes the best buching for this, i don't care to replace the whole trailing arm if i dont need to. i do in the future want to go with a rear disk set up, but dont have $250 lying around to throw it in yet. but for now, i'd like to replace it. thanks

 

[civicious]

You can pick up a set of the Energy Suspension trailing arm bushings off Ebay for like $30.

 

[92dxhatch]

cool thanks. are they difficult to put in?

 

[phunky.buddha]

Get the ES bushings for the trailing arms. They work really well. They are a bitch to get in though. The trailing arm bushings are pretty much the largest bushings on the car, so you'll have to burn/grind them out if you don't have a press- and that process really sucks.

 

[NoJokE]

I've heard from a bunch of people that the ES bushings in the trailing arms is not the best idea. Supposedly they cause suspension bind and don't allow the suspension to move as it should.

Again, i've only HEARD this, but it's been from a lot of people. The best choice would be Mugen trailing arm bushings if you have around $100 bucks to throw on trailing arm bushings.s

 

[phunky.buddha]

Originally posted by NoJokE@Feb 10 2005, 01:27 PM
I've heard from a bunch of people that the ES bushings in the trailing arms is not the best idea. Supposedly they cause suspension bind and don't allow the suspension to move as it should.

Again, i've only HEARD this, but it's been from a lot of people. The best choice would be Mugen trailing arm bushings if you have around $100 bucks to throw on trailing arm bushings.s

[post=459134]Quoted post[/post]​

I've heard that same crap from a ton of people too, but it still stands that my car handles awesome with the poly bushings out back, and I don't experience any binding at all.

 

[nfn15037]

Yep those ES bushings do not allow proper movement of the trailing arm. It is supposed to move in an arc, like ( but those bushings restrict the movement to one vertical axis, it causes binding at the top of the suspension travel creating an infinite spring rate. Honda spent a lot of time on that particular buching, as it is designed to move in 2 axes, how can a solid piece of urethane with a metal axle through it perform the same function?

FWIW, Honda issued a TSB last year and they now sell trailing arm bushing replacements(they only sold complete trailing arms before).

 

[92dxhatch]

how does it move in two axies,i thought it was like the see saw movement, just one axie. umm, are you talking about sideways movement of the bushing? besides that, thanks, any other help would be great.

 

[K2e2vin]

Originally posted by 92dxhatch@Feb 10 2005, 06:24 PM
how does it move in two axies,i thought it was like the see saw movement, just one axie. umm, are you talking about sideways movement of the bushing? besides that, thanks, any other help would be great.

[post=459269]Quoted post[/post]​

camber...as the wheels move up, the camber changes, the trailing arm will turn/twist with the camber.

 

[phunky.buddha]

That is true- but with really high spring rates in the back, you won't be moving the pin across the bushing that much anyway. Maybe I'll go to a ball joint in the back later.

 

[civicious]

Originally posted by NoJokE@Feb 10 2005, 01:27 PM
I've heard from a bunch of people that the ES bushings in the trailing arms is not the best idea. Supposedly they cause suspension bind and don't allow the suspension to move as it should.

Again, i've only HEARD this, but it's been from a lot of people. The best choice would be Mugen trailing arm bushings if you have around $100 bucks to throw on trailing arm bushings.s

[post=459134]Quoted post[/post]​

You heard wrong. Mike's car handles like a dream. Big fat crap on spending $100 on Mugen bushings. ES are the bomb diggity, which is why they're going on the EG sometime next week.

 

[92dxhatch]

So i can safely go with the es bushings, i think i'm really going to need now, i was playing around int the twisties and my rearend came out like major drift style, and slid into a ditch, cars just fine, didn't smack it hard, barley touched my car, the only thing is i hit alot of mud, so the rear is gummed up i'll wash her this weekend.


besides all that, i'm assuming that the best way to get the bushing is to press them in right? if so, i have a press at my shop i can use. thanks for the help. all other advise is still welcome

 

[nfn15037]

Having owned both OEM and ES(back to OEM now) trailing arm bushings on a car with 500#+ rear spring rates, I can tell you the ES bushings make the car an unpredictable piece of shit to drive. Under braking, the car wants to wander all over the place and when you compress the outside rear by rolling over a bump snap-oversteer is induced. Do what you like, but for any real performance driving, urethane bushings are garbage. Hell look at the real time ITRs, they used delrin and sphericals everywhere but the trailing arms because they know how to develop a suspension and not get sucked into hearsay and marketing bullshit.

 

[phunky.buddha]

That's weird, because I don't experience any of this- and I drive the car hard through some pretty nasty curves with bumps and off camber rises/falls. Maybe there's something wrong with your car.

I'd like to go to all spherical bushings later, but that's a long way down the mod list.

 

[92dxhatch]

Originally posted by Calesta@Feb 11 2005, 06:44 PM


That's weird, because I don't experience any of this- and I drive the car hard through some pretty nasty curves with bumps and off camber rises/falls. Maybe there's something wrong with your car.

I'd like to go to all spherical bushings later, but that's a long way down the mod list.

[post=459849]Quoted post[/post]​

what are spherical bushings, neverheard the term or product, elighten me please

 

[phunky.buddha]

Originally posted by 92dxhatch@Feb 12 2005, 02:14 AM
what are spherical bushings, neverheard the term or product, elighten me please

[post=459932]Quoted post[/post]​

Go hit up a dictionary. It's a bushing that's made out of a sphere. You don't get a better explanation than that.

 

[EGProject]

Speaking from experience, (my car has the ES bushings) they really don't feel as if they mess with the suspension, the spring rates, or the suspension travel. After I installed all my bushings I put the car on jackstands, and jacked the wheel through its whole range of travel, and nothing looked out of whack.

Just a note though, I installed all my own bushings EXCEPT the trailing arm bushings. I tried to burn them out with a propane torch, and i tried cutting them out with a Sawzall. Nothing worked. Since I had the arms off the car, I decided to have a shop have a go. I went to East Coast Custom Ridez in Worcester, and they finnally were able to get them out, and pressed in, after an Oxy/Acc torch and a die-grinder.

One thing that you may notice, is that with a small rear bar (stock EX or none) snap oversteer can sometimes be a problem. In daily or spirited driving this really isn't a problem, but I auto-x, and mid-to high speed hard turns sometimes lead the rear end to step out a bit.

Looking to upgrade to machined lower's in the future.

 

[bcman]

a press won't help you install the ES bushings. You need to remove the spindle and leave the outer shell in the trailing arm. I started by cutting out the spindle with a knife (if your OEM bushings are badly worn, this will be easy.) Nex I put the spindle in a vise and hacksawed all the rubber off, using sandpaper to finish the job. I then went back to the shell with a blowtorch and a file, alternating fire/grinding. You have to really get all of the rubber off the stock metal. After that prep work is done, snapping in the poly is easy - just affix a couple of C clamps and squeeze.

 

[92dxhatch]

THANKS FOR ALL THE ADVISE, i just said scew it. i'm getting a new trailing arm with the rear disk conversion for $200, i'll stick with that, thanks

 

[phunky.buddha]

New complete trailing arms for $200? Nice.