osama tim laden

i may have the right emblem sitting on my toolbox.
and not that it matters, suposedly the black bushings are the ones to get because they have graphite impregnated and dont need to be lubed as often.

rhart

Yeah, i read the same...but under the car right under the motor if i hear it squeak i'll be surprised. According to Energy Suspension: the black ones are graphite impregnated. Except those bushings that do not have any rotational movement like swaybar endlinks. So pretty much every bushing like control arms have the graphite. The red ones dont at all.
I do however have the huge Black Energy Suspension tension rod bushings to replace those fluid filled factory monsters.

I wonder what the difference would be between buying the "master" kit and just piecing it together. I'm sure there is a savings, but I really see no need to the subframe bushings. It makes more sense to just go solid there...and if your original sub bushing is shot, those funking poly inserts wont help any way.

rhart

Last night, in the rain, I removed the old bushing from a set of lower control arms. Here are a few shots of the process...

Pix with new ball joints installed: I know not the best pictures of the worn bushings but you get the idea:


Here they are on fire: I burned them out with a common propane torch...




Here is an after shot of where i pushed the metal insert out. I used a large bladed screw driver...i was very surprised with how cleanly the bushing dropped from the shell...








After using some sandpaper and brake cleaner on the shell: these cleaned up nicely...




Then i pulled my new bushings from the freezer (this may have been over kill but i wanted to make sure they pressed in fairly easy...and they did).





I lubbed them up pretty good as you can see. They look like i stuck some big lifesaver candys on them. And there is still plenty of lube to go in the insert when they are bolted in.

My plan is to to that this weekend. But it doesnt look too promising weather wise. i'll keep ya posted.

rhart

Here are a few pix of what i just install...




I know not the best shot ever, but still you get the idea. It all came a part relatively easily...on one side. The driver's side popped out easy and I guess it was due to the fact the the ball joint was bad enough so that it was getting pounded on daily. It had a ton of play in it. The passenger side...not so much. Multiple whacks with a hammer and finally it was off.

This is a shot of what a ball joint with 200k + plus miles on it looks like...




And the difference: On the Right old and busted...on the Left new hotness...




Once installed i tighten everything up to factory specs while it was weighted then took it for a cruise.

The first thing i noticed was how incredibly smooth the steering felt compared to before. I'll give you more of a report on this once i get to trash it around a little.

-Royce

rhart

Who knew that something so simple and seemingly insignificant as two rubber bushings could make such a difference in the feel of car.

Add in the replacement of two long ago dead ball joints and the attitude of the car has be transformed. The input from the steering wheel to the road seems linear...so direct and solid. I'm impressed with the overall reduction in noise coming from the front too. Now the true nature of the howl for my K106 Hankooks can really be heard, LOL. No longer is there the near metal to metal roar that dominated the ride before.

I would highly recommend doing this install, especially for you guys that slide alot . Dollar for dollar its one of the better updates I've done. I'm looking forward to doing the update/ upgrade to the rear suspension of the car to Z32 Aluminum Upright and urethane bushing.

More to come!!

rhart

I'm going to be doing a road trip to NC starting this weekend. The trip will take me into the Blue Ridge Parkway area or North Carolina (Ashville). The trip is 640+ miles one way. In preping for the trip i changed the fluids out in the diff and my trans...not knowing if it had ever been changed in its 200K+ life...just to be on the safe side. I hope to post some new pix of the drive and will report with details ASAP.

I hope I dont regret the fluids i purchase for the fluid change, Royal Purple for the trans and Valvoline Synth for the diff...as I found an oil test link that i posted in the Tech section. Honestly, I was kind of bummed with the results...oh well.

-Royce

rhart

Got Back from the road trip to end all road trips last night...2100+miles in the Smokey Mountains of North Carolina. The car didn't miss a beat...averaged 25+mpg on the trip...highest being 28mpg on the way home. Here are a few ix of the trip...many more come including a few from a drive along the Tail of the Dragon. www.tailofthedragon.com (the pix are on Killboy if you wanna check them out...I'll post them up later for those of your too lazy to look) Right now I'm a little road weary but I'll update this more soon...


This is where we stayed in Maggie Valley, NC...Renee and Anne were awesome enough to let us "borrow" their home for the week.



These things look funny to most Floridians...but once they get used to them they cant get enough!!




A few self indulgent shots of the car along the Blue Ridge Parkway...(more to come on a not so over cast day)

MacGruber

nice pics.. the car is comming along nicely!

rhart

sorry for the hazy/ smokiness of these first over cast photos....



On the Blue Ridge Parkway








Where we Stayed in Maggie Valley...





Tunnel vision.



The car in front of the Biltmore (Vanderbilt) Estate...(google it)



Me too...just for scale.







A must drive...NC US Route 129 (www.tailofthedragon.com)



check these out too...

PhotoReflect - MoonshinePhoto.Com - Deal's Gap 07-15-10 Thursday

I think i'll be ordering a few of those shots take from the drive.

Thanks for looking!!

NeedCAforS13

Man, that looks like a fun trip! I need to do one of those in the near future... maybe go whitewater rafting or kayaking. The car looks good too!