98civdx

They squeak, and they have been said to fail much faster.

Keeping them clear, and well lubricated is key to keeping them for a while.

my self and my buddy(ES bushings all around, in everything) lube once/twice a year.

TOP91

found a thread with pictures

http://www.trinituner.com/v3/forums/...c.php?t=323944

TOP91

what about prothane?

98civdx

it's basicly the same thing. But I think it's a little softer or harder? Not sure.

For some stuff prothane is any one, if you don't go rubber

TOP91

well i read that poly bushings will wear out under alot of daily driver use esp if they are not lubrecated and cared for. can i just occasionaly spray some wd 40 on it or some honda chain lube? :S I would think poly bushings would last longer then rubber ones tho. the rubber ones i have on now large cracks in them and chunks hanging off.

I figured out what parts i need to replace the bushings for the entire rear end

I was looking at a combination of ES and Prothane parts which totals to around $190.

that seems really expensive and if i go back in a few months to do the front end then i imagine it would be alot of money all togethor.

I would rather get a "real" master kit which includes ALL bushings one where i can take the ones out i need for the rear end replace and done. then later do the same thing with the front end.

Is $190 to high for only the rear end? or does that sound about right.

TOP91

What does the PIC kit include for the rear end bushings?

Libertariat

Those bushings are over a decade old. If you're got a 5th gen it's pushing 20 years.

In all seriousness, hardrace or PIC is your best bet for a full kit that will last like OEM.

TOP91

This is what the Hard Race Bushing Kit includes.

Hardrace's Suspension Bushing Kit
Provide advanced stability during high speed driving or hard cornering
Made with reinforced rubber bushings
Includes the parts listed below:
Front Lower Control Arm Bushings
Front Upper Control Arm Bushings
Rear Toe Arm Bushings
Rear Upper Control Arm Bushings
Rear Lower Control Arm Bushings
Rear Trailing Arm Bushings
Honda Civic 1996 - 2000 EK Non SI

$269

Now i need to find out what is included in the PIC kit. which is around $230ish





On energy suspensionparts.com if i go poly i will buy

RTA Bushing - ES
Rear Compensator arm bushings - Prothane
Rear Control Arm Bushings Upper and Lower - Prothane
Front Control arm bushings Upper and Lower - ES

This comes to a total of $235

What it comes down to is this

If i go Prothane/ES Poly it will be $235 + Shipping free
If i go PIC Hard Rubber Kit it will be $225 + Shipping (?)
If i go Hard Race then it will be $269 + shipping (?)

If i find out that the PIC Kit and the Hard Race kit are Identical then All three of my choices will include the same bushings and be nearly the same price with Hard Race being the most expensive. Dosen't Seem like much of a steal, its just downright expensive no matter how you do it.
In that case it would Come down to PIC hard Rubber Kit vs. ES/Prothane Poly.

Now im starting to think that going Poly will be cheaper because I can get the Rear bushings now for around $187.

It may be a good idea to go poly because if i decide to lower it later on i might not have such a problem with binding. So far poly is cheaper then Hard Rubber.

Im more then likely not to lower it but im trying to think pros and cons now between poly and rubber.

Do they make Soft Rubber? just wondering.

TOP91

This week i will jack it up and do a thurough inspection of the rear bushings and buy poly bushings as needed.

Seems like it will save alot of money this way and completely redoing the bushings on a POS car for 2 or 3 hundred is overkill esp since its not a race car or even a sports car for that matter its just a hunk of sheite. lol

98civdx

To do the whole car with ES this is what your looking at spending.

Master kit, 150

Rear control arm bushings, UCA/LCA-
http://www.energysuspensionparts.com....asp?prod=8306

Componsator arms- $40
http://www.energysuspensionparts.com....asp?prod=8309

For a grand total of approximently $315+ Does it still look like a good deal?

Sure, the ES kit will come with a few more things, BUT, the things it comes with are pointless.

Tie rod/ball joint boots? Stupid.
Coil spring isolaters, why?

And it comes with front endlinks which wont cost you $20 to buy seperatly, rack bushings, I doubt you will want to put those in. And shift linkage bushings, again, wont cost you hardly anything to buy.


I DON'T RECCOMEND THE ES KIT. It's not the best deal. $250 for a rubber kit that will out last the ES, as well as be a lot easier over time.

if you want to blow $300 on poly go for it, but your much better off buying the rubber kit.

phunhaus

Everything except sway bar bushings.

TOP91

I agree with 98civdx about the ES KIT which will cost you more alot more money in the long run because you get useless stuff and still have to go back and buy expensive as **** prothane bushings because ES dosen't make some for 97 honda civic.

Here are individual Poly Parts: Total Cost $187 + Free shipping

http://www.energysuspensionparts.com....asp?prod=8306
http://www.energysuspensionparts.com....asp?prod=8309
http://www.energysuspensionparts.com...prod=16%2E7106

I can Do the entire rear end with this and if later on i decide to do the Front end I can buy This:

http://www.energysuspensionparts.com...p?prod=16.3114

And that would Bring the Total up to .... $235 The same price as the PIC Hard Rubber Kit.

So What's the difference?

98civdx

right, you can do it that way. I guess for me I would just rather do it all at one time, and not have to worry about the bushings.

TOP91

Now if your talking about your new project car that you plan on dumping money into then replacing them all at once with high proformance parts is probably a good idea.

But with my car, its a 1997 honda civc ex, but everythings stock, interior is good, but it has 200k and been ran up and down dirt roads and what not so Some suspension parts are going to def fail and some are not.

Im going to be cheap about it and only replace what needs replaced right now. and worst case scenario i spend $235 best case i spend $30. And i'll never replace anything on that car untill it fails... cept for timing belt and other preemptive measures.

I feel like that's how you get the best bang for your buck out of your honda, pushing it to its limits with minimal maintance. Because to be honest i could spend thousands and turn my car into a brand new car... prolly get hundredes and thousands of miles off it. But why would i do that when i can just go out and buy another 97 civic for $1500 again.

98civdx

<---- Already have double what I paid in my car. No plans to stop.


You've got to be carefull pushing your car to limits with only minimal matience. Honda's are great cars, IF you maintain them properly. If you don't, they can turn into prissy little bitches who don't run right.

I pushed mine, and I ended up with a leaking water pump, overheating car that wouldn't idle.

The key is to replace the part right when it needs it, and to not cheap out.

Off the top of my head I can name 4-5 of my friend's who cars do noithing but sit. They started to have issues, and eventually gave up.

altitude_19

OEM Honda bushings lasting...Good one! I've had other brands/models of cars that went 20 years with narry a bushing failure. I've accepted that a civic is not necessarisly built to age gracefully. Thank God they're designed to they're easy to maintain.

98civdx

Uh what?

Libertariat

Maybe you should take a look at the bushings on my car. 180,000 miles and all of them look new.

Hell, even all of my suspension bolts/nuts come off with normal effort. Nothing down there has seized.

altitude_19

Explain yourself! What year are you driving? Under what conditions? I'm rolling the dice and saying you're the exception for some reason. I base the theory on the ridiculous abundance of "my car is rattling" threads.

Libertariat

Daily driven ~50 miles a day. Georgia weather? Very hot and humid in the summer, couple weeks of light snow every year, At least 3 weeks of the year lows are in the 20's and teens.

I've also autocrossed my civic all season this year, even attended a novice school where I put her to the test for a solid 5-6 hours.

We never had any issues on my brothers Integra, or his Del Sol with bushings or any of the suspension bolts.

I think a lot of the people with "rattling cars" are people who've been rising around dumped for 3-5 years. Riding that low will put extra torque on the bushings and wear them prematurely. Milder drops are much nicer to bushings than slammed cars.

altitude_19

My EX rattles pretty noticeably, but I've got 4 well defined seasons here. Maybe the colder weather has something to do with it? The ride height is stock. Hard to say what it was subjected to before I owned it. Anyway, enough thread-jacking from me...

98civdx

210k here, only bushings that look like the need to be replaced are the RTA's.

Of course rubber will not last forever, noithing will. BUT, when you have 100k+ and 10 years+ on some rubber bushings what the hell do you think is going to happen?


Salt and everything they pour on the roads in the colder climates has been blamed for lots of things, and I wouldn't put it past speeding up the failure of bushings.

There are also lots of things that cause rattles, blaiming it on bushings is pointless. Half of the people who don't clock the bushings when doing suspension work, this can/will tear them. A very good portion of the poeople on this sites car's are quite low, again, this is hard on the bushings. Even more so when you don't clock them.

Libertariat

Function7 bushings don't require clocking

98civdx

Your right, they don't. One advantage poly gets you I guess?

Libertariat

Their bushings are designed in a certain way. I remember a Function7 rep explaining it. Something to do with the construction and how the bushing freely rotates all the time.