CrxChicken

Hey so I am working on my 90 CRX DX

A lot of the rubber parts are going so i replaced both axles now I am looking at bushings, ball joints, springs, struts and whatever i find thats cracked and about to go..

I will probably endup doing new brakes if i keep it a couple more years.

Dont want to throw it away quite yet because anything that gets 30mpg or better costs a lot more then some parts and my time...
The car doesn't get a lot of miles under 12k a year its all dry rott you know how it is.

So I am looking up prices for lower and upper control arms and bushing and ball joints i guess while i'm at it...

Wondering if I should just kick in about twice the money for after market stock upper and lower control arms instead of dealing with replacing bushing... and while at it why not do ball joints because lets face it i have more time then a life HA!

anyway Its a DX so stock parts are fine and I can find them...

What do you think Replace the Control Arms don't fight the Bushings its only $25 more each so $100 total.

I am willing to replace the bushings alone and that would save me money which would be great but i never did them so do I need a press or special tool?

Any Hints for the other parts I am thinking of replacing
Struts
Ball Joints!
Springs

And whats the likely hood of getting away with not getting an alignment I mean what can be done? Toe? unless i get adjustable Ball Joints?
It drives fine now.

So any hints would be cool
and anything i should check while im under there.
Thanks

gsxr1k05

get the energy suspension bushing set. its a world of difference that you can not even describe. i have them on my 91 hf and i had them on my prior 91 hf as well. (yes i have owned a lot of rex's..a 2 91 dx's 2 91 hf's and an 88si). the bushing kit comes with everything. the trailing arm bushings, control arms (upper and lower), shift stabilizer. you can also get the sway bar bushings as well and the motor mount inserts if you dont want to spring for aftermarket mounts.

i can tell you that car goes from side to slide slop like a 300lbs fat bitch's *** to a car that has almost no body roll, and the tires would slide on a curve before the car rolls.

best upgrade you can do for you suspension period. took me about 2-3 days taking my time (you have to press the old bushings out of the control arms, but the new ones slide right in. (check out energy suspensions website for the installation instructions to get an idea before purchasing of whats involved).

as for brakes, check out the rear disc upgrade from any 94-00 integra or 92-95civic. as well as the 1" master cylinder upgrade and larger booster with 4040 prop valve. (i put one from a 90-93 intergra in mine and used an adapter from autozone to go from the 10mm line to the 12mm hole on the master cylinder). i can give more info if you pm me.

BiG ChOr!Zo

iTrader: (1)

too much to read here so im just gonna suggest Moog products from www.rockauto.com ...!!!

eurocrx

+1 to the moog stuff and rockauto. i replaced all my bushings with factory stuff. while more expensive than the ES kit, to me i wasnt willing to risk squeaky suspension over time like some have said on here. just me though. you will need a press to get the bushings out. so find a friend that works at a dealer that has access to one or, 150$ will get you one from harborfreight tools

jlk16188

if your making a car that you will be driving all year round and only occasionally racing, I would not suggest energy suspension bushings. I swapped all moog parts and PIC hard rubber bushings into my crx. Made a world of difference, and they are still pretty cheap. I paid $230 for a complete kit for the bushings. I wouldnt trade them for anything. They ride like OEM with a more aggressive feel and aren't too hard on your teeth like some peoples cars and they will never squeak because they are not poly.

just my 2 cents

CrxChicken

Yea thats what I figured that I would need a press

Each bushing seems to cost about $15-$20 for oem replacement grade

Ball joints are $50 each

If i buy new upper and lower moog control arms $200 a side i get the upper ball joint and all new bushings and I dont have to deal with taking my parts to a shop and paying $100 for them to do the bushings.

hard choice but I have other work ahead of me for a couple weeks so its time to think.

It is a lot of money to put into a grocery getter that I dont use that often.

CrxChicken

is the original lower ball joint held in with a retaining clip or do they also spot weld it on top? .. I didnt notice while i was looking.

I heard someone say you need to take the part to a shop to get the lower ball joint out.

BiG ChOr!Zo

iTrader: (1)

get all the moog parts from the link i provided above...moog parts are top knotch and when you compare the quality to oem you know you are getting a quality product.

the lower ball joints are held in by a retaining clip and can be hammered out yourself.

xalents23

If you are planning on keeping the car for a long time do it right and replace all the bushings on the car. Since most or all of the bushings on that car are shot/cracked or have gone bad. Trust me it will pay off in the end and the car will drive and feel so much better. I just did a complete overhaul on my 1991 CRX and it was so worth it. Go to rockauto.com for parts as someone else has mention. Great prices and great quality on the parts. Get the Moog products they are pretty much the same quality as OEM products from Honda but cheaper. If you have the bank roll you can never go wrong with Honda OEM bushings. Have fun restoring your car.