I drive a 1993 Honda Civic LX.

I went for the PA state Safety inspection, and I failed because he could wobble my driver side front wheel.

He said that it was a bushing on the lower control arm.

I went to advance auto parts, and spent 20$ on a lower control arm inner bushing (looks like a piece of rubber in a metal thing).

He said to do the repair, I would have to break free the rocker arm, and rip a bunch of stuff apart. I'm able to figure things out quickly, and I've got an assortment of tools to tackle many jobs (think one of those 500 piece Craftsman mechanics tool sets.) He said in a garage, it would be pretty pricey, and I should be able to do it myself.

I don't want to foul anything up, and I'm wondering if there is anything I need to look out for. I have no plans on modding the hell out of my civic. I've got some nice 17 inch wheels to put on it, and I guess I'm going to need coil overs down the line, but other than that, I've no plans for any other mods. I don't need this to be a performance bushing repair or anything, just functional and safe.

Has anyone here done this, and is there anything special I need to look out for, or any special tools I'm going to need? I've heard that the bushings need pressed in...my plan is to pound the crap out of it to get it in. Any suggestions there?

Thank you in advance for any time that you take to read my post, and/or answer my questions.

 

17's will own you

 

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=777754

 

yeah...I HATE doing bushings. They're a pain in the *** bro, good luck!

 

Why will they own me? Don't leave me hanging. I'm a trial user, so I only get 5 posts per day.

Also thanks Dr for the link, I'm checking it out now.

 

Honestly, I think it would be cheaper and easier if you buy a used control arm from a junk yard.

 

To buy one from the junk yard would mean...

Ripping my car apart...getting the control arm out.

Going to the junk yard, ripping the control arm out (most of the junk yards around here are, you pay, you rip the part out) so it'd be like the labor 2x.

Or from the looks of it from the other thread,

Take off control arm, torch the crap out of the rubber, hack saw the metal, pry it out, clean out the LCA, and then either press the bushing in, get it in, or have someone press it in.