Vehicle: 1998 Acura Integra GSR

Parts Installed: Omni Power LCAs (Version 2), JDM Type R Sway Bar, ASR Brace, KYB AGX shocks and H&R OE Sport Springs.

On Car for: 4 Months with mostly local driving and some highway.

Problem: Excessive wear on the top of the factory strut rod bushing (#17 bushing in the photo below is now about half a centimeter smaller in diameter than normal size due to wear). Because the bushing is smaller, the strut rod now sits a bit to the side rather than in the middle like its suppose to.



Do you think its because of the 23 mm sway bar is causing extra strain on the rear suspension? Would switching to polyurethane bushing help?



Anyone have any ideas why this would occur?

 

Anyone?

 

maybe it has to do with washer #1 ?

 

It shouldn't be off-centered at all. The sleeve should go all the way through and sit flush on top and bottom bushings. It might have to do with the LCA's, but I can't imagine they would cause that much deterioration in 4 months. In what condition were the bushings when you installed them? (I'm assuming you reused them...)

 

I'd like to know the problem too, I'm thinking about going with this suspension set up too.

 

when u put the bushings in, did u put the metal sleeves back in them, the sleeve is #4 it should connect thru both bushing on the tophad(#11)and the strut rod should slide in that

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hatchling37 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">It shouldn't be off-centered at all. The sleeve should go all the way through and sit flush on top and bottom bushings. It might have to do with the LCA's, but I can't imagine they would cause that much deterioration in 4 months. In what condition were the bushings when you installed them? (I'm assuming you reused them...)</TD></TR></TABLE>

All bushings and strut hats were brand new.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ironcheftony &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">when u put the bushings in, did u put the metal sleeves back in them, the sleeve is #4 it should connect thru both bushing on the tophad(#11)and the strut rod should slide in that</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes, the sleeve was installed and is still there.

 

I've been trying to come up with a hypothesis and here an idea i came up with:

I'm assuming that the excessive wear on the bushing is due to movement. Either the strut rod is slightly bent so it doesn't sit centered - OR - the entire shock/spring combo is off-center.. which may be caused by the LCA or the sway bar.

Does this make sense to anyone? Anyone else have any ideas?