Pretty sure the trailing arm bushings on my EG are bad...

But what are the symptoms? Is it very noticeable?

 

Symptoms? Get under the car and LOOK. You can see plainly that they are ripped or not.

 

They are ripped.

I'm just wondering what I should be feeling when I drive the car. It does feel a little loose.... I'm also assuming that's where the noise in the rear of my car is coming from.

 

what kind of noise? vibrations???

 

Just random clunks and creaking. Pretty annoying.

I feel like the car handles well, it's just that the rear-end gets a little loose sometimes. Wondering if that's one of the symptoms of bad bushings or not?

Straight line acceleration is a little shady too, but I most likely need an alignment.

 

Clunks/creaks could be caused be casued by the bushings.

Check all of them.

Your car could be a canidate for a PIC/hardrace bushing set.

 

When mine were torn on my CR-X the car was very sketchy under brakes, since putting new OEM ones in it is much better such that I could comfortably trail brake on the track last weekend without worrying too much about what the back of the car was doing. Most of the bangs/pops/clunks from the rear suspension are gone now too.

 

Creaks, looseness, and tire wear

 

I had new OE ones put in my CRX recently. Clocked them since the car is slightly lowered too.

The car feels more solid in the rear, plus the horrible squeaking is gone. Not to mention I could see the passenger side (the side that squeaked) was torn.

 

Those are a PITA but do them anyways. 9/10 88-00 Civics on the road have them torn in my opinion.


When I did mine I didnt notice anything though.

 

^ These cars aren't getting any younger, and rubber doesn't last forever. lol

 

you are right, most i see are torn up, so as mines lol

 

I didn't notice anything before or after it was replaced. Original one was beat up pretty bad. Replaced it with a hardrace bushing.

 

Thanks for all the advice everyone.

What else should I check for wear besides the trailing arm bushings?

 

Trailing am bushings are really common it seems.

Shocks possibly, bushings on the LCAs....

But you already said your trailing arm bushings are torn. Replace those for sure.

 

Check them all.

Ball joints, tie rods as well.

 

Best way to check a trailing arm bushing is to kick the rear tires on the back side of the tire and watch it wiggle when you kick it.

99% of civics that come into my shop are in need of trailing arm bushings. The cars are only 20 years old now lol.

 

I can just kneel down and see the trailing arm bushings on my '98 Civic and my '88 CRX.

Poly bushings are a LOT stiffer btw. I've heard people recommend against them for daily driving. I've had a friend bump his head in the backseat of the Civic because the rear bushings are so tough.

OE or OE type are much more comfortable.

 

Lol. Really? Is he a giant?

Check hardrace/PIC for bushings.

There is also Mugen if your a baller.

 

These are the 2 things besides wheel bearings that I have not replaced yet on my car. Literally everything else has been touched lol. Ball joints are still good and so are the wheel bearings but my tie rods are on their way out. Just not looking forward to pulling that all a part :p. I'd say bad trailing arm bushings is most noticeable under hard braking the *** end gets squirrelly.

 

He's maybe about six foot tall. I have decently stiff suspension. Not horrible, but the poly bushings made it worse in the rear. I've dialed the coilovers down since then.

Now that I think of it, he's one of the shorter guys I usually hang out with even.

 

That's where I've noticed it a lot lately.

I'm definitely going with OE bushings though.

 

poor guy's head was likely almost on the roof. lol

I HATE sitting in the back of these cars.

 

I've had 6'+ guys sit in the back of my '97 and '98 Civic coupes and compliment the space. But that could be a comparable thing.

Example: I've sat in the back of my '88 Prelude and in the back of a '93 Firebird. Both are technical rear seats. Basically only for children and small people.

But add some stiff *** bushings and the dimensions shrink.

 

When you turn and hit a bump, the rear will try to oversteer a little. It will feel "loose" when turning.

Mine were really shredded but this was the main thing I noticed