I'm looking to install some energy bushings but I want to do the work myself. I also have access to a press. I can't go without the car for several days so how many hours of work am I looking at? The car is a 98ls integra. Thanks

 

Doin' "a pair" at a time takes up your night.
Gettin' 'em out takes longer.
Puttin' 'em in is easy.
But it take still takes a while.

 

I did mine over several weeks, but I'd say it's a full-day job.

 

I did my entire car including motor mounts and trailing arms in one brutal day. One thing that helped is that I did it with a friend at this shop on a lift.

With two people, very experienced, it was still a full days work. The trailing arms were a major bitch and I and to have the center pin hit with a blow torch to get the rubber off.

I would do it in stages if doing it alone at home.

 

Is there any difference in the energy vs. prothane kits like price or whatever?

 

hours ?

more like days......

I stretched my install out.

 

3 weeks for me...........

I did them after work, about 3 hours per day.

No torches, just a homemade bottle jack press.

 

with the suspension sitting in a box, 3hrs with an air chisel and a vise

 

Most people I know, including myself, have the whole kit in the box still.
Without direct access to a press, doing just the front suspension in a weekend can be tough. Having to run parts around to a press is going to result in down time without a ride...
I've been thinking of just getting extra upper and lower control arms from a junkyard so I can work on those with no down time... but that's just more $$$ that doesn't really need to be spent.

 

Air chisel?
Using proper sized and sturdy sockets (and as safely as I could) I tried to press out my front UCA bushings with weight of the front end of my car
I figure that's around 1,500 lbs? I've yet to put in a single control arm bushing in a year (radius rods and shock bushings were easy of course). I'm going to need a proper press I think. Anyone have any idea what kind of force is required to remove these steel-encased OE bushings?

 

I used a small (12-ton) press. I did use a jack and the underside of my car to put in a couple bushings. The weight of a car isn't nearly enough to remove them. I also found the UCA bushings to be about the hardest to remove due to the small arm size.

On a somewhat related note... I have a set of GSR rear LCA's without bushings in them and a set of Energy Suspension bushings that I could install. I'm considering selling them with the bushings pre-installed, or maybe a trade plus money for someone's stock arms + new bushings.


[Modified by JeffS, 1:22 PM 10/27/2002]

 

Are the Control Arm bushings the only ones that are really hard to switch?

 

none of the bushings are fun.

 

They're all about the same.



The two biggest ones in the front (I don't know what to call them)
[edit] I think it's a "front-end-link" bushing.
are the easiest. All the LCA's are the same, but there is a risk of bending the LCA if you're not careful. The UCA pivot mounts were the hardest for me. They're small and hard to deal with in a press and it took me even longer to get the new ones in than to get the old ones out.

The problem with this work is that noone really wants to do it. It takes so long that you'll go broke paying a mechanic to do it. The concensus seems to be to do everything yourself or take the arms off the car and carry them to someone to press the bushings out/in. This shouldn't cost much if you find a decent person to do it.





[Modified by JeffS, 10:51 AM 10/28/2002]

 

Hmm I have an urge to re-dis-assemble my front suspension and try again