I took my car down to the dealership to get an oil change(it's cheaper than buying oil) and in their "checkup" it marked down that my rear trailing arm bushing is ripped. Is this an issue that I should really worry strongly about? And if so how should I go about fixing it?(DIY or take it in). Thanks!

 

Raise the rear end and take a look at the bushings and see how they look. If they are torn, replace them. While there, might as well consider replacing all other rear suspension bushings.

The trailing arm bushings are cheap, about $40 each from rockauto, but they can be a pita to replace without the proper tools and a press. You could just order the bushings, remove the arms and take them to your local machine shop or auto shop and have them press them in.

 

Alright thank you

 

For a little bit more money you can get bushings from this company called hardrace. They use hardened rubber which exceeds oem quality. These are what I plan on getting to replace my 20 yr old bushings.

 

Your can also use Energy suspension bushings. Your old bushings can be easily removed with a torch or hot knife. The new bushing uses the OEM sleeve so you won’t need a press because once the remnants of the old bushing have been removed the new one can be slid in with the supplied lube. There are lots of DIY's and videos of this on the web.

 

You dont need a press to change these bushings. The Honda dealership doesnt even use a press. You can knock them in and out with a small (1-2lb) mini sledge hammer or as the dear does, use a pneumatic chisel with a blunt end on it.

jack up the rear of the car. Unbolt the two bolts from either end of the bushing and allow the trailing arm to sag down. Spray Kroil, PB blaster or even WD40 on the OD of the bushing. Beat the bushing out of the trailing arm from the inside of the arm towards the outside of the car by hitting it on all sides of the outer steel race. Clean up the hole with a wire brush or wire wheel. Spray some oil on the new bushing and beat it into the arm from the outside towards the inside. Bolt it back to the car and do get an alignment

 

Do NOT fight the bolts when attempting to unscrew them, take your time and work them out. Socket on the them and tap tap tap with a hammer, WD-40, liquid wrench, whatever! You do not want those bolts snapping and have to spend the entire weekend drilling and or grinding those suckers out.......I did and its not fun

 

Use PB on the bolts, soak them a few times. I used a press to take out my bushings... because I had one available

 

I tried doing it once before with a press and found pressing them in and out was 10x more difficult than the method I described above. Plus on top of the work to remove the bushing you have to disconnect the toe arm, lower control arm, ebrake cable and brake line, then reassemble all of this and bleed the brakes to put it back together. My method literally allows me to remove and replace both bushings in under an hour. I've done it now on 3 cars without damaging the bushing or the trailing arms. I've pressed the bushing out of one car completely disassembled and it took me hours of aggravation to get the press set up right and get everything back together.

 

I swapped out my whole arms so I could get integra disc brakes in the back lol that is why I used a press haha

 

If you attempt this, keep in mind the alignment of the new bushing
wrt/:

1) inner facing aspect vs out facing aspect of the bushing
2) orientation of the new bushing in the trailing arm
3) depth of the bushing in the trailing arm

If you google it, you'll find a couple of excellent write-ups on
these details. There is also a specialized bushing tool by SCHLEY
that will remove and install the bushings w/ the trailing arm on
the car.