Hi,
I just replaced the trailing arm bushings on a stock 97 civic ex because they were worn out. I went with Energy Suspension because they were easier to install with no press needed. The bar that goes through the bushing has moved by at least an inch changing the alignment, I had measured the old ones and pushed the bar through the same amount as stock. I don't even think it could be corrected enough. I've heard these are designed to slide, and the video I watched used silicone grease in the middle of the bushing too. I couldn't get the bar though without the grease, I tried hammering and an air hammer and was just mushrooming the bar. The instructions are minimal and don't say whether or not to grease that part. Did I mess them up? I don't know how to get it though without the grease without ruining the bar. I tried the included grease and it was too sticky. Am I going to need to buy OEM bushings and a press?

 

ES bushings for the trailing arm bushings is not advisable. They do not have enough flex to operate as a trailing arm bushing. The extreme harshness is okay for a track vehicle but for regular driving it's going to suck horribly.

And yes you grease every part of the bushing, outside that touches trailing arm and inside that touches bar.

The sticky grease is better as it's supposed to outlast the weather and stick no matter what.

If you have the trailing arm out of the car, I've seen people tap the bushings out and in with a brass hammer. Your Mileage May Vary.

 

Well if I can live with the harshness should I be worried about it being a lot out of alignment? Should I take to it be aligned (I did mark the positions of the nut on the linkage at the end of the arm)? No I didn't take the trailing arm out of the car.

 

The poly bushing causes binding. Not something you want in a trailing arm. Not sure what damage the binding causes but it's not something you want to deal with I'm sure. It's the one bushing highly recommended to avoid poly bushings for. I have seen some specially designed poly bushings that are not solid that allow the proper movement to be okay trailing arm bushings but they are far and few between.

 

(Reviving this thread since it's not yet a month old.)

I need trailing arm bushings for my '92 Civic VX. I don't finding OEM type at Majestic or RockAuto.

Where can I find some OEM type?

 

There are some OEM Honda bushings on Ebay, or get them from a Honda distributor. Part # 52385-SR3-000. Moog makes some, you can get them from Amazon.

I ended up keeping the Energy Suspension bushings. They're working fine. Only thing is they'll need to be lubricated every year or two.


I'd hit all the bolts you need to remove with PB blaster a couple times a few days in advanced so you don't need to do what he does in the video.

 

@1000cri, thanks! Good stuff. I thought Majestic is the Honda distributor, but I will look further. Having that part # is really helpful, thanks.

 

Ok, Majestic does carry the bushing, but finding it by browsing their tree presentation could not locate it. Searching for that part number worked:

https://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com...ar-52385sr3000

But they simply call it "rear bush", no reference to "trailing arm". There's a drawing of rear suspension parts, including LCA and trailing arm, but there's no pointer or diagram # for that bushing, and the trailing arm assembly itself is listed NLA.

Thanks again.