Suspension bushings - Caution!!

[Kieran]

As some of you may know, I took Airadne in to have her balljoints replaced today.

I asked to see one of the old arms and the mechanic happily obliged.... It was a disturbing sight however....

The actual balljoint (the bit that the recall is about) looked largely okay - it felt free and smooth, maybe a bit of 'play' but no 'grittiness' or obvious leaks.

The disturbing part was the condition of the other two bushings on the arm - the one that joins to the chassis and the one that the strut bolts on to... I have taken pictures with my camera phone and will post them later (once I've found my sync cable).

Both bushings were in very poor condition; the rubber had sheared on both of them, and one of them was heavily compressed - the metal eyelet was quite obviously no longer centered. The bushing that held the chassis mount looked like it had been 'torn'

With both arms now replaced, ride comfort and handling has significantly improved. In fairness, my car is now showing 100,000 miles and it's eight years old - so the wear is probably in keeping with the car's mileage and age.

Just a note of caution to those of you with Galants that have seen a lot of action, be that in terms of age, miles or track time.... Keep an eye on your bushings.... They may not be as healthy as you expect!!

[psbarham]

tell me about it , after i changed mine the difference was incredible , there was nearly 1/4 inch of up / down movement in each ball joint though to be honest though the bushes weren't to bad considering the miles and the state of the roads in lincolnsh!te ,just needs the tracking doing now

[ANTHONY]

so what models are covered under the recall

[pezza]

Very worth point Kieran!

I have spoken to a few other *enthusiastic* drivers of different cars and they all state the difference changes the suspension bushes made to their cars...

I understand that mitsu usually sell the whole arms and not individual bushes? Need to clarify that... Maybe the parts catalogue shows suspension break down?

I would like to try sorting the handling but not goin to lower the car with springs.. hopefully new bushes, better shocks and maybe rollbar??


I will try changing bushes first .. I think tired and worn bushes could be affecting the uneven wear on front tyres.. esp as my car has seen about 130K MILES.

Hoping to try some poly ones but not the hardest compound.. will report back when these are done!

[vampirej]

would places like PowerFlex do replacements?

[pezza]

would places like PowerFlex do replacements?

I dont think they have our cars listed but I have heard a few discouraging words about them on here...

I believe super pro list our cars...

Am likely to try these so can report back....

[Kieran]

Well, I can't be doing with this amount of slop any longer, so I have taken the plunge and subject to a reasonable shipping quote, I have decided to confirm my theory that the 2G USDM Mitsubishi Eclipse does indeed use the same suspension components as our VR-4s!

I have gone with these:

http://www.ptuning.com/html/Item-Des...elDesc=Eclipse

I will also shortly be ordering a can of Flexane to do the following:

http://forums.evolutionm.net/showthread.php?t=166558

The only slight change here is that I will use Flexane '60' rather than '80' or '94'. Flexane 60 is a softer compound, so it should provide improved location of the engine and gearbox, but without causing excessive vibration.

I shall keep you posted.

(I hope I know what I'm doing here )

[pezza]

Everytime I mention suspension bush change there is this pause of realisation... I hear that some of them can be a real....PAIN? (I wont repeat the words of Zedy)

Is the suspension is dog to attack on these cars? (mind you if you have tackled alternator this could be easy for you) I guess a ramp would be handy?

Any special tools needed for changing bushes?

Anyone know?

[psbarham]

Is the suspension is dog to attack on these cars? (mind you if you have tackled alternator this could be easy for you) I guess a ramp would be handy?

Any special tools needed for changing bushes?

Anyone know?

the suspension on these is a piece of p!ss did all 4 springs and dampers on mine in under an hour , as for special tools the usual sockets, spanners hammers ,trolley jack , axle stands oh and the small matter of a 10 ton hydraulic press to press the old bushes out of the arms you may even need a set of oxy bottles as well if things get really tough , you could use a vice and hope the bushes move before the vice goes ping ( loud thud and swearing as cast iron ,suspension arm and 2 sockets hit your toes) all in all its not impossible to do at home but if you know anyone with all the kit then take it there , oh and make sure the bushes are exactaly the right size before you butcher the old ones

[Wodjno]

the suspension on these is a piece of p!ss did all 4 springs and dampers on mine in under an hour , as for special tools the usual sockets, spanners hammers ,trolley jack , axle stands oh and the small matter of a 10 ton hydraulic press to press the old bushes out of the arms you may even need a set of oxy bottles as well if things get really tough , you could use a vice and hope the bushes move before the vice goes ping ( loud thud and swearing as cast iron ,suspension arm and 2 sockets hit your toes) all in all its not impossible to do at home but if you know anyone with all the kit then take it there , oh and make sure the bushes are exactaly the right size before you butcher the old ones

So have you got a 10 ton hydraulic press

[psbarham]

So have you got a 10 ton hydraulic press

maybe

[pezza]

maybe

Where abouts are you in the UK PSB?

[psbarham]

Where abouts are you in the UK PSB?

lincolnsh!te , if you look at a map of england its right over on the right hand side , or if you look at the weather forcast on telly its the bit that doesn't have any weather

[Kieran]

Two questions Paul -

Would this be a suitable press?

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/product...0&r=2054&g=107

And number 2, Some sites (I think Superflex tell you to do this) say that you can burn out the bushes rather than pressing 'em out.... Good idea/bad idea?

[psbarham]

Two questions Paul -

Would this be a suitable press?

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/product...0&r=2054&g=107

And number 2, Some sites (I think Superflex tell you to do this) say that you can burn out the bushes rather than pressing 'em out.... Good idea/bad idea?

that'd do it you can burn out the old ones if you want , ity all depends if you are using new or old arms , if you have new arms then you might want to keep the new bushes incase the poly ones are too firm and you cant be doing with it anymore and decide to put the rubbers back in , all depends what you want to do , the other problem with burning them out is the awful stench and smoke

[pezza]

Hmm interesting...

Kieran have you identified all the bushes like for like on the VR4? Do you hav replacements for all? I am assuming that a kit made for galants should take into account all the suspension bushes...

Is there a mitsu cutaway diagram anywhere showing the bushes? I know that some bushes are not avail from mitsu and only come already assembled with the control arms etc...

I have heard nothing about my recall as yet so dont know if I am entitled to new arms or not..

Have you submitted your order already Kieran?

PSB I have read from one or two other members, that replacements can be a bit hard and noisy etc... am running standard suspension so .. fingers crossed

[psbarham]

PSB I have read from one or two other members, that replacements can be a bit hard and noisy etc... am running standard suspension so .. fingers crossed

they are noisy , we fitted a set to my mates old 1380 mini and the handling was incredible and it coped with the power (!?) a lot better , but by buggery was it noisier , so to cover up the increased road / suspension noise we fitted a jack knight straight cut gearbox , WHAT ??? well it covered the suspension noise up didn't it , on modern cars the noise is increased but more bearable , i have fitted sets to an RS turbo escort and a Sapphire cossie , and it was much less pronounced than the mini but with great benefits to handling as well

[Kieran]

Kieran have you identified all the bushes like for like on the VR4? Do you hav replacements for all? I am assuming that a kit made for galants should take into account all the suspension bushes...

No, i haven't identified them all - the kit that I linked to earlier is the Master kit for the Mitsubishi 95-99 Eclipse, which contains all the bushings I should need. I am confident enough that the two systems are identical to take the risk and buy something.

Is there a mitsu cutaway diagram anywhere showing the bushes? I know that some bushes are not avail from mitsu and only come already assembled with the control arms etc...

Err..... Pass!! This job ventures into previously unexplored areas - Like when I fitted a quickshift to Hordak.... Or an Alternator on a certain VR-4......

Have you submitted your order already Kieran?

I have tried to - but they've not come back with a shipping quote yet, the silly sods

I have read from one or two other members, that replacements can be a bit hard and noisy etc... am running standard suspension so .. fingers crossed

Same thoughts here Pezz. To be honest, a lot of the rubber bushes look so tired that I think the benefit of having suspension and transmission control back in specification will more than outweigh the NVH penalty.

[Kieran]

That US firm has still to work out how to click the 'Reply' button.... Just sent my third and final reminder before I look else where!!!

In the meantime I've discovered that there are a few differences between the eclipse and our models. At the moment, I think it's just the design of a couple of the multi-link arms on the rear suspension - And I don't think it will affect the bushings. But again.... Without an Eclipse here to dismantle I can't be too sure!

I've also found another company called Prothane. Their bushings look more tempting... you get more in the kits and also, the ones that would normally need a press are two-part with new crush tubes and grease supplied, so installation would be about 47.3 million times easier.

More news coming on the KieranCorp 'Stop my VR4 from driving like a shed' newswire when I get it....

[ghanda]

Looking forward to an update Kieran - Its something I'm going to need to do fairly soon too. Any joy with that wiring diagram?