Suspension bush replacement tips
 

So this winter I’m going to tackle some of the suspension bushes and looking for any tips anyone has from their experience of doing the job.

My front compliance bushes are pretty perished which is the driver for tackling it now. When I bought it there was a receipt for an alignment from 2021 so I thought I might not have seized bolts but I’ve checked the castor adjusters and they move but the rubber in the bush moves with them so the sleeves are seized to the bushes. I suspect that might be why they are so perished. I think the camber ones are seized too but I didn’t try too hard to shift those bolts for now.

Anyway I’ve ordered the hardrace 6 bush set for the front lower arms for now, got a pretty good price for them, a 12 ton press from Temu (hopefully it doesn’t kill me), some new blades for my recip saw and new bolts etc on their way from Japan. Plan is to do more over time hence buying the press but the rest still seem in decent shape so not urgent.

I’ve read lots of threads on here about the job and watched a few YouTube videos so fairly sure what to expect but if anyone has any wee tips I’d be happy to get all the advice I can.

There's a thread not very far down this page where this was recently discussed, I'm in the same predicament as yourself but without the hardware yet, including the press / recip saw.
DIY guys YT vid seems to be the quickest way by jacking, removing the wheels and whip off the coil overs and undo the knuckle.
I'm guessing just aim high at the bolt, then low also. And don't give up! Keep the saw speed low to begin with otherwise it might try and jump off the bolt. It's taken some that have attempted around 30 mins per bolt and a handful of blades if there are crap items. Check your drop links also as if they are bad, you may want you change these at the same time because they'll need cutting off.
My biggest problem will be space, as it's a single integral garage, and the wife. She'll winge at the noise and smell of burning :D
Let us know how you get on. I'm still in 2 minds whether to have a friendly mechanic I know to press in the bushes...

Cheers

yeah I didn’t check the drop links when I had a poke around but having watched and read a few other things I was planning to before the time so I’ve got everything I need to get it done before I start.

same here in terms of garage space so I’m going to do it on the drive. Check the weather for a clear weekend then go for it. Probably won’t be for a few weeks by the time the bolts etc arrive from Japan and I get a free weekend.

I just don't trust the weather ! And there will be sparks flying everywhere :LOL: I have nosey neighbours!
Don't forget - you'll pay handsome tax on those bolts from Japan to UPS. Get ready to bork (as I found out ordering only 2 injectors from Japan).
From memory, I'm sure JapParts or even Tegiwa stock those ya know ...
I'm likely to go Mugen bushes for mine, I prefer the rubber not to be super hard. Although Hardrace may be an option. I had Hardrace toe arms on my previous 06, which were better than the terrible spherical clattering ones. I've noticed though they really have increased in price, blimey!

When I did the compliance bush I had it pressed in and the instructions were in Japanese which my phone helped me with :D

Other than that it was easy enough. People recommend marine grease for the bolts, I cant recall what I used but I know lanoguard supply some you can leather around under the car

I'm a ****ing expert at drop links and tbh I don't know how anyone who owns one of these is not. I've probably done most corners on both cars and even did one on err indoors qashqai (that was a price of cake btw, loads of space!)

Embarrassingly, I just have the marine grease :LOL:
Drop links - grrrrr!!!
Done them on multiple VW's over the years. They are an arsehole on our car, but the Dremel always comes to the rescue :D
And mole grips. I flatten the ball joint either side just as you mentioned before, they fall off a breeze then for gripping.

whether you get stung for the import duty depends on the value of the order. There’s a free limit of £135 that it’s not worth their time applying the duty to. I’d guess a couple of injectors would be well above that limit hence getting charged.

I’ve ordered from amayama before and had no duty to pay. Even with the high delivery charge they’re significantly cheaper than getting them here.

I’ve seen your post before on drop links so will be using your expertise from that if I need to do them

When I do this I will strip the lot down to make things easier, ie disc, caliper, damper, hub etc, its a good chance to clean things up too and anti seize the bolts.
Drop links worth doing, had to cut the rears off on mine recently, a pair of blue print ones from ebay re fitted
I did read there is a certain milwaukee recip blade that was excellent but is about £20 to buy, not sure if its worth it when you can buy 10 others for the same.
Plenty of anti seize on re assembly, I have always used copper on other cars for over 30 years and never had an issue.
Lots of tea and biscuits, take your time.

Tbh any grease is more than honda used

The lanoguard stuff I have you warm up to use so might last longer.. I want to do the same job but I know my limits ATM in terms of time and space in the garage

Keep the thread updated, be interesting to watch