control arms?

[DJ]Tomski · Post by **[DJ]Tomski** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 6:12 pm

today i finally lowered my car. i used srt struts with eibach pro springs. i went to my local mechanic to get an alignment done after the install but a problem came up. apparently my control arm bushings are pretty much done for. the passenger side is fcuked and the driver side will probably need replacing soon. the mechanic wanted to order a new control arm but i told him not to just yet. i asked if he can just replace the bushings themselves but he said the metal around the bushing is too thin so a lot of times it'll crack/break when getting the old bushings out and pressing the new ones in. what should i do? should i just spend the $300 for both control arms plus labor, or find a mechanic that will try to replace the bushings only for significantly cheaper? keep in mind that this in my daily driver so i cant be stuck without a car if the control arms do break and i have to wait for the new ones to come in and spend more money. any ideas?

SlvrACR · Post by **SlvrACR** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 6:15 pm

I have done 3 sets of OEM bushings at work with none breaking. i also have done 3 cars with Energy suspension bushings. I think he is just scared to try

oklamopar · Post by **oklamopar** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 6:17 pm

I did some on a car with 210k and It was in and out no problem.

[DJ]Tomski · Post by **[DJ]Tomski** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 6:33 pm

are the Energy ones better than oem? what about prothane? any other good brands that u guys know? i think im gonna talk to the guy that installed my struts and see if he's ever done something like this. what are the best/easiest ways to get the bushings in and out?

TeckNeon · Post by **TeckNeon** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 8:36 pm

I just did mine 2 weeks ago. Well, I had the dealer do it. I used Energy Suspension bushings. Now with them under my belt, I would suggest going with the Prothanes. They are easier to install and straight forward.

The metal sleave is tough and there is not problem there. Just cut the rubber off it. Don't burn it. That's the messy way of doing it. Cutting it off takes less effort overall. Then it's just sandwiching it all together and putting them on. The other bushing in the arm just pushes in and out and has it's own brand new sleave included.

I posted a great link I got from some Neons.org member on his site showing his process. It's really not as hard as you might think. Next time this comes up, I will tackle it myself but I was short on time and long on money so I had the dealer do it for me for $120 plus $27 for the ES bushing kit (local purchase).

The other option is the $70 each control arms off ebay. MattDog, I think, is using them and he says they are great except they are minus the grease fittings. But for $70, that's a minor issue.

sullygully · Post by **sullygully** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 10:09 pm

Don't waste your money on new control arms, as the bushing will just wear out in another 4 years anyways. I have engery suspension bushings in mine. All you need is vise or even a c-clamp and a little imagination to do the job.
I used a torch to burn the metal sleeve out of the bushing, mainly becuase i like fire.

ewetho · Post by **ewetho** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 11:27 pm

My Prothanes went together easy after burning the bushings out. Fire GOOD!!! They are a bit tough to get back in but once there they are wonderful. No pressing to even worry about.

Post by **Diablo0** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 9:05 am

I'd also say that he's either scared or just full of crap wanting you to spend more than you have to. The metal housing around the bushing material is pretty thick so I really doubt it'd break. If you're going to spend $300 for new control arms just for the bushings you might as well spend a little less to get the Rage-Tek bushings and install those.

Arro · Post by **Arro** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 11:33 am

Where did you guys buy your bushings?

Oh, and [DJ]Tomski, can you take pics of your car now that it's been lowered? How much did the Eibachs lower it. Are you running ProKits or Sportlines?

[DJ]Tomski · Post by **[DJ]Tomski** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 5:12 pm

im gonna have my mechanic (the same one that installed my struts) replace my bushings on monday. he's done that sort of thing so im confident he can do a good job for much less than most other mechanics.

i'll try to get pics of my car asap but i dont have my camera at the moment. should get it back in a couple days tho. im running the prokit btw. i dont really know how much the car was lowered but i can tell u it looks a whole lot better now. the space between the tires and fenders looks like it's been cut in half at least.

[DJ]Tomski · Post by **[DJ]Tomski** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 4:51 am

heres a quick cell phone pic. kind of hard to tell the difference bc the before pic was taken a long time ago at a different angle.

before:

after:

and just for fun, the rims i will put on soon:

[DJ]Tomski · Post by **[DJ]Tomski** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 10:38 pm

once again, u guys were right. just had the bushing replaced but still need to get the alignment done. thats tomorrow. btw, i just bought a diff set of rims so if anyone is interested, the above adr's are now for sale

[DJ]Tomski · Post by **[DJ]Tomski** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 11:09 am

so i just found out that the passenger side ball joint is fubared so now that has to get replaced too and then i can finally get my alignment done. im not very happy with the amount of money i've had to spend lately on my pos neon. not happy at all.

Arro · Post by **Arro** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 6:32 am

Why aren't you going with the ADR's? What did you buy instead?

[DJ]Tomski · Post by **[DJ]Tomski** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 11:08 am

i got a great deal on flik artic's so i put those on. u can see the pics i took recently in the pic post section.