oem or energy or prothane bushing???

JerryR · Post by **JerryR** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 12:38 pm

My orriginal bushings ar not so good anymore and i need to replace them.

what would I take

the factory oem bushings?

energy ?
http://www.modernperformance.com/produc ... 15fc7194a6

prothane?
http://www.modernperformance.com/produc ... 15fc7194a6

or only the front?
http://www.modernperformance.com/produc ... 15fc7194a6

greetings
jerry

latief · Post by **latief** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 1:35 pm

After going through this recently, i would definitely recommend going with the prothane complete set. energy suspension is also good, but WAY to hard to install.......

are you installing your self, or giving it to a mechanic?

w0158981 · Post by **w0158981** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 11:06 pm

i'm in the same position right now and i'm starting to feel it in my front end real bad. So i'm just wondering what the price difference between oem and the other options and if i'll notice much of a difference.

i'll be getting a mechanic to install these as i know i can't do it.

latief · Post by **latief** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 1:40 pm

I'm fairly sure that there is no complete OEM front end kit, you will have to buy bushings individually. if you go for aftermarket such as napa, autozone..etc, i think you will pay around +$100 for front end bushings (without the rear).

Your other option, is to buy brand new control arms for the front. these will come with new bushings and ball joints installed and are fairly cheap and easy install..... then, you still have to buy stabilizer bar bushings and end-links if those need to be changed also. i think new control arms will run you about $70ish each (none of these numbers are considering labor of course).......

if you go aftermarket, you cant beat the price on those. Energy suspension master kit (all of the front bushings + all of the rear bushings - lateral arm bushings) will go for around $110ish .... Prothane kit (which i highly recommend) is $150ish and has all the bushings in the car + extras) .........both kits have durable bushings that "slightly" improve the car feel, but also increase road noise and harshness a bit....

You could also go for individual bushings from ES and prothane. for example, a front control arm bushing set wish will be around $35ish.... but if you decide to change more down the line, you end up paying much more for the individual parts than for the master kits.....

Now to the tricky part- installation!!!! Installation is challenging if you were to do it your self whether you go OEM or after market. OEM is much easier for the big bushings, but that does not mean it will be easy if you are a newbie....

to be honest, I would not trust any regular shop with a prothane or ES kit bushings install. those require special attention to detail, research, and patience. most likely one of the tuner/ performance shops will do a good job, a regular shop will have a hard time figuring it out, unless you do the research for them and watch them install.....

my advice is unless you have a mechanic-friend with time and right tools on his hand, or unless you are willing to undertake this yourself, stick with OEM, and go to a shop. otherwise, it will be a very tough job, and will take a long time.....( i am assuming here that you are sorta of newbie like i am/ was while doing this

)

hope this makes sense ....

good luck

NiteHawk · Post by **NiteHawk** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 1:01 am

go prothane, much easier to install for sure. I've used both and i'll never use anything but Prothane again

Post by **occasional demons** » Tue Jul 01, 2008 9:36 pm

Well if you ever have your crossmember off the car, installing the ES bushings is a breeze. That is if you have acess to a press to install the tube into the center bushing. I can see where these could be frustrating working on your back. I just spread the ears, and slid the whole thing right in. Took about 30 minutes for both sides. I used the black SRT-4 ones instead of the regular ones. The crossmember R&R took about 8 hours tho. Working in the parking lot sucks!

I just spread the ears, and slid the whole thing right in. Umm Ok that sounds a bit wrong!

latief · Post by **latief** » Wed Jul 02, 2008 9:03 am

occasional demons wrote:Well if you ever have your crossmember off the car, installing the ES bushings is a breeze. That is if you have acess to a press to install the tube into the center bushing. I can see where these could be frustrating working on your back. I just spread the ears, and slid the whole thing right in. Took about 30 minutes for both sides. I used the black SRT-4 ones instead of the regular ones. The crossmember R&R took about 8 hours tho. Working in the parking lot sucks!

I just spread the ears, and slid the whole thing right in. Umm Ok that sounds a bit wrong!

i'm not sure i undertsnd this ?

the hard part for me (aside from burning the old bushings out, and cleaning out the leftover rubber) was getting the metal sleeve in place, while making sure it presses into the rubber ring correctly (keeping that straight), also while making sure that the top part of the bushing sits correctly into the opening. it was really one of the most frustrtaing jobs i ever undertook..... how did taking out the crossmamber (k-frame) make it any easier?

I'm glad it worked for you !!!!! good job