So I finally got around to doing my suspension bushings. I had a powerflex kit I bought for my previous FD along with the atomicRex pillow ball replacements. Well I pulled the rear wish bone and saw this...



So looks like the previous owner had put in delrin bushings? I'm not sure if I should press and replace these with the powerFlex polyurethane. I think this subject has long been debated. However the pillow ***** were going out. Lots of play and lots of wheel hop / clunking noises in the rear end.

Now my MAIN question is. My suspension is pretty bouncy and I'm not sure if the shocks have worn out. I was told they have 15k on them...tokico 5 way on GCs. However the previous guy did have the car lowered to 24" on 18s so I'm not sure if this played a factor and the shocks are toast. Or would it be a combination of the shocks and delrin bushings? I'd post more pics but I've been up for 36 hours now so I'm gonna get some shut eye and head out in the AM for bar stock and more sockets. Turns out I can't just cheap out...

 

Delrins tend to clunk and be noisy so I would replace them. The only place I would use them is the diff mount.

 

if you didnt notice it before, I wouldnt worry about it
the energy suspensions are pretty stiff too, right?
if you want a big difference you have to use stock
but 100% change out the pillow *****

I dont think this would make the car bouncy, unless you meant you hit a pot hole and your car was bouncing in the air
its easy to tell if your shocks are bad, go on a highway flyover, if you get extreme body roll, your shocks are bad

 

do yourself a favor and push the delrins out. I've heard even the track guys say they are too harsh.and the squeek without the zeeks fittings. I would go ahead and put the powerflex bushing kit in and lube them up generously. After new pillow ***** and new powerflex's all around...you'll be pretty set and the only thing you'll have to do is worry about purchasing some real coilovers =-) haha Get on it!!!

 

15k is alot. I would think about running different suspension. I ran the same exact setup before btw (tokicos + GCs). It wasn't bad but I think I like my greddy s-types much better. Definitely worth buying new.

 

It's stiff on the street and bouncy on the highway at high speeds. I also got some body roll driving on 129 highway dragon route.

 

They look like Jim Labreck's unobtainum bushings. I have a new set, they are nylon. The ones I have have no oil grove cut in. If it has an oil groove its probably something else.

 

This will probably be my only update as such these pics really should go to a new build thread. Anyway I had to cave in and spent an hour looking for a place that would sell me steel bars at 1 ft each vs 20 ft sections I'd have to cut. If I was better prepared I would have ordered from McMasters but I was thick headed and thought the arbor plates would do fine.



I ended up with 5 pieces of hot rolled steel. I think you only need four though. Thus far for the wish bone I've only used four. I bought 5 because the how to said 5. I was going to get carbon steel but they sold the bar before I could buy it.



Also had to buy a few 3/4 sockets. This one was not the craftsman but from lowes. They didn't have the 1-11/16" so I ended up going with 1-3/4" which worked out fine because of the lip on the nylon bushings.



For the rest though I used odd sockets that fit. I'll post them up later but I didn't have to use the 1-1/16" or 1-3/16". It's because of how solid the bushings were I didn't need exact fitment. Also if this was stock bushings it wouldn't matter either because you wouldn't be saving them. I'm sure someone out there will appreciate these more than I can.




Of course this arrangement was a bit tricky and I had to go back to double check several times. I was so afraid of something slipping and flying apart but it is like the JimLab referred to as "rock solid". Of course it looks familiar and it works. Only thing is I let the one bar fall to the ground and it dented my floor a bit. I'll fix it before I move out though. I placed a box with recycle paper underneath to catch the bushings / socket as they fell through.



What took 4 hours for 3 guys to figure out the previous night for one bushing took only 10 mins with the right tools. Minus the 2 hours procuring the equipment for it.



I was surprised that one of the bushing sets was black. Guess they're not all purple. Looks like they were the JimLab nylon bushings. I'm sure these are great but the problem is its mixed in there with old bushings plus the pillow ***** were super greased up with lots of play. I'm sure with the right combination they would be great. Since I have the full PowerFlex kit I'll use that. These bushings will go for sale once I finish pressing them out of all the suspension pieces. It's a good idea to press out the metal part first and then the bushing, this way theres less force on the nylon against the suspension piece. It's also not bad to go ahead and spray a very small amount of pb blaster around the outer edge of the bushing.



Green grease. I read it else where that this would stand up better than the PowerFlex lube.



And I will call it a night because I need to pick up some new nuts and bolts from the hardware store. This was originally a MN car so theres a fair amount of rust on the bolt ends. Also because I rounded off a nut and now I have to cut out that bolt...never ends does it?

 

So while I was underneath I also noticed there were already nylon bushings in the diff mount. Should I bother changing them out to the polyurethane ones?

 

no no dont touch the diff bushings unless you energy suspension set comes with some

since you got the jim labs out, test the car and see how it feels before working on the shocks

 

Also a great time to hit those control arms with some steel wool or wire wheel..... Adds some bling. Gotta love aluminum suspension OEM!

Looking good. You'll love the new tightness.

 

As far as your bouncing issue and overall stiffness...

My guess is your shocks are worn. The GC springs are from Eibach and an excellent spring rate for the FD. They aren't overly stiff. I would inspect the Tokico's and possibly replace. 24" is a bit low. I would recommend 25".

With you're poly bushings playing a role in stiffness, I can say this. I am running the complete Power Flex kit with new pillow *****. I have 7-way Apexi adjustable shocks on Eibach springs. I 100% love the ride. Running 25.5" all the way around. It's perfect for the street and still handles very well. Comfort and performance are perfectly balanced.

The poly bushings are an excellent choice. You're spring rate plays a much larger role in the teeth rattling that many experience. And I've been there. I was running JIC coil-overs before and couldn't stand it. The car was so stiff it was unbearable.

 

Man that looks good. I tried to use steel wool on it but it does take some effort to get results. The pics I took are after I blasted it with some cleaner. I'll try the steel wool. After this I don't ever see the suspension getting as bad anymore. Won' t be taking her out in inclement weather.

I'm sure my ride quality has to do with the a combination of delrin bushings / extra greased up dead pillow ***** / old stock bushings that weren't replaced. LOL I don't see why go through the trouble or replacing some but not all...now I have to deal with it lol.