Installed Poly bushings today

So a big thanks goes out to fredbeansparts for getting the parts at a good price. Today I replaced the crappy torn up rear Lower Control Arm Bushings with the AVO's and the front lower control arm bushings with whitelines.

 

for reference here are the links

 

http://www.fredbeansparts.com/index.php/avo-subaru-legacy-gt-lower-arm-bushing-kits.html

 

http://www.fredbeansparts.com/index.php/whiteline-front-inner-control-arm-bushing-kit.html

 

WHAT A DIFFERENCE is all I can say. it was wallowing into corners and felt extremely loose in the front end, not unlike an old pickup truck. I have to say the improvement was well worth the dollars over the stock unit as well. I have a 2011 WRX and these are going straight into that car as well. I always thought poly bushings were a waste of money. Boy was I wrong. There was a small penalty in the form of increased NVH but it was worth the trade-off. Also, these will last the life of the car unlike the POS rubber ones.

 

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y129/GTsHawaii/photo.jpg

 

here they are looking a bit colorful for my taste against the old one.

 

Installation was a snap,

1.) remove the lower control arm a whopping 5 bolts.

2). bring the LCA to a shop, have the old LCA's pressed out and new ones pressed in.

3.) reinstall.

 

I will say that air tools make all the difference when doing suspension work. Anyway, these are highly recommended all the way around from the seller to the parts.

Good to know, I was looking into them also. I did 110mph (on a dry lake bed) and I got scared because the steering became very loose. So I want to also buy a pair.

 

Any more noticeable road noise? is it twitchy for daily driving?

I hate to display my ignorance, but what is this NVH of which you speak?

noise/vibration/hum?

Noise/vibration/harshness....

 

I did the same mod with the addition of the Whiteline Roll-Center kit as well. There was a bit of increase in NVH but mine is probably exaggerated by the stiffness of the TEIN Flexs'...but is wasn't enough to annoy the wife, thus pretty minimal!

I need to get mine installed seeing how they've been sitting around for months. Hoping to get it knocked out this weekend since the stockers are cracking.

Nice, I have AVO LCA bushings for the front waiting to go on as well. Are your rears the standard or offset bushings?

I've been meaning to do the front bushings, but havent had the time. I want to do the WL ROCK and the offset AVO bushings with WL front bushings and AVO steering rack bushings. I'll probably collect parts over the next few months and do them all at once.

i have desperately been wanting to install these. is there a reason you went with +0.00 instead of the offset +0.50? Only thing that keeps me from orderign these is the fact that im not sure which one i want to go with yet.

More caster never hurt anyone. Unless you are trying to conform to an Auto-X class rule, go for the caster bushings.

i have desperately been wanting to install these. is there a reason you went with +0.00 instead of the offset +0.50? Only thing that keeps me from orderign these is the fact that im not sure which one i want to go with yet.

 

It's my wife's car. Need I say more?

 

Nice, I have AVO LCA bushings for the front waiting to go on as well. Are your rears the standard or offset bushings?

 

I have yet to attack the back suspension so everything is stock.

 

Good to know, I was looking into them also. I did 110mph (on a dry lake bed) and I got scared because the steering became very loose. So I want to also buy a pair.

 

Any more noticeable road noise? is it twitchy for daily driving?

 

Well, how to answer this, the bushings were shot and making noise as were the bad tires so there was a reduction in road noise with the new tires and bushings. I would compare it to my WRX but that car is louder than the legacy anyway. I will say that it isn't twitchy at all and tightens everything up nicely.

 

 

 

I have yet to attack to attack the back suspension so everything is stock.

 

 

Sorry, I meant the rear bushings on the front LCAs.

I did the same bushings as well. Ridiculous improvement in steering feel.

How hard are these to install?

How hard are these to install?

 

It was the easiest time I have EVER had with suspension parts. Tip 1 USE AIR TOOLS. then make sure you have a press nearby, friends house or shop or whatever.

 

Sorry, I meant the rear bushings on the front LCAs.

 

The standard offset.

How has the added offset effected tire wear? Anyone have pics of their tire wear after 10,xxx-15,xxx-20,xxx amount of miles? Just want to know what I would in for with added offset

Biggest issue for me on the install was the ball joints. I tried everything except an air chisel and I failed. Just wait till you drive when most of the grease has oozed out of the ball joints.

 

The added caster from the offset bushings hasn't resulted in any improper tire wear after approx 8k miles. My front camber is -1.5.

I installed the anti lift kit, but the presses at the auto hobby shop I was at weren't very accommodating for the LCA bushings. I'll have to take it to a shop to get them pressed out.

i did the avo offset bushings w/ whiteline fronts & their roll center kit , dramatic improvement in feel , more positive on center feel/tracking , longer wheelbase/better weight distribution , more stable suspension geometry , the nvh aspect is a little more but totally acceptable .

 

i would expect tire wear would be better as everything should stay put rather than moving around on worn/torn soft stock bushings .

 

handling at/near limit is far more predictable & precise .

 

full of win!

 

Installation was a snap,

1.) remove the lower control arm a whopping 5 bolts.

2). bring the LCA to a shop, have the old LCA's pressed out and new ones pressed in.

3.) reinstall.

 

 

 

SISSY!

 

Josh (Hicksta) and I did the ALK.....granted the press was a POS, but we did it.

 

Though I am going to do what you did to save time

Biggest issue for me on the install was the ball joints. I tried everything except an air chisel and I failed. Just wait till you drive when most of the grease has oozed out of the ball joints.

 

The added caster from the offset bushings hasn't resulted in any improper tire wear after approx 8k miles. My front camber is -1.5.

 

You know there is a bolt you can take out and the whole joint assembly will come off attached to the LCA. It's easier than trying to pull the ball joint off the LCA. Also, Pickle Fork FTW if you really need to separate the two.

You know there is a bolt you can take out and the whole joint assembly will come off attached to the LCA. It's easier than trying to pull the ball joint off the LCA. Also, Pickle Fork FTW if you really need to separate the two.

 

AGREED... Currently in the process of drilling out the busted pinch bolt from my rusted-solid good ole' missouri suspension. Attacked the castle nut afterwards, and 30 minutes later both arms were out.

 

Getting the bushings pressed in tonight, then it's back to the bolt. Really looking forward to the fix!

getting the ball joint out of the knuckle was a beotch , 3 ft prybar w/ 4ft jack handle extendo dohicky , friend tapping knuckle , my 210lbs hanging & bouncing on it , yes i used a very liberal application of pb blaster & had it soaking for 4 hrs before attacking .

 

ball joint out of arm , 1 whack w/ a 3 lb hammer .

 

i neversiezed everything before install .

I just finished this install and have been very pleased with the results. There was virtually no difference in NVH, although I do run Tein Flex coilovers. The +.5 caster made a huge difference in turn-in. I also replaced my ball joints since one of them was shot, and all combined it added a lot to high speed stability. I would highly recommend doing this.

^ this .

 

w/o a doubt the single best thing i have done was to install the offset bushings , poly front pivot bushing & roll center kit . biggest pita but bestest mods evur !

 

imho , stuts/springs , coilovers , sways , whatever you do to susp w/o doing above FIXES cannot be used to thier fullest potential & may even be a waste of time/$ .

 

my great grandmother used to say "you can polish a turd , but it's still a piece of s&!t"

Anyone else squeak going over speed bumps now?