I've had this car less than a year and I have no clue the history.
I'm about to buy front and rear sway bar bushings and sway bar ball joints. Also the tie rod ball joint. (I'm referring to the whole parts, I won't be pressing ball joints...)I feel if I'm doing the work I know needs to be done, might as well do the rest.
I saw the following while under the car. It looks bad to me, but what do yall say? I ask because the angle of some the parts makes it looks like it would sit 'crooked' even with new bushings.
Also, do you know what the white clips are called (Or where I can get them?) that hold the side skirts on? One is a large hook, and one is a small white clip.
Hi Treeific, I did my rear suspension last year and noticed the same as you. I figure the bushings are crooked only because the car is in the air and the shocks are at full extension. Possibly.. lower the rear wheels onto bricks so you still have room to get under there and with the weight of the car, the bushings/bolts should all be relatively straight.
I agree with that logic. I assume that the bushings are bad regardless of the droop because the rubber is able to flex so much, seems it's missing on one side.
I'll put the rear down and take some pic so we can see the difference.
Birchtree,
When you did your rear suspension, did you replace whole parts or just the bushings? I'm basically finding the whole part for sale and not just the bushing, excluding the trailing arm. (For the front I think I'll buy whole parts, seems cost effective on the front)
If you can only replace bushings on the rear, anyone have part numbers? The closest I got was rockauto and realmazdaparts
If the rear is down and rubber is missing, you might be able to rattle a joint by pulling on it? That would identify the gross offenders
As far as what I replaced, the only thing I kept were the hubs and trailing arms (found a tool to press those bushings). Replaced lower control arms, bumpstops, and springs. upper lateral arm, lower lateral arm etc
I did whole control arms with ball joints on the front and whole tie rods as well
Did you also replaces struts and their mounts, bearings, etc?
I'm thinking about doing what you did, which sounds like everything. Might as well right?
That's the one. Use the correct tool for the job. It more than pays for itself and makes the job go quickly. The first time you do one side may take a couple of hours due to the learning curve. When I did the opposite side, I reduced the time by almost 75%.
@Treeific, I did the struts, springs, and mounts maybe a year before the rear suspension stuff.
@VWandDodge, apologies for my ignorance but is there a solid way to diagnose the trailing arm bushings as the problem? On this car I've done the sway bar links and bushings (OEM) as well as the rear shocks and mounts (KYB) so those should be solid.
Sorry for the delayed response. Just been away from the forum for a while. I can almost guarantee the bushings on your car are bad as OE tend to fail by 75K miles. If you are hearing a pronounced clunk from the rear of the vehicle when traversing rough or bumpy roads, then that's telling you they're bad.
Does anyone know the part number or where I can order the bushings for the rear LCA?
The part numbers on my bushings are...
FOMOCO 735 846 S2 <nr> - 193
725 0251 S4
I could barley read those numbers from the old bushings, but I can't find them anywhere. It seems I need to order the whole arm that includes the bushings, but if someone knows where to get the bushings I can at least compare prices before ordering.
I misunderstood. Just replace the lower control arms along with the insulator for the spring. It's cheaper and easier in the long run. I also recommend used green or blue Locktite on the suspension fasteners.
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