The Official Poly Control Arm Bushing Writeup

[xtremerevolution]

After much delay, I finally have some time to write this thing up. If you plan on doing this mod, read EVERYTHING.

 

 

 

BUSHINGS

Refer to this thread: http://www.w-body.com/forum/index.php?topic=65795.30

 

The bushings are part of Energy Suspension Part kit #3.3156R, with the R referring to Red bushings.

 

The bushings can be purchased directly from Energy Suspension for $65 + shipping: http://www.energysuspensionparts.com/proddetail.asp?prod=3.3156

 

As of 01/02/09 the bushings can also be purchased from Amazon.com for $55 shipped (which is where I got them): http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000CN75XA/ref=ord_cart_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance

 

These are indeed bushings for an 88 RWD Cutlass, but they are supposed to work on a 1st gen w-body as the OE bushing part numbers are the same for both.

 

HOWEVER!!!

 

The 78 RWD cutlass of that generation used a 1/2" bolt, which is about 12.7mm. GM later updated the bolt size for the 79-88 models to 12mm, but Energy Suspension did not. Therefore, the kit you will buy will come with a 1/2" inner sleeve diameter, so you will need to buy new bolts or as Adam did, wing it and hope for the best. Adam noted that there was very little play in those bolts, as the subframe brackets tighten against the inner sleeves when you tighten the bolts. Its your decision entirely on what to do with this.

 

 

BOLTS

Basically, the OE bushings have an inner sleeve that the bolt goes through. The subframe mounts for the control arms are only big enough to allow the 12mm thick bolts to go through. On my car, the inner sleeves seized up to the bolts due to rust, and no amount of Bolt Buster or heat with a MAPP gas torch would loosen them, and I did try to heat the sleeve directly. I eventually concluded that my only option would be to cut up the bolts with a dremel. This took an asinine amount of time, so be prepared to have your car out of commission for a weekend if you're as unlucky as I was.

 

The bolts needed are hardened bolts for automotive use, which I thought were available only from GM. However, upon calling a GM dealer, I found out that these are discontinued. I managed to find replacements here: http://www.boltdepot.com/metric-hex-bolts.aspx I'm sure there are other places online, but this is where I bought mine from.

 

The OE bolts are 12mm thick, 1.75mm thread pitch, and 92.1mm in length. If you need to order new bolts, might as well go ahead and order 1/2" bolts. I would not advise using anything under a Grade 8 bolt. I used a Grade 8 from a local hardware store as I did not have time to wait to order new bolts online.

 

 

 

 

Steps

Control Arm Removal

Naturally, you will need to remove the control arm. You will need a balljoint removal tool. Be prepared to accidentally damage your balljoint and replace it. If yours need replacing or are very old, this would be a good time to replace those as well.

 

Remove the control arm-to-subframe bolts and hammer them out if necessary. As I mentioned previously, there is the possibility that the bolts may have siezed to the inner sleeves of the stock bushings. If this happened, your only option is to cut off the ends of the bolts and stretch open the subframe brackets. A very long heavy duty flathead screwdriver or a small cro-bar would help here.

 

 

Bushings

Here's where things get complicated, so pay very close attention.

 

On each control arm, there are two bushings. I will refer to these as the Front and the Rear bushings, relative to their position on the front and the rear of the car. The ES bushings are both (for front and rear) longer than the OE bushings and will need to be cut after installation. You can use a rotary tool with a cut-off blade, or a hacksaw.

 

 

Front Bushings

The front OE bushings are larger in diameter than the ES bushings. In other words, the ID (inner diameter) of the OE sleeve is larger than the ID of the ES sleve. See here:

 

 

Luckily, the OD (outer diameter) of both ES and OE sleeves are exactly the same. You will need to have the old ones pressed out and the new ones pressed in by a shop. I took mine to NAPA, and was charged $20 per bushing to press out the old and press in the new.

 

 

Rear Bushings

The rear bushings are a different story. Here, the OD of the ES sleeve is larger than the OD of the OE sleeve, so you cannot press out the old one and press in the new one, as it won't fit. However, the OD of the ES bushing itself is identical to the OD of the OE bushing. In otherwords, the ID of the OE sleeve is identical to the ID of the ES sleeve. I say identical because that's about as close as one can get, but the reality is that the ES sleeve is .5mm thicker. This causes some issues, as the polyurethane doesn't like to flex very much, but we'll get into how to overcome that in a little bit.

 

The problem you now have is getting the rubber out. The easy way to do it is using a MAPP gas torch. Propane won't cut it, you can ask Adam. It just takes too long. You heat around the sleeve directly with the torch till the rubber sleeve inside catches fire. You then push it out with a stick. It will come out very easy once its melted, so be patient. Adam used propane and wasn't so patient and got rubber all over himself. That shit doesn't come off very easily. Wait for the control arm to cool down, or you'll be scrubbing the rubber off your hands for a while. Once its cooled off, sand the sleeve down like so:

 

 

Now for pressing in the new bushing...

 

Adam used a vice, but I used a bolt with a method that I created specifically for this. I spent HOURS trying to figure this out, and so did Adam, till he called me.

 

In the kit you buy, you will also receive 4 extra bushings, which are used for the upper control arms on the rwd cutlass. You can use the sleeve for one of these bushings to make a press of your own using a bolt as follows:

 

 

You essentially get the long bolt with two large washers and a nut, and start tightening them. The tan part is the outer sleeve of one of the extra bushings. You need it there so the ES bushing has somewhere to go as it gets pressed through. Press the bushing in WITH the inner sleeve. You will have a hell of a time pressing in the inner sleeve if you don't. VERY IMPORTANT: The kit also comes with bushing grease. Grease up the sleeve and the bushing before you start pressing it in and it will make your life easier.

 

If you didn't catch it the first time, you cut the bushing down to size **after** you press it in. The reason for this is that because of the difference in diameter, the bushing will stretch longer after you press it in, and will cause you to do double the work. Here's what it looks like when pressed in:

 

 

The second picture shows how much the bushing actually stretches, as it is exactly as long as the inner sleeve before you press it in.

 

 

Cutting the bushings

When cutting the bushings, cut the outer sleeve slightly shorter than the inner sleeve. You will be tightening the bolt against the inner sleeve, and the outer sleeve needs room to play. I cut the inner sleeve the same length as the bushing. Measure the lenght of your old bushing inner sleeves and match that to these. I don't have the numbers for that. If anyone does, please post them.

 

 

 

Here's what your project should look like once you're done:

 

 

 

If you're asking yourself if you really need to do this job, the absolute answer is YES.

Here's the concept:

 

You will notice a HUGE reduction in understeer and will find it very difficult to break your tires loose after this mod. I don't understeer anymore; my whole car slides. This helps balance your car very well.

 

 

Here's the thread where I started this mod, so you know what I had to go through:

http://www.w-body.com/forum/index.php?topic=74935

 

 

Any questions?

 

Adam, if I missed anything, let me know and I can modify this post.

 

Mods, sticky?

 

[White93z34]

I'll one up you on the sticky, this is very good information.

[SrMichi]

Hell Yeah i just got me a set from amazon so ill be on here bugging you for help in 5-9 days

[AWeb80]

This is a MUST DO Mod if you are even at all serious about making these cars handle like they truly can.

 

It cost me right at $100 for the mod. $55 for the bushing and $45 to have them pressed in by a shop.

 

 

I trusted Andrei, but even he will probably say that when I called him, I had a bit of skepticism. I was more or less worried about affecting the drive-ability and possible wheel hopping w/ the poly in there....but there is NONE and the ride really isn't all that bad

 

I was INSTANTLY amazed at the newly found PINPOINT accuracy of my steering....even w/ 126k miles on my rack (the last 25K w/ hard driving) and the steering is as good as new. I'm still amazed at how much farther I can push the car and how much HARDER I can push turns (off/on ramps are the most fun) and not even feel the least bit scared of loosing traction. Remember, i have TONS done to my suspension, but even w/ a stock suspension, this is a must do mod.

 

My car just doesn't break loose....and if it does, I have to make it....and it breaks loose neutral...NO over or understeer.....NO PLOWING :willynilly: :willynilly:

 

A local friend just picked up a 93 Z and I'll be pressuring him to do this mod.

 

Yes, I did reuse the stock bolts. There is MINIMAL play and I even asked the guys who aligned my car for their input and thought and they couldn't see a problem and the car aligned fine and everything was tight.

 

 

 

DO THIS MOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Crazy K]

I have a slight bit of skepticism to input.....

 

i don't like the idea of using the off size ES inner sleeves with our metric bolts. If the original inner sleeves can be saved, i think it would be better to use them instead.

 

Also, did anyone lubricate the bushings to allow them to easier slip in place?

[xtremerevolution]

I have a slight bit of skepticism to input.....

 

i don't like the idea of using the off size ES inner sleeves with our metric bolts. If the original inner sleeves can be saved, i think it would be better to use them instead.

 

Also, did anyone lubricate the bushings to allow them to easier slip in place?

 

I didn't like the idea of using the inner sleeves with metric bolts either. Actually, it was more of using the metric bolts with the inner sleeves.

 

You might be able to swap out the inner sleeves, though I'm not sure. I haven't yet measured the OD of the OE sleeves and compared that to the OD of the ES sleeves. I didn't have that option since my OE sleeves were rusted to the bolts and had to be cut, and I imagine I won't be the only one who will run into that problem. Adam got lucky that all his broke free easily. I got lucky in that my only bolt that broke free easily was the one under the transmission mount.

 

It would also be a bit of a pain to melt out the OE sleeves and sand them down again, but it would give you one less thing to cut per bushing.

 

To answer your second question, I mentioned this in the writeup:

 

VERY IMPORTANT: The kit also comes with bushing grease. Grease up the sleeve and the bushing before you start pressing it in and it will make your life easier.

 

 

[Crazy K]

To answer your second question, I mentioned this in the writeup:

VERY IMPORTANT: The kit also comes with bushing grease. Grease up the sleeve and the bushing before you start pressing it in and it will make your life easier.

do you know what type of grease it was?

[xtremerevolution]

I honestly have no clue. it was a type of coconut colored clear paste, was very sticky, and made your life miserable if you touched it because it was so thick.

[AWeb80]

it's the basic ES assembly grease

[Crazy K]

Has anyone ever contacted energy suspension to see if they can make a proper bushing for us?

[xtremerevolution]

Has anyone ever contacted energy suspension to see if they can make a proper bushing for us?

 

I believe so. There was someone else who mentioned in my initial thread that he would contact ES, but I never heard anything back. I don't imagine they'd be too willing to custom manufacture bushings for cars this old with such a small number of buyers, especially if they were too lazy to update the design for the correct bushing to reflect the 12mm ID of the inner sleeve.

[Crazy K]

link?

[slick]

I removed all discussion to a thread in the Brakes/Suspension subsection.

 

http://www.w-body.com/forum/index.php?topic=80840.0