Replacing all bushings soon. Any advice welcome before I start

DonegalWinger

DonegalWinger

Member
I'm planning on renewing all the suspension related bushings on my 99 Subaru Legacy GTB (JDM). I feel I could be in for a world of pain so if any one has done this before it would be good to hear your thoughts.

The rear subframe is rusted so have a very good condition second hand one. Concerned the bolts for that could be hassle and can't get them through Subaru.
Have ordered new camber adjustment bolts but wondering if anyone can think of anything I should pre game?

Once the suspension bits are all off I'm gonna sandblast and paint before reassemble šŸ‘Œ
Any suggestions on undercoating options? Might be worth doing when it's all exposed.

Bushings I'll be using:
psbushings.co.uk

PSB Complete Set Front & Rear Bushing Kit Subaru - psbushings.co.uk

Forester, Legacy , Outbake , Impreza
psbushings.co.uk psbushings.co.uk
Anyone used them before? Guessing they'll be tougher than OEM but anything is an improvement on 25 year old bushings
 
I have never heard of that product.
Not to say they are good or bad!
I have no knowledge or feedback of the products they produce!

My Advice is to spend the premium money on a tried and tested product.

A product that is well used/testedā€¦.and known by other people

Take your time if you need to, save up for the better product and you will have a better feel etc etc.

As an old member Here once told meā€¦..who was meticulous with his car and had the best of the best stuff on it..!!

ā€œBuy Cheapā€¦, Buy Twice!!ā€
 
Thanks for all the input.
I probably should have spent more on trusted brand but being honest out of work ATM and spent enough on rear subframe, bushings, inner/outer tie rods (Moog), drop links (Febi) and ball joints (Moog). Don't want to put more into this for now.
I'll guinea pig the PSB bushings and replace down the line if they're useless. I have seen good reviews on other cars so took a punt.

Any pitfalls on getting the rear subframe out? I'm scared from my s2000 clutch change when I snapped 2 of the 6 front subframe bolts šŸ™ƒ
 
It could handy or it could be a world of pain your subframe bolts is the biggest thing to worry about if the snap the captive nut inside the chassis leg you are in trouble.
They could be fine there is just no way to know before you open them Iā€™ve seen rusted ones open and Iā€™ve seen clean one snap.
Impact gun on the highest setting and loads of ugga duggas .

Them bushes will be perfect. Will be as good if not better than white line as have used them in the past and have been gone within 6 to 7 months.
Best advice I can give on removing the old bushings is drill out the rubber part first and then cut out the sleeve with a reciprocating metal blade but be very careful just to cut the sleeve and not the actual arm Itā€™s the fastest way to do it as Iā€™ve done five or six cars now fully Polly bushed
 
thereā€™s some of the arms ready to into a type r after being stripped and powder coated
 

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scoobysub said:
It could handy or it could be a world of pain your subframe bolts is the biggest thing to worry about if the snap the captive nut inside the chassis leg you are in trouble.
They could be fine there is just no way to know before you open them Iā€™ve seen rusted ones open and Iā€™ve seen clean one snap.
Impact gun on the highest setting and loads of ugga duggas .

Them bushes will be perfect. Will be as good if not better than white line as have used them in the past and have been gone within 6 to 7 months.
Best advice I can give on removing the old bushings is drill out the rubber part first and then cut out the sleeve with a reciprocating metal blade but be very careful just to cut the sleeve and not the actual arm Itā€™s the fastest way to do it as Iā€™ve done five or six cars now fully Polly bushed
Click to expand...
Slightly off topic....but... How do you find the comfort in the cars Joe after a full poly job? Could go that way if was ok
 
Best of luck man and I think the bushing refresh will transform the car. I went down with Superpro full polybush set a few years back and it was a massive difference from worn out old rubber bushings.
 
After doing the whole polybush and group n thing in the past , with Irish roads the way they are Iā€™d just get standard Subaru bushes and renew where necessary
 
Ye Group n are solid and are very harsh and cause a good bit of noise and vibration. Along with the black series bushings .
having installed a full standard Subaru bushing kit itā€™s a pain in the hole šŸ™ˆ with the steel outers and rubber bush moving while being pressed in .
would love to get a back to back comparison between standard And pollybush to see what performs better . Iā€™m guessing standard last longer as I doubt the pollybushings would last 20 years
 
Listen the car drive tight with the poly bushes and group n but if it a car your dailying or tipping about in forget it just get the standard Subaru bushes ,
If your planning to use the car in fast road or track situation thatā€™s different and if you like I can share a bit of a mix match that will give support where needed but with less nvh and ball ache
 
I daily drove a classic with a full set of poly bushes and anti lift kit with bc coilovers for almost 3 years and never bothered me and was on rough roads as well.
I will say it transformed the way it handled as said above old tired bushes against new stiffer items. But as said above deoends on what you're using the car for you might think it's harsh on the road whereas I loved the way it drove
 
Last edited:
Thanks all for the inputs and feedback.
Hopefully get cracking on it this month. Fingers crossed for smooth sailing with the old bolts but expecting a little battle šŸ˜‚ might be posting again if :poop: hits the fan!!
Will report back on my thoughts once fitted.
 
Up at the garage in Donegal and need to be back in Dublin for the 26th! Happy with that 2 day progress so far šŸ’Ŗ

Stuck now with 3 bolts.
2 in the front hubs that retain the ball joints (one each side)
1 in the bracket that holds the trailing arm. The captive nut has bust loose so needs to be cut out.

For the trailing arm bracket I was thinking:
- Cut the bolt
- push the captive and half shaft into the chassis (risks a rattle forever but feck it)
Then put a rivnut in to allow a new bolt to screw in.

Any advice on either welcome? šŸ™‚
Presume drilling the ball joint bolts and trying extractor? Hear Irwin extractors are good.



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Grahamo spec c said:
I have never heard of that product.
Not to say they are good or bad!
I have no knowledge or feedback of the products they produce!

My Advice is to spend the premium money on a tried and tested product.

A product that is well used/testedā€¦.and known by other people

Take your time if you need to, save up for the better product and you will have a better feel etc etc.

As an old member Here once told meā€¦..who was meticulous with his car and had the best of the best stuff on it..!!

ā€œBuy Cheapā€¦, Buy Twice!!ā€
Click to expand...
"Hate to say I told you so moment"

Have the car stripped and was getting all the bushings accounted for. Turns out half of them are not the right ones! Absolutely gutted! At a loss tbh! Don't have the time to get it all sorted so probably leave her laying up for a bit šŸ˜­ Raging, everything was going so well and no snapped subframe bolts.

Have the S2000 there that just needs a CAT and Sensor after so lad nicked the OEM one, so looks like that's gonna be me for the summer. I'll come back to this once I get the cash together and finish it out.
 
Wjo
DonegalWinger said:
"Hate to say I told you so moment"

Have the car stripped and was getting all the bushings accounted for. Turns out half of them are not the right ones! Absolutely gutted! At a loss tbh! Don't have the time to get it all sorted so probably leave her laying up for a bit šŸ˜­ Raging, everything was going so well and no snapped subframe bolts.

Have the S2000 there that just needs a CAT and Sensor after so lad nicked the OEM one, so looks like that's gonna be me for the summer. I'll come back to this once I get the cash together and finish it out.
Click to expand...
Whiteline is your new best friendā€¦ when sh1t levels out! šŸ˜‰

Didnā€™t want to be pushy! Last time.. šŸ‘šŸ»

Proper quality that lasts and works very well.

Best of luck in the future.

Buying Sh1t for cars is a live and learn process.

Done the same years ago!
 
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