As long as you lube the bushings properly, the sanding will not accelerate the wear. You're not sanding much if anything off the actual bushing material. You're only trying to get rid of the shine. And yes, those Skunk2 LCAs will give you the replacement bushings you're after as well as a good mounting point for the rear sway bar endlinks.
thanks .
then ill just save for those during summer. ill still do the fronts and the prothane this time.
i just ordered the rest of the items for the front and the rear, less the LCA.
i was told to get the prothane for the rest of the items i needed. why, well they are the same, prothane makes the same thing except the bushings are life time vs. the 2 year warrenty that energy suspension offers.
the rest of the parts are also available on energy's site but the part numbers are different.
here are the prothane versions:
Part Number: 8309
Product Name: Rear Compensator Arm Bushings
Part Number: 8202
Product Name: Front Control Arm Bushings
Part Number: 81107
Product Name: Front Sway Bar Bushings - 19mm
Part Number: 8701
Product Name: Steering Rack Bushings - Power Steering
Back in the day Energy Suspension had a few colors, the main difference was that only the "G" number was Graphite impregnated and the others were just poly, so they squeaked like a mofo.
other companys in the past have made Blue, Yellow, Red, Black ect.
The most common numbers are
Hyperflex kit (mostly complete ef kit)
16.18102 (add color or "G" )
contains: Front and Rear controll arm bushing, Front strut rod bushings, Front end links, Steering rack bushings, rear shock bushings 88-91, front end links, transmission steering stabilizer bushings, (manual only) ball joint and tie rod end boots.
If you add the Trailing arm bushing #167106 "G" (must reuse all metal parts)
and sway bar size covered above ( 19mm 16.5111 18mm 16.5110 or 16mm 16.5109)
D series motor mount inserts #16.1104
Graphite is the less squeaky of all and the colors squeak.............forever.....(not that bad)
My 2 cents, best investment in a honda but also the most labor intensive job to do all of them.
And also the power steering rack bushings #16.10102
rear sway bar 15mm #16.5112
I have always used energy, years ago a few of us used prothane for the rear trailing arms and they all failed and were horrible to install, Yet again this was years and years ......and years ago.
And also the power steering rack bushings #16.10102
rear sway bar 15mm #16.5112
I have always used energy, years ago a few of us used prothane for the rear trailing arms and they all failed and were horrible to install, Yet again this was years and years ......and years ago.
no one mentioned bronze bushings ? most of the dc2 guys are switching to bronze over spherical.
and from experience the skunk along with a lot of other brands lca's bushings wear out very quick i usually buy a new set every 3 months on my dd
There are many locations in the Wagon suspension that bronze bushings would be totally unsuitable. Lots of places that need movement on more than one axis. If you were to put bronze in these places you'd be introducing certain binding into the suspension.
got the prothane versions delivered last week, finally.
first impressions:
the energy suspension peices seem to be a little softer vs. the prothane. so if you guys want something stiffer i would recommend the prothane it just seems to have a bit stiffer compound. color doesnt matter when it comes to the stiffness.
the delivery from the order date took about 4 weeks.
i just installed today a few of the bushings. still have more than half to install. the installation took the whole day.
the bushings that i was able to install to day are:
steering rack and pinion bushings. that was a pain in the azzz.
pros: the steering feels much more responsive.
cons: the large round bushing does not fit right. the one they sent was was about 1.5 inches or so too small. it doesnt wrap around the whole power steering rod completely. but since i had gotten that far i just put it on and hoped that it works out.
it was a pain to find the locations of the old bushings. since i have never touched these the steering rack area i had no clue where the bushings were supposed to be. i spent some time looking for info online and the manual i was able to deduce it. once i finally figured it out it was very difficult to remove and reinstall the four little bushings. this was a very deceptive part because i was thinking that since it only costs about $6.00 i thought it would have been easy to do. it was the worst so far to work on and the cheapest bushing set to buy.
replaced the sway bar bushing
pros: works. the old ones were pretty shot. very thin. worth it to replace. very easy to get to.
cons: none really.
front lower control arm bushing.
pros: helps replacing all of them at the same time. the result will be better. i did the center first a while ago and saw a dramatic difference. now i can see that with all of them in the front replaced it stiffens up the front very well.
cons: need a press to get out the old ones. once its pressed out putting on the new bushing is simple. no tools needed to put them into the arm. just remember to really grease them up with the packets supplied.
so far i have not driven it hard on the street. pretty tired now. well since i have only time to do a few bushings at a time i was able to drive the car for a few weeks to see whats changed with each set i install. very positive so far. hope these set will be positive as well. just the installation work is very tedious.
Comments
then ill just save for those during summer. ill still do the fronts and the prothane this time.
i was told to get the prothane for the rest of the items i needed. why, well they are the same, prothane makes the same thing except the bushings are life time vs. the 2 year warrenty that energy suspension offers.
the rest of the parts are also available on energy's site but the part numbers are different.
here are the prothane versions:
Part Number: 8309
Product Name: Rear Compensator Arm Bushings
Part Number: 8202
Product Name: Front Control Arm Bushings
Part Number: 81107
Product Name: Front Sway Bar Bushings - 19mm
Part Number: 8701
Product Name: Steering Rack Bushings - Power Steering
other companys in the past have made Blue, Yellow, Red, Black ect.
The most common numbers are
Hyperflex kit (mostly complete ef kit)
16.18102 (add color or "G" )
contains: Front and Rear controll arm bushing, Front strut rod bushings, Front end links, Steering rack bushings, rear shock bushings 88-91, front end links, transmission steering stabilizer bushings, (manual only) ball joint and tie rod end boots.
If you add the Trailing arm bushing #167106 "G" (must reuse all metal parts)
and sway bar size covered above ( 19mm 16.5111 18mm 16.5110 or 16mm 16.5109)
D series motor mount inserts #16.1104
Graphite is the less squeaky of all and the colors squeak.............forever.....(not that bad)
My 2 cents, best investment in a honda but also the most labor intensive job to do all of them.
rear sway bar 15mm #16.5112
I have always used energy, years ago a few of us used prothane for the rear trailing arms and they all failed and were horrible to install, Yet again this was years and years ......and years ago.
Shure was year's year's ago.
because i can still switch it to energy suspension still.
I like the simple design of the energy ones, due to application range and the ease of instalation.
and from experience the skunk along with a lot of other brands lca's bushings wear out very quick i usually buy a new set every 3 months on my dd
first impressions:
the energy suspension peices seem to be a little softer vs. the prothane. so if you guys want something stiffer i would recommend the prothane it just seems to have a bit stiffer compound. color doesnt matter when it comes to the stiffness.
the delivery from the order date took about 4 weeks.
i just installed today a few of the bushings. still have more than half to install. the installation took the whole day.
the bushings that i was able to install to day are:
steering rack and pinion bushings. that was a pain in the azzz.
pros: the steering feels much more responsive.
cons: the large round bushing does not fit right. the one they sent was was about 1.5 inches or so too small. it doesnt wrap around the whole power steering rod completely. but since i had gotten that far i just put it on and hoped that it works out.
it was a pain to find the locations of the old bushings. since i have never touched these the steering rack area i had no clue where the bushings were supposed to be. i spent some time looking for info online and the manual i was able to deduce it. once i finally figured it out it was very difficult to remove and reinstall the four little bushings. this was a very deceptive part because i was thinking that since it only costs about $6.00 i thought it would have been easy to do. it was the worst so far to work on and the cheapest bushing set to buy.
replaced the sway bar bushing
pros: works. the old ones were pretty shot. very thin. worth it to replace. very easy to get to.
cons: none really.
front lower control arm bushing.
pros: helps replacing all of them at the same time. the result will be better. i did the center first a while ago and saw a dramatic difference. now i can see that with all of them in the front replaced it stiffens up the front very well.
cons: need a press to get out the old ones. once its pressed out putting on the new bushing is simple. no tools needed to put them into the arm. just remember to really grease them up with the packets supplied.
so far i have not driven it hard on the street. pretty tired now. well since i have only time to do a few bushings at a time i was able to drive the car for a few weeks to see whats changed with each set i install. very positive so far. hope these set will be positive as well. just the installation work is very tedious.