how hard are these to replace on a 94' civic? any tips for popping them in and out. i just ordered a set of energy suspension ones.

 

i wouldnt recommend doing this if you arent experienced with it, id take it to a shop so thy can cut out the old bushings and press the new ones in. if you want you can just burn the old bushings out and have a shop press the new ones in.

 

do you definitly need a press?

 

You could smash it in with a rubber mallet and tons of lube, but it would be easier if you just get them pressed in. The metal part that came off the old bushing also needs to be pressed into the bushing.

 

you could use a 5 inch(or longer) bolt, a nut, and 2 washers that are larger than the diameter of the bushing.
put the bolt through one washer
then through the bushing,
then put the bushing on top of the hole of the trailing arm.
take the other washer and put it on the other side of the hole and screw the nut onto the petruding bolt
keep tightening it untill the bushing goes through,
remember to use a LOT of lube for this and it takes patience too.

 

what i did was torch the metal pin, not the rubber but the inner pin and the outter walls of the rubber bushing, then my friend took a flathead and peel the bushing away. after that we just push the bushing right out, made it easier by cuttin down the center first. took bout 30min per side.

 

:thinking: i couldn't understand that whole portion.. could you explain it a little better?

 

basically once the outter metal and the inner pin is torched hot enough, we took a flathead screwdriver and pick at the bushin til it apart from the trailing arm, then once u get a majority from not stickin anymore, u can slowly push it out.

 

I've never done anything like this before but I decided to tackle it. Get a pencil tip torch with propane cylinder included from ace hardware for like $12 bucks total. Burn the shit out of it, like char or scorh the rubber! Don't worry you will not hurt the trailing arm. Be sure to do it out in the open where nothing can catch fire. Then clean the metal pin and the inner shell by scraping with a slightly curved knife. Then use a wire wheel brush attached to a drill and clean/remove rubber remnants off of the inner metal shell and pin. Spray the inner shell one coat of paint to protect from rust. Not too thick. Let it dry. Lube it with the supplied ES white lube. Lube the ES bushing as well. Follow the instructions that came with the ES Bushings. Use the washers, nut and bolt as press: 4.5" bolt, nut and 2 washers. One washer at least big enough to cover metal shell. I think 3.25" OD and the other one can be small, enough to cover the poly bushing hole and nut. You'll figure it out. The poly bushing will enter the shell kinda crooked at first but it will eventually slide straight-in at a certain point. Once straight-on, bang it with a rubber mallet to make it flush and perfect in the metal shell. Lube the pin and the poly bushing hole. The orientation of the pin is that the short side of the pin should be facing the outside of the car and pin is sticking out 2" from the edge of the poly bushing to the tip of the pin. If the car is not lowered, the pin should be pointing dead straight onto the middle of the trailing arm. Look here for visuals: http://www.performanceforum.com/wesv...g/bushing.html
For me this project was a bitch! Took forever. Parts pieces removal was a royal pain. Almost all the nuts, bolts and bushings seized or fused and won't budge. Tip in torching the nuts and bolts: If the rubber bushing starts to smoke, pause a minute and then try to rachet the bolt out real slow. Because if you overheat the rubber, it will detach itself from the metal bushing and then the bolt will just spin with the metal bushing and won't come off. In that worse case, get a 4.5" cutter/grinder from harbor freight for like $15 bucks on sale. The russian made blades were like 5 bucks for 10 pcs. Really very handy to have and this thing is indestructible. Very durable for a chinese made product. It's a chicago electric industrial brand in orange color. I use it all the time. When you're ready to put everything back together, buy a small bottle of Permatex Anti-Seize and apply it to all the bolts. Not just on the thread but also on the whole shaft of the bolt...This will perhaps prevent the bolts from bonding into the metal bushings and nuts.

After doing all of these, I felt great and was kinda proud of my accomplishment! Good luck.

 

This is so silly.
Get a hammer, beat them out. Align the new bushings, beat them in (using the rim of the bushing) - Yes, you will need some grease or something.

I did this exact same thing when I did my rear disc swap - took me under an hour. The hardest part is making sure they stay aligned...but its not thathard.
This is assuming youre using factory style bushings (oem/mugen) and not those crappy urethane ones.