The front bushing is a bitch to get out. It has swaged in end caps and is vulcanized into the control arm. Even after drilling the swaging out and air chisleing the end cap out, the bushing would not come out in our press so to avoid damaging the lower control arm with excessive pressure that could bend it. We burned the bushing with a torch to break the bond, then pressed it out. What a mess. When using heat you need to be careful to apply it to the bushing and not the arm to avoid weakening it.
Even when drilling the end cap out, the swaged fit was tight and careful use of an air chisel was needed to pop it off without damaging the lower control arm.
Here is what was left of the cap once we got it off. The OEM bushings have a relatively thin layer of rubber so they probably don’t have that much flex so it is replacing the rear bushing which is more critical to reduce the tire wear.
The rear bushing is in place. It fits perfectly. If you were to only change the rear bushing, you could just unbolt it and swing the lower control arm out of the way, wiggling the bushing loose to change it without breaking loose the ball joint or removing the tie rod end.
The front bushing is in place. We managed to burn it out without harming the OEM paint on the lower control arm. Talk about being careful! The bushings are so precise that the alignment did not change one bit when we checked it after the installation!
4 comments
Do they have one that adds positive caster too for the XE30?
I have a JCE10 and have the Figs press in bushings that also add some caster. Not much, but every bit helps.
I think so but I didnt feel that the car needed it.
This is a must do for anyone with this chassis. Seems this is a common problem for a lot of cars however. I’ve replaced these across many unrelated cars eg MINI, Alfa, IS-F etc. I am not sure why OEMs opt for such a soft rear LCA bushing that never lasts. PS Its the first time I’ve seen “Lexas”.
That video speaks volumes, showing the deflection an d movement of the factory bushing. Yuck.
Even Subaru’s and Ford’s Focus line benefit from those bushings from various vendors like whiteline or powerflex. I’m sure many other platforms also use a similar style bushing.