The mounting arms of the bushing make it hard to press out. Cutting out the arm with a reciprocating saw and pressing out the sleeve separately was much easier.We are replacing the dead bushings with Pro Car Innovation’s Trailing Arm Spherical Bearing kit. This kit replaces the squishy rubber with a strong and serviceable spherical bearing that will remove all of the slop while maintaining articulation. The kit is simple enough to install: press out the old bushing, mark and drill two mounting bolt holes, then bolt in place. This kit is compatible with lots of different Civics and Integras and will make a feelable difference in the rear of our Civic. The bearing can be easily removed for servicing in the future.We replaced the rear wheel bearings with parts from Detroit Axle. These are OEM replacement bearings. The rear bearings are part of the hub so we don’t have to deal with the pressing mess of the front. Just un-peen the nut and spin it off, then the hub comes off with a gentle tug. Just like in the front we also replaced the retaining nuts so we can be sure our new hubs don’t fall off on track.Before installing the rear hubs we installed a set of ARP 3” lug studs. The new hubs used stock 2” studs which do not offer enough thread engagement if we want to experiment with wheel spacers. You can see how much longer the ARP studs are here.
Place some plywood under those jackstands. I know the Civic is a featherweight, but that tarmac looks paper thin, and it doesn’t take much for the feet on those stands to sink right through. Hot day, or water saturation in the substrate combined with a tiny contact surface. It can topple, if you’re lucky it won’t be when you’re wrenching on it. Ask me how I know.
Loving the EF content!
I have the same chassis with a D15b, and we just replaced the rear drums with disk brakes
Struggling a bit with the pedal feel though
Should we upgrade to a 15/16″ master cylinder? (Current is a 13/16″)
Booster is the factory 8.5 inch
You’ll be seeing our brake work in the next few weeks. Not sure when Mike is planning to run it, but it’s been written and submitted.
I would not go to the larger MC. Both disc and drum Civics used the 13/16″ cylinder. The 15/16″ was for the Integra with bigger calipers. It will make the pedal firmer but the brakes will be a lot harder to modulate. I actually tried the Integra MC on this Civic and did not like it at all. The brakes, especially the rear, were very easy to lock. Not a fun way to drive.
There are two things you should try first: 1) make sure the master cylinder isn’t leaking. If it’s new then move on to: 2) make sure it’s been properly bled. Master cylinders either need to be bench bled or vacuum bled. Using the brake pedal usually doesn’t get the full stroke of the piston and will leave an air bubble at the very end. If you have a new, properly bled master cylinder then try 3): make sure the pedal travel is correct. When I went back to the stock MC on my car the pedal travel was a lot longer than the Integra MC, but the brakes would still lock. I lengthened the pushrod on the back of the pedal by 3 turns and it made a world of difference.
If none of this works, you’re better off just removing the booster. A number of companies offer kits that make it a (relatively) easy process. The booster location in the Civic is awful and doing the actual swap requires a lot of contortion. Some of the kits use the 13/16″ MC, others use an aftermarket MC that’s usually 7/8″. I’d try the free home fixes first though.
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Place some plywood under those jackstands. I know the Civic is a featherweight, but that tarmac looks paper thin, and it doesn’t take much for the feet on those stands to sink right through. Hot day, or water saturation in the substrate combined with a tiny contact surface. It can topple, if you’re lucky it won’t be when you’re wrenching on it. Ask me how I know.
Pavement is 60 years old. It’s not thin, but it has sunk a bit. It’s getting repaved soon. Appreciate the concern though!
Looks great
Loving the EF content!
I have the same chassis with a D15b, and we just replaced the rear drums with disk brakes
Struggling a bit with the pedal feel though
Should we upgrade to a 15/16″ master cylinder? (Current is a 13/16″)
Booster is the factory 8.5 inch
You’ll be seeing our brake work in the next few weeks. Not sure when Mike is planning to run it, but it’s been written and submitted.
I would not go to the larger MC. Both disc and drum Civics used the 13/16″ cylinder. The 15/16″ was for the Integra with bigger calipers. It will make the pedal firmer but the brakes will be a lot harder to modulate. I actually tried the Integra MC on this Civic and did not like it at all. The brakes, especially the rear, were very easy to lock. Not a fun way to drive.
There are two things you should try first: 1) make sure the master cylinder isn’t leaking. If it’s new then move on to: 2) make sure it’s been properly bled. Master cylinders either need to be bench bled or vacuum bled. Using the brake pedal usually doesn’t get the full stroke of the piston and will leave an air bubble at the very end. If you have a new, properly bled master cylinder then try 3): make sure the pedal travel is correct. When I went back to the stock MC on my car the pedal travel was a lot longer than the Integra MC, but the brakes would still lock. I lengthened the pushrod on the back of the pedal by 3 turns and it made a world of difference.
If none of this works, you’re better off just removing the booster. A number of companies offer kits that make it a (relatively) easy process. The booster location in the Civic is awful and doing the actual swap requires a lot of contortion. Some of the kits use the 13/16″ MC, others use an aftermarket MC that’s usually 7/8″. I’d try the free home fixes first though.