Loading the suspension when torqing knuckle bushin

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Carnoobie

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Loading the suspension when torquing the lower front knuckle bushing on the rear of the car.

I notice this bushing is impossible to torque with the car at ride height, on the ground (cause torque wrench wont get in there from under the car cause the rim will scratch). Very very tight space. Even tried ramps and wont do. So what I want to know is, what we did was jack up the back, from the sides, with 1 jack on each side of the car, right in front of the rear wheel wells. Took wheel off, unloosened bolt till it was lose, then torqued bolt. Put wheel back on, lowered car.
 
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I know it seems hard, but the car has to be under its own weight when you tighten any suspension bushings, when I put on energy suspension bushings on my control arms and other areas this was a serious pain in the [censored]. But combine those fresh bushings with some good moly grease and you will be really satisfied with the results when you drive fast around the next back road corner, totally worth the case of beer and couple hours of cussing and hitting Craftsman wrenches on the cement, lol.
 
Originally Posted By: Brenden
I know it seems hard, but the car has to be under its own weight when you tighten any suspension bushings, when I put on energy suspension bushings on my control arms and other areas this was a serious pain in the [censored]. But combine those fresh bushings with some good moly grease and you will be really satisfied with the results when you drive fast around the next back road corner, totally worth the case of beer and couple hours of cussing and hitting Craftsman wrenches on the cement, lol.


So what the shop did, you would say the suspension wasnt loaded?

This one bushing is impossible to get at with the car on the ground.
 
Originally Posted By: cmorr
I use two sets of ramps (jack a corner of the car, place ramp under wheel)


Thats what we did, the problem is not having enough room under the car or getting it high enough, but cant fit a torque wrench in that tight of space on this bushing without taking the wheel off.

Im almost considering taking it to a shop who has a full human height drive on ramp. Probably have to be an alignment shop.
 
After seeing A LOT of failed suspension mods on Honda-Tech and other import sites, I stand behind my suggestion of quality bushings, moly grease, and UNDER NORMAL LOAD tightening of the bushings to prevent premature wear.

If you cannot do it yourself, take it to a well known specialty shop that deals with modified cars, they should know exactly how to do it.
 
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Originally Posted By: Brenden
After seeing A LOT of failed suspension mods on Honda-Tech and other import sites, I stand behind my suggestion of quality bushings, moly grease, and UNDER NORMAL LOAD tightening of the bushings to prevent premature wear.

If you cannot do it yourself, take it to a well known specialty shop that deals with modified cars, they should know exactly how to do it.


Just about all shops here only have hoists and no drive on ramps. ONly places with full size drive ons is alignment shops. Will call couple alignment shops tommorow
 
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When you need boards stacked to get on the Dynojet like me, you need a specialty shop...

IDK about Canada but I know about 4 shops worth mentioning in MN that could do some serious suspension work, tuning and motor builds.
 
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It doesn't need to be a torque wrench to fit under there. Get it good n tight however you can at ride height then lift and remove wheel for torque double check.
 
Have you been washing this car with tap water from a garden hose ?
You told me that tap water out of a garden hose will eat car parts. This may be the reason for all your suspension and brake problems !

Originally Posted By: Carnoobie
Originally Posted By: carwreck
Originally Posted By: Carnoobie
Someone tell me why shops all use tap water for their coolant flushes? Youre not suppose to as tap water ... will eat plastic parts inside the engine and your hoses!

How long does it take for the tap water to eat the plastic parts ? Does the water chew with it's mouth open or closed ?
Why does it only eat car plastic and not plastic bottles or plastic house plumbing ?


the [censored] that comes out of the garden hose is tap water, plus whatever was in the hose... WHAT REMAINS IN THE ENGINE IS WHY IT WILL CAUSE ISSUES!!!
just those little drops of tap water can be enough to cause problems

Tap water creates a nasty film in your rad and over time will block coolant flow and your combustion chamber.
 
Put the car up on jackstands. Take the wheel off to get access to the bolt if you have to. Take a floor jack and jack up the lower control arm until the car starts to raise off the jackstand. Now your suspension is loaded and you can torque the bolt down. It's the same thing as having the car on the ground. I did this when I replaced my upper control arms and it worked perfectly.
 
On the ground, tighten it good without a TW.
Get it good and tight.
Then raise it and use your TW . It should not slip.
A little too tight? Forget about it!

BTW... you are smart to do this loaded with rubber flex type bushings!~
 
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Originally Posted By: exranger06
Put the car up on jackstands. Take the wheel off to get access to the bolt if you have to. Take a floor jack and jack up the lower control arm until the car starts to raise off the jackstand. Now your suspension is loaded and you can torque the bolt down. It's the same thing as having the car on the ground. I did this when I replaced my upper control arms and it worked perfectly.


Redid it, what they did was put the car on a hoist, then used a transmission jack and jacked up the back left corner with it and a piece of wood inbetween to get it higher so that corner came off the hoist and the weight was on the jack and wood.

Then took tire off and retorqued bolts. Put wheel back on and lowered.

Good?

They said I should get an alignment with the new bushing, cause my laast alignment was last year and that was with the old bushing.
 
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Once got in the car, i could tell right away that it sat a bit lower than before. So that ***** who did my bushings last June never fully loaded the suspension!!! Even though i asked and politely asked and told me 4-5 times! "Yes i fully loaded it blah blah blah" Whatever! I trusted him enough to go 5 whole months driving the car like this.

I just hope my bushings werent wrecked riding 5 months with it not fully seated. What you dogs think?
 
Originally Posted By: Carnoobie
I just hope my bushings werent wrecked riding 5 months with it not fully seated. What you dogs think?

Don't worry about it. The rubber used in the bushing is incredibly tough; all that 5-months likely did was shorten the bushing's life by a few years. And even if the bushing does eventually separate, you probably won't even own the car anymore.
 
A few years? Yikes thats a lot. But im still upset at that guy who did my bushings (good thing he got shutdown from doing auto work cause not paying insurance). This is why i for now on, take my car to an established shop. No more backyard mechanics for me. They can say theyre licensed, it does not matter.

I trusted him and thats why i never got it double checked after. I was going to but he kept re-assuring me that he fully loaded the suspension.

So the way the new guy did it (by hoisting it, then jacking up the left corner with a trans jack and wood to raise it) is acceptable?
 
Originally Posted By: Carnoobie
So the way the new guy did it (by hoisting it, then jacking up the left corner with a trans jack and wood to raise it) is acceptable?

Yep.

Here's mine, from 2006. Car was already on stands. Jack was used to raise car using control arm,
then stand was moved to control arm and jack was lowered.
This loaded the suspension to its normal ride-height while allowing me to tighten the (shiny new) bushing bolts.
Note the axial position of the bolt, how it's sitting below the axis of the bushing.
That's what you want to see before you tighten the bolt (or the nut, as the case may be).
r_pass_outboard_loaded.jpg
 
Not sure if true but i was told that you can also jack from the drum hub too? and that will be the same? Is that true?
 
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