My 03 MCS has 120k on the clock now. I had it serviced about 5k miles ago. I had the BSH lower Engine mount installed as well as the TSW UEM at the same time trying to get the rocking out of my steering/shifting/braking. Im looking into getting my Front Control Arm/Rear Control Arm/Tranny bushings all replaced with powerflex bushings.

1st questions is how hard would this be to tackle myself?

2nd is if this is a difficult job what should i be looking to pay to get these items replaced?

My goal is to bring back solid handling and comfortability to an extent. I do not mind NVH whatsoever. I really just want a smoother ride with no jolt when i WOT or when i let of the gas and/or brake.

 

I have 167k on my 03 MCS and I am currently trying to get my steering back too. Everything I have done has helped just a little bit.


It seems all rubber bushings are pretty much shot w/ that kind of mileage so I did the following...

I did the lower control arm bushings w/ some guys from the local club. If you get them pre pressed then they're not that bad. It'll take you some time at first to lower the subframe but it's worth the labor $ savings. which I think is around $700 from the dealer but I might be wrong.

Upper and Lower motor mount, Gearbox powerflex inserts. Scary NVH at first but they settle down a lot after about 500-800 miles and they increase steering response and shifting feel.

Rear Trailing Arm bushings. These took out a lot of rear end slop and brake steer. I would recommend these to anyone, they're such a cheap and easy mod.

Rear control Arms, I got some custom made ones off ebay for a great price and the build quality is excellent. They took some play out of the rear end since they don't have the old bushings in the ends. Another option if you want to stick w/ the stock arms is the powerflex inserts for these althought it is about the same price for those as it is for new control arms.

Powerflex front sway bar bushings. I didn't notice much difference w/ these because I did them the same time as shocks,struts, and springs but the stock ones looked pretty sad and droopy. The rears look just as bad on the stock bar but I figure I will be replacing the bar soon so I didn't want to spend money on the powerflex if the new bar comes w/ bushings.

I think the biggest difference so far has been the shocks struts and springs. I had the original ones w/ 166k miles and I would say they weren't doing a darn thing. The rears were caked w/ road grime that had stuck to the oil that probably leaked out over time. I replaced everything w/ stock suspension I got for pretty cheap here at the marketplace. The old front springs were atleast an inch shorter than the new ones. Handling and ride quality were greatly improved. I would say this maintenance item should be first.

 

can you tell me the sellers account name for the rear control arms?

 

Here is the ebay link http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Adjus...Q5fAccessories