I thought I'd compile my experience while installing new Front rear control arm bushings on my daughter's 2006 R52S with just under 169k miles. I finished the job over the course of 2 days, although looking back I could have gotten it done in one.

The first day was spent (unsuccessfully) trying to use the on-vehicle replacement method with . Mine came in the Red case, not the Blue case. From the reviews, it seems like there is a quality difference in the threaded bolt and nut between the two versions (with the Blue kit faring better), but I think my bushings were so stuck in their mounts that either kit would have had trouble completing both bushings on the vehicle.


Another issue with the Blue kit I received is that the fitting plates were not cut so that an installed bushing would seat evenly in the bracket - with an even amount of the bushing sleeve hanging out from each end of the bracket. Note the difference in the two halves of the installation plates in this image, and the plate on top would on on the back of the bushing bracket so it would never pull the bushing through to the correct "depth".

The other problem I faced before abandoning the on-vehicle bushing installation attempt was that I couldn't get enough force on a correct angle to re-insert the LCA post into the bushing. At that point, it was 1:30am, I decided to sleep on it and start fresh the next day. The installation tool's "bearing" (for between the nut and the plate) had broken apart by that point, too, and the threads were starting wear on the threaded rod (and I did keep the threads liberally greased - I just think 169k miles and 18yrs in the rust belt were not helping things, either). Clearly, the on-vehicle installation was not going to be the path forward.

After some rest, I went back at the bushings then next day having resigned myself to the fact that the front subframe would need to be dropped to complete the work.

Here is the list of steps I completed for the repair (and I ran the list in reverse to make sure I put it all back together correctly):

1. Remove the front bumper cover
2. Remove the bumper support beam
   
3. Loosen the coolant reservoir
4. Loosen the power steering reservoir and pull it off the mounting studs. This allows the bottle and hoses to drop down some when the front subframe is lowered.
5. Remove the front crash tubes (bolt torque for re-assembly is 74 ft./lbs.)
6. Disconnect the outer (bolt torque for re-assembly is 41 ft./lbs.) and inner (bolt torque for re-assembly is 59 ft./lbs.) ball joints. Remove the control arms. Depending on how badly worn your rear bushings are, these may tear apart or you may need to find other methods to remove them. Or, you can leave them attached until you remove them along with the Front rear control arm bushing bracket.
7. Disconnect the swaybar endlinks from the swaybar (bolt torque for re-assembly is 41 ft./lbs.)
8. Disconnect the steering column u-joint from the steering box. Loosen and remove the pinch bolt, and then swing/rotate the lower half of the u-joint away from the steering box post (swinging/rotating it away is the key - it does not move up off the steering box post).
   
   
   
9. Disconnect the rear engine mount (bolt torque for re-assembly is 74 ft./lbs.)
10. Disconnect the angle sensor from the front left control arm
11. Unclip the brake sensor wires from the front subframe
12. Unbolt the Front rear control arm bushing bracket-to-frame bolts
13. Unbolt all subframe bolts (bolt torque for re-assembly is 74 ft./lbs.)
14. Lower the front subframe to access the swaybar bracket bolts (bolt torque for re-assembly is 122 ft./lbs.) so that the front rear control arm bushing brackets can be removed
    
    
    
15. Swap the Front rear control arm bushings with a suitable press and pushing plates. This is where I decided to keep the "on-vehicle" bushing installation tool, as the pieces were sized to make pushing out the old bushings and pressing in the new bushings a cinch.

The bad FL rear control arm bushing on the vehicle after the control arm was removed.

Here is the other side of the rear bushing still in place on the control arm.

The old bushing was pressed out of its bracket. I decided to keep the "on-vehicle" tool in order to use its pressing plates with my hydraulic press, instead.

Here are the removed pieces of one of the bushings.

And here is the bracket with the bushing removed. Proper alignment of the new bushing on installation is important for proper pre-loading of the suspension system.

The new bushing is pressed in place. Note how the cavity in the top and bottom plates are different - this is part of why the on-vehicle installation would not have worked, because the new bushing would have never been fully seated in place in the bracket (see the next pic for how the old bushing was seated).

The original bushing sits evenly in its bracket.

And here is one of the front control arms pressed into its new rear bushing. I did use the hydraulic press to push it into the bushing.

These are a couple of videos of what my daughter and I encountered when installing her summer tires - the movement of the wheel while torquing the wheel bolts was alarming, and I new I couldn't put off the front rear control arm bushing replacements any longer. Now that the task is complete, the car feels fantastic on the road and it is also much quieter in the cabin (less clunks and clacks - the car just moves over the pavement now, rather than jarring at every imperfection).
https://rumble.com/v4vk11c-r52s-mini...3z9pe&mc=av2lu

https://rumble.com/v4vk1ml-r52s-mini...3z9pe&mc=av2lu

And here are some links for videos I found useful for completing the job:

 

Yep and the rust does not help, my R52 was like that and i rebuilt the whole bottom end suspension new. I hosed it all down with PB blaster and then came back the next day.

On a lift helps, I did mine on 4 post jacks.

Nice write up.