You definitely don't have to remove the bushing carrier/support. I undid the lower shock mount and upper endlink to free everything up as it was the first time I did this. I expected the arm to go into the bushing, but it seats flush with it. All you need is enough room to slip in the insert.

As for your road noise, I have none. Infact it feels much smoother. I think this could be one of two things. 1.) I used the powerflex inserts (I think you used ireland). 2.) I did an alignment a week later and I didn't unbolt the carrier during the install. I know from experience that it it very difficult to torque the support bracket without affecting toe. Even on the alignment rack with the factory tool in place, this can be hard and takes a few trys. Doing it without the tool or an alignment rack feeding back specs must be next to impossible (imo).

I also did the IE camber plates and powerflex up front. The powerflex are great, but I think the IE plates are too rigid for the street. I have Bilsteins not koni's, but adding sport shocks really helps. You'll love it. All that's left for me is rear control arms to set the camber and take out that last bit of play.

 

Guys, I was gone most of the day. A very good friend's dad passed away, and today was the memorial...

I did get home in time to get a bit more done. While the rear of the MCS was still up on ramps, I decided that I would break those 21 mm (13/16") bolts free. I figured that it would take a fair amount of force, and I prefer to do so while on ramps, as opposed to jack stands; esp considering the ground I have, as seen in that first photo...

In tight quarters, a breaker bar with a 10" pipe extension wasn't too bad. No loud grunting or yelling necessary . After I got each one to turn about 1/2 a turn, I removed the ramps, and used the jack stands so the rear wheels/tires would be suspended. Also, as a precaution, I put a floor jack on each side with just slight upward pressure...

There is no way a universal will work on that bolt... just not enough room. The pivot on the breaker bar was fine, but as the bolt backs-out, the angle increases, and I found that I needed to partially remove the breaker bar square insert into the socket to keep the ideal angle. Thankfully the bolt frees-up and slides-out after about 1/2 an inch or so...

And, I can confirm, at least with my MCS and mods, that was all I needed to gain access to the bushing. There was no need to remove or even loosen the 16mm plate bolts, or the lower shock mount bolt or sway bar link. Here is a photo:



The bolt can be seen at the base of the jack stand.

It got dark, and I didn't tackle the passenger side, but will tomorrow...

I didn't put the inserts in yet. The smaller insert toward the rear of the car looks quite easy, but the larger forward one seems that it will require the removal of the backing plate. I believe that it was mentioned earlier by Keith or 002, so I will go back and do some re-reading. Here is a photo that shows this plate (backing):



EDIT/ADD - Per 002 in an earlier post:

"Prise off the plate that is behind the bushing. It is held on with two little prongs."


Keith, just saw your post. Thanks for checking that out! Nice getting some closure, thank you.

 

Good work. Now that we know only the cover and bushing bolt needs to come out, it will be much easier and quicker for others.

That plate will come off with little effort from a screw driver.

 

Definitely a team effort here! You, Keith and Wes paved the way, and also helped refine things during my attempt... I agree, for those doing this going-forward, it should be much less dramatic...

I see what you and Keith mean about that larger insert not really being sandwiched very well as that plate won't do to much keep it from coming-out... Maybe some kind of adhesive to lock it into place? Ah, just thinking out loud...

 

Great work and photos Tony, Glad to know it can be done without risk of loosing alignment. I bet it did get tight as thje bolt head approched the floor pan. As ))@ said you should be able to pop the plate of with a screwdriver and baybe a light wack with a hammer (on the screwdriver). You will probably need to use the bolt to re-seat it. I don't expect this to cause a problem. As you will see it has two little tabs that are an interference fit inside the bushing core tube. I needed to clean a little mold seam off of my insert to get it to seat well. I also spayed it with silicon lube to get it to go in easliy and to prevent sqeeking (so far it does not). I don't think it can get out once everything is tight. I could be wrong. I wonder what the best angle is for the rectangular plate. Mine was close to parallel with the ground. Please note your if it is not to late. This may affect compliance and even effectivness and noise. Good luck and please report back later your experiences.
Wes

 

Thanks Wes. I do have some silicone spray ready, and after what you just shared, I will take-out an exacto knife to trim the inserts, if needed. It sounds like the backing plate, when re-installed, can be orientated differently. Interesting. Not sure it would make any difference for us, but I will look at it carefully... I'm watching World Cup soccer, but the game should be done within the next hour, and then I get back at this... and I will share of course.

 

Update time...

The inserts are installed, and I can honestly say that for those who want to do this, it really is not that difficult. If I had to do it again, I could probably do it in an hour...

But is it worth it (time, effort & money)? Well, I cannot say at the moment, unfortunately. I just remembered that my MCS is running on fumes, and being that I'm about 20 minutes from civilization (think gas station), there will not be a test drive now, unless I drove all the way for a fill-up, and I'd rather do that on the way to work tomorrow morning. So... I'll try to report back tomorrow night.

As noted earlier, in order to gain access to the bushing, only the cover and the bushing bolt need to get removed. HOWEVER, getting it line-up squarely proved to be fairly difficult; and I didn't want to x-thread the bolt on accident. I tried for about 15 minutes, using a floor jack under the tire, working it with my feet, while moving the wheel/tire with my hands. It just wasn't making for flush contact...

I removed the 21mm (or 13/16") lower strut bolt, and that still didn't get me there. After removing one end of the drop-link, bingo! Just be careful as the whole assembly is then quite free, and I can see someone getting smacked pretty good if not paying attention. Put the floor jack under that tire to prevent it from falling too far. I noticed that the Xenon light-lever mechanism on the upper contorl arm (driver side of course) was geting taxed. Just be cautious...

I found it easier to just put my thigh under the tire and lift it up and move it accordingly so I could line things-up, and it worked like a charm while I got the bolt started, and fairly snug...

On the other side (passenger), I just disco'd the end of the drop-link, and I was in business. Oh, before I forget, the required torque on the lower shock mounts is 103 ft-lbs. Again, you might not need to remove it, but if you do...

I found that a mirror, in conjuntion with a flashlight to be handy to observe the back side of the bushing. I used a couple wet paper towels to clean the inside of the factory bushings before dropping-in the inserts, which fit perfectly. I feel that the backing plate sandwiched them quite well, but I'll observe them over time to see. I'm leaving off the covers for a few weeks so I can check them out. I also marked the each bolt head with a Sharpie so I can detect if they are backing-out.

Which brings-up a question I have... I seem to recall, and a Bentley manual photo shows likewise, that the tip of the bolt had about 1/4" of threads emerging (visible) from the other end. After this install, on each side, the tip of bolt is bascially not portruding at all, sort of flush. I'm trying to figure-out why... as I feel that it should be as it was before, right? For those who have their covers still off, kindly take a peak for me to see how far the bolt tip is projecting out. Thanks much.

 

What does the bolt tighten against? Is there a sleeve or what?
Are you sure you reached the right torque value? Does the density of the new insert limit the compression enough to make the difference?

I obviously have no clue since I haven't done this so these questions are more about me learning than questioning what you've done.

Most of all thanks to you pioneers since this is definitely now on my list of "Fairly Inexpensive, But Good To Do, DIY Things" for this summer.

 

obe, I'm not sure of the correct terminology to explain all that the bolt slides into. There is no nut per se, but a threaded opening on the other end, and I'm having very little stick-out. From what I recall, less than before.

Yes, there is a possibility that I didn't torque it enough, but I find it hard to believe I'm that far off... Heck, maybe I shouldn't drive it tomorrow until I feel more sure about this...

 

Well the urethane is far more rigid so maybe that effects the bolt penetration.

Honestly I can't see you missing the torque either.

 

Very strange for June in the Bay Area (CA), but we had a very light rain this morning, so I couldn't hit it too hard on the way to work... What I did feel felt good though.

I certainly cannot detect any additional road noise. Caveat: Some would say that my internal noise was higher than normal due to...

- probably the first rear seat delete "kit"
- a custom straight exit exhaust
- PSS9's, set quite stiff
- heim end-links (4)
- heim control arms (4)
- other polyurethane bushing/inserts
===========

I'll report back later...

 

These are a worthwhile upgrade. The rear-end is more tight now, less springy (load/unload). I look forward to more quality time in the coming week...

 

Congratulations on the install. Glad to hear I didn't waste my time unbolting the shock and endlinks. I didn't have any trouble lining up the threads. I love this mod. Great price, easy to do and now I can brake hard on canyon roads without getting squirley.

 

I just slid a mirror under my MCS, and with a flashlight, I was able to see that neither of the bolts moved, thankfully. I think I'm fine, but I'll check at least a couple more times. I never did get a pivoting ratchet... as I can't find one! The Home Depot carries a 3/8 and 1/2" Husky, but they don't tilt...

A friend said that I could borrow his, but I then learned over the weekend that its torque range is not high enough. I still proceeded obviously, and used the breaker bar, with an extension. I won't rest completely until I can a torque wrench on those bolts. That's one bolt that you don't want coming-off!

 

Here is a photo of the rear lower control arm bushing on my 10/03 MCS. Is this considered the "small" bushing? Is Poweflex # PFR5-1102 the correct number.
Thanks!!
Jim

Oh! How about Ireland Engineering?

 

That is the correct part number for that late model bushing.

 

That looks like mine 4/03. I used the Ireland am am happy with it but worried that the bolt end up to short to fully seat after the install.
Wes

 

Ok, Thanks!
I ordered and recieved the PFR5-1102's. This kit has the 4 identical Purple bushings. Has anyone done an install on this set-up yet? From what I can tell, all the installs described here were for the "Insert" style bushing.
Any hints, tips or tricks will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!!
Jim

 

Can you snap a picture of what you got. I don't think it should be 4 identical parts - that sounds like control arm, not trailing arm.
Wes

 

Wesport, it your bracket looks like his and you are using the Ireland inserts, then it would be a miss-match and may be the reason your bolt doesn’t go all the way through. Ireland hasn’t made the late model control arm bushings yet.

 

Mine is a March 03 build date. I think that is early style. I have been running the Irelands for about a year now with no problems - including a few very hard track days. I do worry about the bolt not going all the way through as this is stressing the bolt possible beyond tolerence. If these polyflex solve that problem then I may change to them. I have also though about finding a longer grade8 bolt. I like the ride, noise and handeling charecteristics of the Irelan and hope the PF is as good in those areas.
Wes

 

OK... Here are the bushings.





Thanks!
Jim

 

Still trying to find out if anyone has installed the "Late Style" bushings yet. I'm going to give it a go tomorrow and was looking for any info.
Thanks!
Jim

 

I had one of the late versions in the shop this week, a cooper convertable. On the rack, it had much more play in the toe setting than I expected, but I'll be damned if it didn't feel very solid on the road. Even with 175-65-15's it handled great. Maybe it was the extra chassis bracing, I was suprised.

The install looks even easier than the early version. I would unbolt one end of each of the swaybar endlinks and see if you can move the trailing arm enough for the install. If not, it should only take removing the lower shock bolt. Of course the trailing arm pivot/bushing bolt and the plastic cover below it, but that is it. Do not unbolt the carrier that is attached to the body though.

 

Great! Thanks!
I'll have the rear shocks off to reset the adjustment anyway. (Koni Yellows)
Do I tighten the large bolt with the suspension loaded?
Jim