Fitting suspension bushings

The big subframe bushes ahead of the rear wheels really need the correct tool to replace (some clever bods make their own). If these are worn the car will feel very peculiar to drive as the rear wheels will be steering too.

Other bushes are more straight forward to replace. Have a look at the diff mounts while you're under there as these can get a little tired too.

The front bushes tend to wear more & it's a common dodge to replace some of the components with uprated items ie. 750 bushes which have to be machined down a little. See BigCoupe.com tech articles for advice. Don't forget the anti-roll bar bushes too.

Some people swear by poly bushes which are stiffer than standard bushes. They last longer but do make the ride harsher & noisier. This may or may not be an acceptable trade off for you. If you've ever been in an M3 you'll see how stiffer bushes give a "tight" feel to the suspension.

Replacing all front & rear bushes is an effective way of getting the "as new" feel back into your car.

Ok, had a further look and have two questions:

- How do I seperate the rear wishbone from the hub? Do I need to take the hub apart?

- What's the small "bone" going from the outer joint of the wishbone to the body for? It's fitted with bushings but I can't really figure out what the purpose is?

Thanks

Brucey, thaks for all your help. When you say replace do you mean replace the whole pitman arm or just the bushings?

I think I'll remove the wishbones with the hubs still on them. Are the bolts on the outer CV joint usually hard to get off?

Thanks!

I can't believe the brake lines go through the wishbones twice! What a nightmare.

Ok, I've given up on doing the wishbone to subframe bushings.

I'm looking into cutting of the small brackets that holds the brake and fuel lines and remove the lines to get the screws out.