I installed the Powerflex control arm bushings and wanted to share my experience with you. This is not really a DIY, but more of a comparison, impressions and useful tips write up. If you need a DIY to change these bushings, you probably should not be “doing it yourself”… The reason I say this is because it’s not as simple as removing some nuts/bolts swapping the part and then following the directions in reverse. I hate DIYs that make everything look so easy, but when you actually do it, you run in all kinds of issues and you end up having to improvise.
I was fortunate to have the help of my friend, access any tool ever needed for a European car and the lift at his shop Hybrid Motors.
Anyway, prior to installing the Powerflex bushings, I had a Whiteline Anti Lift Kit. It served its purpose, but after close to two seasons of autocross and collective 10K miles, it started to show signs of wear (pretty weak if you ask me).
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I only had Whiteline bushings in the rear CA position. The fronts were stock. I never ended up installing Whiteline ones since it honestly looked too thin and I didn’t want to press out the stock one, which is solid anyway, to risk fitment issues after the fact. Here are some pictures of the bushings side by side for comparison. I found my old control arms with stock bushings also, so you can see the difference in the offsets.
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the PF bushing is on the bottom, you can see how the holes line up
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stock bushing is on the bottom, hole is nowhere to be seen
As you can see, Powerflex pushes out the control arm a little further than Whiteline (caster). Whiteline is slightly lower (anti-lift). Compared to stock, the hole is way off!
On to the installation:
The passenger side had no issues with clearance. However, on the driver’s side, the bolt that holds the front of the control arm cannot be taken out, since the it does not clear the transmission case (could be different on the manual).
screencast
So the subframe needs to be dropped. Not fully, just enough to clear the bolt. You will need to remove the bolts that connect the rear control arm bushing to the frame as well as the four main bolts that connect the actual subframe to the frame
imgur
pic upload
Once that is done the subrmame should be loose, but you may need to suggest it a little with a pry bar.
upload img
much better
You can now remove all the bolts that hold the control arm in place - front, rear, ball joint and of course not forgetting the leveling sensor that rests on the driver’s side control arm.
After the control arms are out, you will need to remove the old bushings. Removing the Whiteline bushing was easy, it just falls off… If you still have a stock one, it will be a little harder. I tried to pull it off for the comparison, but because of the flex, it was just stretching. I didn’t care enough to force the issue, but I am sure if I applied enough force, it would’ve given in as there is no notch on the control arm to hold it in place.
The front position bushing needs to be pressed out. I used the grinder to mill off the bushing on one side of the arm to ease the pressing out.
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Then I used the press to pop it out, but the good ol’ socket and bench vice would have done the job just as well.
imagur
The control arms were then cleaned and bleached. You should ensure that all the surfaces the bushings will be touching are clean and shiny.
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Putting in actual bushings was easy, since the front ones are two-piece and the rears just slide on, just follow the directions for which side goes where, apply the provided copper grease and in no time you are finished:
adult image
upload image online
upload gambar
Now the fun part… putting these suckers back on the car. Note: I went with the race poly compound for my application, and these are STIFF. It is pretty tough getting everything to align to put the bolts in place. It was a combination of pry bars, thick ass screwdrivers, C-clamps and the help of my 260 lbs weightlifter friend to get everything on the car (it really helps to have two people reinstalling these). Here is the order in which I put everything back.
1. Slide the front of the control arm in hallway in and reattach the ball joint to the control arm.
2. Reattach the front of the control arm but do not tighten all the way.
3. Lift the subframe and tighten it.
4. This is the hard part, bolting the rear bushing to the frame. It was relatively easy to push it in towards the center of the car (because of good access to leverage), but not so much to push it forward. I also have the Tyrolsport stiffening kit, so it didn’t make the job any easier. Eventually, we used the clamp and finally the bolt went through.
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5. Lastly, the control arm was attached to the subframe with the two bolts provided in the kit. I used a screwdriver though one of the extra holes to align it for the bolt.
screen shot windows 7
6. Go through all of the nuts and bolts and make sure everything is tight.
image hosting gif
these things do look pretty mean
Voila… you have one stiff ass front end.
I also installed a dogbone bushing from Powerflex. This one I got in street compound. Pretty straightforward install. Press the old busing out, press the new one in and open the hole in the bracket that holds the dogbone in place to 15mm just like the instructions say.
adult image
One thing of note - pressing the bushing in had a small challenge. It would start going in on one side, but then would start tilting and eventually pop out altogether. I used pliers to compress the middle of the bushing and prevent it from tilting and then pry the edges with a flathead screwdriver.
Impressions:
So far the car feels great. Very solid and tight. This was the last piece to getting my frond end of the suspension to where I want it to be. I am going for a corner balancing at the end of the month to dial in the setting and will report back on camber/caster settings. Since the front bushings are adjustable, I set them in the middle, I do not really want to change the camber right now, I am happy with -3.3 degrees I have. Also, I am not sure how easy it is to rotate that bushing to alter camber after it is already in. Even with loosening of the bolt, it may prove to be a little too hard. It is pretty dead set in there.
If you have any specific questions on this, please let me know.
Lex
I was fortunate to have the help of my friend, access any tool ever needed for a European car and the lift at his shop Hybrid Motors.
Anyway, prior to installing the Powerflex bushings, I had a Whiteline Anti Lift Kit. It served its purpose, but after close to two seasons of autocross and collective 10K miles, it started to show signs of wear (pretty weak if you ask me).
post image online
image url
I only had Whiteline bushings in the rear CA position. The fronts were stock. I never ended up installing Whiteline ones since it honestly looked too thin and I didn’t want to press out the stock one, which is solid anyway, to risk fitment issues after the fact. Here are some pictures of the bushings side by side for comparison. I found my old control arms with stock bushings also, so you can see the difference in the offsets.
image posting
gifs upload
screen capture freeware
the PF bushing is on the bottom, you can see how the holes line up
free picture upload
stock bushing is on the bottom, hole is nowhere to be seen
As you can see, Powerflex pushes out the control arm a little further than Whiteline (caster). Whiteline is slightly lower (anti-lift). Compared to stock, the hole is way off!
On to the installation:
The passenger side had no issues with clearance. However, on the driver’s side, the bolt that holds the front of the control arm cannot be taken out, since the it does not clear the transmission case (could be different on the manual).
screencast
So the subframe needs to be dropped. Not fully, just enough to clear the bolt. You will need to remove the bolts that connect the rear control arm bushing to the frame as well as the four main bolts that connect the actual subframe to the frame
imgur
pic upload
Once that is done the subrmame should be loose, but you may need to suggest it a little with a pry bar.
upload img
much better
You can now remove all the bolts that hold the control arm in place - front, rear, ball joint and of course not forgetting the leveling sensor that rests on the driver’s side control arm.
After the control arms are out, you will need to remove the old bushings. Removing the Whiteline bushing was easy, it just falls off… If you still have a stock one, it will be a little harder. I tried to pull it off for the comparison, but because of the flex, it was just stretching. I didn’t care enough to force the issue, but I am sure if I applied enough force, it would’ve given in as there is no notch on the control arm to hold it in place.
The front position bushing needs to be pressed out. I used the grinder to mill off the bushing on one side of the arm to ease the pressing out.
image host
free image uploading
image hosting site no sign up
Then I used the press to pop it out, but the good ol’ socket and bench vice would have done the job just as well.
imagur
The control arms were then cleaned and bleached. You should ensure that all the surfaces the bushings will be touching are clean and shiny.
free screen capture software
Putting in actual bushings was easy, since the front ones are two-piece and the rears just slide on, just follow the directions for which side goes where, apply the provided copper grease and in no time you are finished:
adult image
upload image online
upload gambar
Now the fun part… putting these suckers back on the car. Note: I went with the race poly compound for my application, and these are STIFF. It is pretty tough getting everything to align to put the bolts in place. It was a combination of pry bars, thick ass screwdrivers, C-clamps and the help of my 260 lbs weightlifter friend to get everything on the car (it really helps to have two people reinstalling these). Here is the order in which I put everything back.
1. Slide the front of the control arm in hallway in and reattach the ball joint to the control arm.
2. Reattach the front of the control arm but do not tighten all the way.
3. Lift the subframe and tighten it.
4. This is the hard part, bolting the rear bushing to the frame. It was relatively easy to push it in towards the center of the car (because of good access to leverage), but not so much to push it forward. I also have the Tyrolsport stiffening kit, so it didn’t make the job any easier. Eventually, we used the clamp and finally the bolt went through.
online photo storage
5. Lastly, the control arm was attached to the subframe with the two bolts provided in the kit. I used a screwdriver though one of the extra holes to align it for the bolt.
screen shot windows 7
6. Go through all of the nuts and bolts and make sure everything is tight.
image hosting gif
these things do look pretty mean
Voila… you have one stiff ass front end.
I also installed a dogbone bushing from Powerflex. This one I got in street compound. Pretty straightforward install. Press the old busing out, press the new one in and open the hole in the bracket that holds the dogbone in place to 15mm just like the instructions say.
adult image
One thing of note - pressing the bushing in had a small challenge. It would start going in on one side, but then would start tilting and eventually pop out altogether. I used pliers to compress the middle of the bushing and prevent it from tilting and then pry the edges with a flathead screwdriver.
Impressions:
So far the car feels great. Very solid and tight. This was the last piece to getting my frond end of the suspension to where I want it to be. I am going for a corner balancing at the end of the month to dial in the setting and will report back on camber/caster settings. Since the front bushings are adjustable, I set them in the middle, I do not really want to change the camber right now, I am happy with -3.3 degrees I have. Also, I am not sure how easy it is to rotate that bushing to alter camber after it is already in. Even with loosening of the bolt, it may prove to be a little too hard. It is pretty dead set in there.
If you have any specific questions on this, please let me know.
Lex
