i switched to energy suspension bushings and i am having a rough time with the bolts on the rear bushing which i won't get into now since the patriots are on but i don't like the way the control arm almost seems to be shifted too far to the front of the car so that the rear bushing isn't fully held by the bracket. i even pulled the bushing away from the shoulder of the ca to get it a bit more covered by the bracket. here are some pics to illustrate

front bushing


rear bushing

 

Everything looks ok to me

It's normal for the rear ES bushing to no go all the way through the bushing clamp(or whatever it's called)

 

The rears were tough as ***** when I did mine. When I put my rears on, I put a jack under it to force it in place. Are those OEM bolts? If they aren't I would be a little concerned if they are strong enough.

Another thing, make sure you have red lock-tite on the fronts nuts. I didn't and they lessened on me.

 

oh man those bolts are far from oem. the threads on the 2 14mm bolts were messed up bad when i took them out and i could only put one back in so i had to get a 14mm tap and die from mcmaster carr (nothing larger than 12mm locally on a weekend). there wasn't enough threading left to salvage so i then ordered a 16mm tap. i really messed up though because i drilled out the hole too big (and realized later that i didn't need to drill at all, the existing 14mm hole is the proper size for a 16mm tap) so now i have to get another tap and tuesday night will hopefully end the ordeal. so what you are seeing in that picture are two 3/8 lag screws going into two 5/8 expansion anchors. yes im crazy and no i don't condone anyone doing this but i had to get my car out of where i was working on it and back to my house. i cant wait to get a place with at least off-street parking so i can do stuff like this at my own house. i basically have the choice of crawling under a car on stands as traffic goes by and get killed when a car sideswipes me or risk not getting my car home when i don't have a part/tool. so what ya gonna do...

 

Dibs on the front stabilizer bar when the lag screws/anchors break..

 

the red line on the left is the shoulder of the ca and the line on the right is the edge of the bushing. i had to slide the bushing that far off the shoulder just to get the bracket to not want to slide around the backside of the bushing and still the bushing is about 3/8" short of the back of the bracket. it just seems like the control arm should be longer or something. the arms are not stock. if thats the way stock ones are too than fine. but if you look at the pic of the front bushing you can see that the ES bushings have a little shoulder on each side that is sandwiched between the washers and the control arm. it is minor but that must shift the control arm forward at least the thickness of the rear shoulder right?

 

haha youre assuming it won't look like a pretzel after the crash...

 

IBmatt..

Oem arms are the same way..

It's not the arms that are too short,it's the 4th gen poly bushing that is shorter then the original rubber bushing,hence the gap at the rear of the bracket,nothing to worry about,there is still plenty enough bushing in the bracket to hold for many years. The spaces between the washers is also normal,they need the outer lip so the washers dont make metal to metal contact with the control arm,and i would assume it adds to the ride quality by absorbing shock.

I would get them bolts fixed asap though...

 

I'm hoping..

 

thats one of the things I didnt like either. I think its fine because others run them with no problems. That and the fact I cut mine a little off (and was selling the car and wanted to make sure it was perfect) caused me to get the direct fit large bushing (more expensive).



more pics...mash here

 

yeah im def fixing the bolts as quick as i can and not driving much in the meantime

whats interesting is that in michael's pic the part of the ca that the rear bushing slides onto is sticking out proud of the bushing AND the bracket. mine doesnt.
green: you are right about the metal-on-metal contact on the front bushing. i hadn't thought of that.
to be honest, i am not really too concerned about the rear bushing either but i was curious about what you guys thought because it doesnt seem right.

 

The bushing in michael's pic is not the 4th gen ES bushing,it is a new type of rear poly bushing just like our stock rubber bushing..

Here is the thread and link to buy this particular bushing..

Thread--> http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=516335

Link---> http://replacement.autopartswarehous...shing&dp=false

 

yeah i know, i remember reading about his situation. what i mean is that the actual metal rod of his CA that goes through his bushing seems to be longer than mine the way it is proud of the bracket.
at any rate i finally brought things to a conclusion and tapped 3/4" x 16s and boy are they big bolts. i had to blow out the holes through the bracket to allow for them. they are so heavy i think i lost .5 HP so i guess i need to get a maxima.org sticker to make up for the loss... now i have a mod no one else does

 

now are these bushings better than the ES bushings or not? what about the front C/A bushing? did you replace that one with an oem bushing, did you go with an aftermarket or did you leave it alone and not mess with it?

 

they are both poly but michael's requires no mod. to get it to fit. i assume he used the ES front bushings. and yes gxe and se same suspension

 

awesome, i will be upgrading again.

 

the bushings michael used are direct fit with no mods, however 1 piece costs roughly as much as the whole ES bushing set