great steering feel after ES bushings and endlinks installed !!!
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 2,066
From: San Diego
great steering feel after ES bushings and endlinks installed !!!
well today i've installed ES bushings and i couldn't be happier !!!
the steering feels so nice !!! - the feeling of loose steering was bugging me for while now - brand new high performance sticky Falkens 512 couldn't even help there - but now the car feels SOLID !!!! and the joy of driving is back !!!
the install was pretty easy with the lift , one thing though was trying to install
those new bushings on the endlinks - i've had to use big C-clamp to compress them a bit and than i was able to put the nut back on.
pics or old bushings after 135K - if yours are stock and look just that bad - get them replaced - before spending $$$$ on any suspension mods
Nick.
the steering feels so nice !!! - the feeling of loose steering was bugging me for while now - brand new high performance sticky Falkens 512 couldn't even help there - but now the car feels SOLID !!!! and the joy of driving is back !!!
the install was pretty easy with the lift , one thing though was trying to install
those new bushings on the endlinks - i've had to use big C-clamp to compress them a bit and than i was able to put the nut back on.
pics or old bushings after 135K - if yours are stock and look just that bad - get them replaced - before spending $$$$ on any suspension mods
Nick.
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Originally Posted by nick
well today i've installed ES bushings and i couldn't be happier !!!
the steering feels so nice !!! - the feeling of loose steering was bugging me for while now - brand new high performance sticky Falkens 512 couldn't even help there - but now the car feels SOLID !!!! and the joy of driving is back !!!
the install was pretty easy with the lift , one thing though was trying to install
those new bushings on the endlinks - i've had to use big C-clamp to compress them a bit and than i was able to put the nut back on.
pics or old bushings after 135K - if yours are stock and look just that bad - get them replaced - before spending $$$$ on any suspension mods
Nick.
the steering feels so nice !!! - the feeling of loose steering was bugging me for while now - brand new high performance sticky Falkens 512 couldn't even help there - but now the car feels SOLID !!!! and the joy of driving is back !!!
the install was pretty easy with the lift , one thing though was trying to install
those new bushings on the endlinks - i've had to use big C-clamp to compress them a bit and than i was able to put the nut back on.
pics or old bushings after 135K - if yours are stock and look just that bad - get them replaced - before spending $$$$ on any suspension mods
Nick.
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 2,066
From: San Diego
well it took about 1 hour total , but if i had to do it again it should not take more than 30 min.
the steering is not stiff - it just feels solid !!!
I've had that " loose and sloopy" feeling ever since i have put the stock SE springs back on. The car still felt very "loose" even with new tires/struts/shocks/FSTB
but now it feels wonderfull !!!
Nick.
the steering is not stiff - it just feels solid !!!
I've had that " loose and sloopy" feeling ever since i have put the stock SE springs back on. The car still felt very "loose" even with new tires/struts/shocks/FSTB
but now it feels wonderfull !!!
Nick.
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 2,066
From: San Diego
i got them from courtesyparts.com but if you search around you could find them cheaper.
right now - thats the best $25 i have spent on the car in the last year !!!
she's a keeper !!! - there is no better feeling than tight and solid steering !!!
Nick.
right now - thats the best $25 i have spent on the car in the last year !!!
she's a keeper !!! - there is no better feeling than tight and solid steering !!!
Nick.
Exactly which bushings did you put on? Just the endlinks, or control arm (<—supposed to be a b!tch) and front sway bar too?
Which of the bushings on these diagrams did you do?
http://www.courtesyparts.com/energys...on/maxima.html
http://www.motivational.net/products/esbushings.shtml
I'm thinking I'll do everything except the control arm bushing, which has to be drilled off or something. I think the rest are easy.
Which of the bushings on these diagrams did you do?
http://www.courtesyparts.com/energys...on/maxima.html
http://www.motivational.net/products/esbushings.shtml
I'm thinking I'll do everything except the control arm bushing, which has to be drilled off or something. I think the rest are easy.
Member
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 170
i ordered those bushing off of suspensions.com and they were 4 dollars. i also got the front sway bar bushings for 7 dollars. if you look in the how how to faqs in this section it gives the part numbers you need to order them from this site. however i havent installed them yet because i havent been able to find a write up.
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 2,066
From: San Diego
I've installed 4 bushings for endlinks and 2 for sway bar. My control arm are fairly new so there is no need.
As far as write up i followed Big D suggestions and having the car on the lift made things much easier
doing it on the jack stands in your garage is possible , but you'll need at least two of those roller lifters - position two jack stands under front control arms and slowly lower the front end until it rests on those jack stands - than tighten up those bolts on the sway bar and one nut on each side of the end link.
here are Big D directions:
courtesy of Big D
You need to lift the entire front end or you'll be fighting the sway bar tension. I actually had to use three jacks to make everything line up perfectly. It appears that the sway bar is under load even when both tires are off the ground. I used a jack under each control arm and slowly raised the arm up until the load was off the sway bar and endlinks. After that, the replacements were a breeze. I'm sure you could get away with doing everything with just one jack, but having three made everything line up perfectly without wrestling anything.
After putting the new bushings on, put the nut on the endlink and tighten it down till the thread is flush with the top of the nut. Then line up the swaybar metal cap and torque tighten down the bolts to the specified torque. Then go back to the endlinks and tighten the nut down to the specified torque. Doing this method with allow you to align everything much easier.
Torque the endlink bushings to 25 ft/lbs and the swaybar bolts to 40 ft/lbs.
It's pretty amazing how torn up and distorted the bushing were after 107K miles. The steering definitely feels better. I'm also considering on replacing the steering/frame bushings.
Nick.
As far as write up i followed Big D suggestions and having the car on the lift made things much easier
doing it on the jack stands in your garage is possible , but you'll need at least two of those roller lifters - position two jack stands under front control arms and slowly lower the front end until it rests on those jack stands - than tighten up those bolts on the sway bar and one nut on each side of the end link.
here are Big D directions:
courtesy of Big D
You need to lift the entire front end or you'll be fighting the sway bar tension. I actually had to use three jacks to make everything line up perfectly. It appears that the sway bar is under load even when both tires are off the ground. I used a jack under each control arm and slowly raised the arm up until the load was off the sway bar and endlinks. After that, the replacements were a breeze. I'm sure you could get away with doing everything with just one jack, but having three made everything line up perfectly without wrestling anything.
After putting the new bushings on, put the nut on the endlink and tighten it down till the thread is flush with the top of the nut. Then line up the swaybar metal cap and torque tighten down the bolts to the specified torque. Then go back to the endlinks and tighten the nut down to the specified torque. Doing this method with allow you to align everything much easier.
Torque the endlink bushings to 25 ft/lbs and the swaybar bolts to 40 ft/lbs.
It's pretty amazing how torn up and distorted the bushing were after 107K miles. The steering definitely feels better. I'm also considering on replacing the steering/frame bushings.
Nick.
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