People who have energy suspension crossmember....
 

People who have energy suspension crossmember bushings i have a question for you.

This is the first time i have installed these bushings. But there is a huge gap as seen in the picture. Is this what you have had happen?

I have tightened the factory bolts to the point where the bushings are spreading. And there is still a massive gap. It's so bad that ,it causes the engine to be much closer to the firewall,than it should be.

I am going to order the stock ones,to see the difference.

someone had posted in one of the fb groups not too long ago of the es bushings falling apart after a year or two

most cars have the subframe directly bolted to the body. :0

yeah i thought so because ,like i said it is putting the engine much farther back. I will have to put stock back on.

oh dang! they seemed like a good idea on paper too. minus the extra cabin vibrations. i have a box sitting around.

I put a set on my 98 maybe 10 years ago. I replaced the radiator support in '12 and don't remember any issues. I'll be tearing that car apart soon so I can see if they held up all these years.

problem i am having is the mount is 1/8 away from hitting stuff near steering rack,firewall ect. The rear bushings are closer to the body. front is lower . So at that point it is pulling the front of the crossmember down. It is changing the angle of the engine and trans where they sit.

interesting... i didn't think those fractions would be much of anything, i remember this being a concern with the subframe collars people were doing couple years ago.

Do not use those garbage ES crossmember bushing. Mine only last for two years. I replaced it with genuine OEM bushing , I felt a big difference because the engine is more stable and pull harder. The reason is you need to torque those 17 mm front and rear bolt between 77fl-lb to 98 ftlbs. I set mine to 86 ft lbs. ES bushing will squeeze out like a marsmallow if you tighten the bolt for proper torque.

mine isn't even close to that torque spec and they already are squeezing out.

Wish i knew before i bought.:(

The stock ones just came in about $40 shipped from quirk parts on ebay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ONE-OEM-NEW...72.m2749.l2649

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1994-2014-N...72.m2749.l2649

i ruined my es bushings with my near solid mounts, i replaced all subframe bushings with steel washers and now have light switch like throttle response.

Im using self cut washers (cut like a c so i didnt need to remove the main subframe or the control arms) and it helped alot. my first pair failed because i warped them cutting them. i did it perfect the second time and now no flex or wheel hop.

I have just about every rubber piece ES makes under my car EXCEPT the cross member bushings. I could never get them to seat without squeezing out. I really like ES parts but these are crap. Stock is best for this part.

intersting !! and motivating... is it more harsh though? i mean there has to be something, going from bushings to metal on metal.

This part should have been metal to metal in the first place. i have all 4 of my mounts solid and i barely feel the engine vibe at 237k. when going to solid washers it will send the load shock to the mounts and not the subframe, there are 2 diffrent subframes, one that holds the left and right suspension, and the one that supports the engine/trans. the suspension one is using my c washers and the engine one has stacked regular washers, i will upload pictures soon. im a manual trans btw, auto will have more vibes by nature.

Also no where near as harsh as having a bad bushing, it helps with that jerk when you tap the gas. i personly love the response and is my favorite/cheapest mod
https://maxima.org/forums/5th-generation-maxima-2000-200l
https://maxima.org/forums/5th-generation-maxima-2000-2003/631024-4-wheelhop-washer-mod.html

that gap should be there since there is a back half to the bushing, it sure has heck doesn't have a hole to go in to and is to think to squish flat.

is madmaxse the only one to go solid on that sub frame piece. i'm guessing the there is enough flex in the rest of the mounts and car to loose that... ...what 3/16ths - 8th inch bap?

sounds nice ! i am really tempted to try it, i am probably on original mounts
i think i would like it, i am already on the deep end w performance/handling over comfort
no, many guys have been doing the metal washers and c washers

ive run the washers for almost 2 years with no prob, my only issue was i was breaking passenger side axle supports due to my passenger engine mount having so much play. once i filled the mount and the trans mount with 94a, no more breakage! when it coms to performance, gaps are a no no. i personaly dont believe a car needs any flex, and i have broke nothing by going solid. my chassis flexes enough. i hated when i would hit the gas and i would feel a dull thud under the car near my feet (gap in sub frame bushings) and it drove me to go solid. the es bushings were not worth their installation and shipping time.

I would just get some metal washers and call it a day lol

I had these on my old car for a few years. Not sure if he still sells them.
http://www.allsentra.com/viewtopic.php?t=2647

Energy suspension bushings are polyurethane, not standard rubber. A much harder, permanent fix. They won't swell distort and break down like regular rubber. So its possible there will be a larger gap because it won't squash. How hard were they to get on?

Its 77-98 Nm. which is 57-72ft. lbs. Maybe you're talking about something different because my 6k pound Cadillac Escalade has Energy Suspension poly bushings and they do no such thing. Much harder than the ACDelco rubber I took off of it. Almost too hard.

were not saying energy suspension isnt good, its just that for this specific part and the purpose of the part, solid is better, leave the bushing movement to the motor mounts.

Yes totally understand that makes sense thanks for letting me know.

these are trash. the front pieces at the bottom get over squished and seep through the washer and they are an oval type shape to fit obviously but witht the round washer you try and torque to spec and it will keep rotating and squeeze outside of the washer making it hard to torque properly.

i ended up going as tight as i could without it over squeezing it and using loctite on the bolts... also i noticed 0 difference. red lion control arm bushings made a larger difference. gonna replace with oem ones in front

sounds nice ! makes me wanna get front CA polys, but i heard you barely feel them compared to the work that it was replacing them.

probably same for Rear Trailing Arm bushings on the A32/A33

i didnt torque to spec due to using solid, i just tightened it till it felt good. i figured the torque refrence was just for the bushing. the crossmember washers ONLY make a diffrence if you have aftermarket mounts or poly. it got rid of that little rebounding feeling when letting go of the clutch too fast. putting the washer mod while using oem mounts will just ruin your old oem bushing

Hit up red lion for his nylatron control arm bushings, talk about solid! there next on my list.