Cephyr13

I have ES polyurethane bushings in my trailing arms on my old Maxima and I need to get the trailing arms out of the car so I can put the entire rear beam into my other Maxima. Problem is, the ES bushings are much wider than the stock bushings, so they won't come out. Does anyone have any idea how to get them out? They're crammed in there. I've tried a large breaker bar to no avail. Since I need them intact, I can't burn them out. The rear beam is on the ground, but the trailing arms are stuck in the brackets on the car.

Any suggestions?
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Prophecy99

iTrader: (1)

im confused if you are taking the whole beam, what is is the issue? is it the connection at the ES bushings that don't allow the whole beam assembly to come off?

i have a set new in box as an option.

oh and this is a duplicate thread form the one you already made

Cephyr13

ES polyurethane bushings are a lot wider than the stock bushings. They're literally crammed into the bracket on the car that holds them. So much so that I can't get them to come out. The beam is on the ground but those bushings won't come out so it's hanging from them, basically.

I may try to get a jack that'll get the car up higher so the beam is hanging straight down instead of resting on the ground. Then I might be able to pull down with more force to get them to come out, but I'm afraid I'll tear them if I do it that way.

​​​Before I try anything like that, I want to try and bend the bracket outward to release some pressure against the bushings enough to force them out. That shouldn't damage the bushings. And when I put them back up, tightening them down should bend the bracket back into position. Not sure if that's a good idea, though. And I'm not sure if I can get something in there to bend that bracket out properly. At very worst case, I could cut the bracket because the car I'm pulling it off of is wrecked. But I'd rather not do that because I'm going to have to reinstall the crappy rear beam and trialing arms back into the wrecked car before I get rid of it.

Any ideas for removing the bushings? I figure no one here has done it because once they go in, normal people would have to reason to remove them, and they seem to last for freaking ever.

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krismax

iTrader: (15)

Have never removed a pair in 22 years of having Maxima's.

If you took pictures and showed us it would help.

But i have a way of thinking, if i can make more money in the time it takes me to take something off i just buy it.

slvr2KSE5

Very good way to look at things and I generally do the same. Though this being winter... I'm not doing any side jobs so I'll put a little more effort into things. Today I pulled a spec v trans and disassembled it in the junkyard because I had nothing else to do. Turns out not all spec v have hlsd. I was happy I decided to pull it apart.

Slamrod

iTrader: (11)

not to drift the thread too far but you can tell if theyre HLSD or not by simply looking at the axle holes. If you can see clean through one hole and out the other, its HLSD. If theres a bar blocking the majority of your view, its open diff. No need to crack open the tranny if you dont need to,

As far as OP goes, i would just buy new bushings. ES bushings are a massive PITA to get out, even more so when youre trying to do it under the car. You might win the battle in the end but it certainly wont feel like it was worth it.

slvr2KSE5

Cool thanks for that info. Same applies to the mr2 e153 so it'll be easy to remember.

Prophecy99

iTrader: (1)

i should really replace mine, it would be so dope, i have lower side bars that connect very very close to that area and would so compliment the ES trailing arm bushings.... but man the whole things seems like a pain in the butt.

hows ur impressions after having them after a sometime now? is it worth it ?

Cephyr13

The Energy Suspension bushings are one of the single best mods for the car. They tighten up the rear end exceptionally well. Feels far better than stock. And if you lower your car, they're excellent to keep the rear end stable. Lowering these cars makes them pretty squirrelly in the back, but if you adjust the rear beam and install those bushings, it handles great.

I think dropping the trailing arms with stock bushings is pretty easy, actually. There's a video on YouTube that walks you through it. It was easy for me until I couldn't get the ES bushings to come out. lol However, I think installing the ES bushings won't be too terribly hard. You need the tool to press them in, and that makes it a lot easier. But when you go to put the trialing arms back up, you'll have to probably spread the bracket just a tad to get them in, and you might need to use jackstands under the trialing arms and just lower the car until the weight of the car is pushing down against the trailing arm. That should push them right into position, no problem. There's a procedure to readjust your rear beam that you'll want to do whether you install the ES bushings or not. There's a write up on it here somewhere. That, alone, makes the rear end handle way, way better on lowered Maximas.

Goos luck, man!

Cephyr13

That's the way I usually think about it, too, but this is actually a pretty quick job once I get the trialing arms to drop. And I can do it after work, so I don't lose any money.

I'll try to take some pics today.

Cephyr13

I hear ya. But the ES Bushings were on back order so it would be weeks before I get them and I need them ASAP. Plus, this way saves me $100.

I think I can bend the bracket out on one side and drop the bushing out. Haven't had a chance to try yet, though.