i just want to know if anyone has the Energy Suspension Front control
arm bushings. what is the difference in the handling and ride? if it is worth the money??

 

We don't have upper control arms like hondas do. We do however have lower control arms.

 

Putting it on tomorrow, will let you know with my opinion
after I give it a spin.

 

koo
oh and are you putting them on yourself or professionally.

 

got a friend who works at a garage, got access to a lift and
tools, going to help me with the install.

 

can you also let me know how easy or hard it is to install them ???
thanks

 

Is a lift needed or will a jack do?

SuDZ

 

I'm going to assume you meant that you plan to jack up your car & put it on JACK STANDS, not that you'll be crawling underneath with only the jack for support.

For those reading this, NEVER, EVER crawl under a car supported only by a jack. You risk being squashed like a grape if you do. . .

You should be able to do this job w/ jackstands, no problem.

 

put the lower control arm bushings in, the steering feel is great.
the car feels more solid. more positive feedback. highly recommended.

now the bad news, not recommend for the DIY. The rubber in the control arm was a b!tch to remove, the large control arm bushing have to be cut off with a grinder. the pivot arm bushing have to use a torch to burn it off. my friend say this is a 1 1/2 hour job.
keep in mind, this was done on a lift, with all power tools.
let the pros handle this job.
can't wait to have some dry weather to try it out in the turns.

 

..



koo thanks oh did removing the control arm screw with your alighnment as far as you can tell?????

 

I didn't feel any difference, but my friend said it would
only affect the toe in, toe out. I'll run it for awhile
and see if any changes. If it don't feel right I will get
an alignment.

 

I've heard that the control arm bushings were a pain to put on, but how much do they cost? I'm probably going to lower my car this summer, but I was also considering the control arm bushings and/or engine mounts to reduce wheel hop. Did you buy the parts straight from Energy?
-hype

 

i can get them at my work. they told me like $40 because of employee discount. but i have to reference this price.

oh and thanks benny for the feed back !!!

 

You might not know until your tires start wearing funny. Your alignment can be out by an amount you can't feel, but by enough to cause adverse/premature tire-wear. As a general rule, you should get an alignment if you've disassembled any suspension components - unless you don't mind spending extra dough on tires.

 

Thanks for the reply jdmmax, but that doesn't help me very much unless you want to buy me some bushings :P Is there an online retailer who sells the bushings? If there is I have yet to find them.
-hype

 

try this place, I got mine here. www.suspension.com

 

buying my set today. just wondering are the parts black???
cause web site says 7-3111 and the part # on packages is G7-3111.
is it the same????

 

you can get them in any color that energy suspension offers. I got the black because those are graphite impregnated. What ever color you get, make sure to use plenty of the water proof grease.

 

Sounds like a smart idea, since some people have reported "squeaking" after putting the red poly one's in. I'd probably choose function over fashion on this particular application, too.

"You're a pretty fart smella!"



(For those who don't know, the graphite-impregnated bushings are self-lubricating = less likely to squeak)

 

ok thank you

 

yay i just got my bushings.

 

AAAARRRRRGGHGHHHHHH!!!!!!
they are a b!$@H to put on stupid stock bushings.

5 hours for one side absolutly terrible.

 

That sux man - it seems like the concensus on these is that it's a job best left to a shop. . .

Better luck w/ the other side.

 

it was easy putting the bushing in. after the bushing is in.... the car handles much better hehe... it's something that you can tell definitely. had it in long time ago. oh yeah..one thing..make sure u oil the bushings, otherwise it'll squeak hehe...

 

DONE finally ride good tighter turning.

well worth the time and money.

 

Wooo hooo!

Congratulations!

How long would you say the whole job took from start to finish? Any recommendations for first timers?

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by KWheelzSB
[B]
Wooo hooo!
Congratulations!
How long would you say the whole job took from start to finish? Any recommendations for first timers?

thank you

The whole job took around 8 hrs. and a lot of cussing.
this can be a DIY job but its going to be one of the most frustrating thinks you have ever done. mechanics charge about $100 per side for this job i called a couple of places for prices before i desided to do it myself. those are mechanic's not kids from down the street working at a performance shop. so don't want to hear someone say "well the shop i gotthem from is only charging me $40 to chage both sides." ok go ahead you get what you pay for.

That's it. thanks for the help guys

 

well, i've waited six months to get my control arm bushing and there finally here! getthing them installed on monday. the shop is estimating 2hrs @ $68/hr = $136 labor. the bushings were $48. the guy says it's a pain-in-the-a$$ to install these. the stock ones need to be burned/pressed out.

jhlee

[QUOTE]Originally posted by jdmmax
[B]

 

yeah maybe i sould have done that good luck !!!!!!!1

 

Was Energy Suspension out of stock for awhile on the control arm bushings, or was your vendor dropping the ball?

Best of luck w/ the install. Sounds like a very worthy improvement to make.

The front anti-sway bar bushings seem like a very easy DIY job, but based on what I've read here, I think I'll leave the control arm bushings to the pros when the time comes - not sure they're worth the aggravation of DIY.

I've got a new rubberized squeaking noise (not strut, strut mount, or spring related) -started about a month after I did my suspension install.

Anyone have a control arm bushing actually fail b4 replacing w/ the Energy Suspension bushings? Is "squeaking" a symptom of the OEM bushing's failure? Thanks in advance!

 

anyone have a part number for the sway bar bushings also?

 

http://www.suspension.com/nissancars.htm

Interesting: it appears that Energy Suspension only makes replacement bushings for the frame-mounts on the front anti-sway bar, and not the anti-sway bar end link bushings. Kinda odd.

 

you can order the endlinks from courtesy nissan. it's $2.73 each...u need 4.

jhlee

 

part number is 7-5118G (front). order from courtesy nissan.

jhlee

 

Due to a fire you will be waiting a while. Thats why mine are backordered now.

SuDZ

 

Here's a link to the parts
http://www.courtesyparts.com/energys...on/maxima.html
-hype

 

well, just got my car back. the bushings are installed and I can definitely feel the difference. the feels a lot more crisp for sure. however, the shop ended up charging 3hrs labor instead of 2hrs. he said it actually took him 4 hrs to install these. so my total out of pocket cost was $68/hr x 3 hrs = $204 labor plus $30 for the bushings or $238. so, for the amount of money, i'm not too sure if this was worth it.

i'll get a better idea if this was a good mod for the money once i drive the car around more. for now, i say since you can't really install these easily, skip this mod! my cost/benefit analysis says bad mod for your hard earned $$$ if you have to have a shop install it. if you are able to install them yourself, definitely worth it for $30!!

jhlee