R33 Upper Control Arm Bushes

[1802NV]

Hey Guys,

My mate's mech told him his upper control arm bushes on his 33 are shot.

Now he has been quoted around 2.5hrs labour to do both sides and around 200 in parts. i found this kit from whiteline KCA348 at 192.80.

My mate is broke atm and i know bugger all about these and just wanted to check whether

a) the whiteline stuff is the go?

b) is the 2.5hrs labour about right? is this something you can do yourself? apparantly the bushes have to be pressed in by machine?

cheers in advance Rich

[ssxRicho]

those are the outer bushes, are they the ones that are shot? there are inner bushes as well...

http://203.31.191.243/fulcrumCat/

ive done it a couple of times dyi, its a pain. you could use a g clamp etc, but we used some large washers to compress the bush into place.

[Duncan]

yeah 2.5hrs sounds reasonable - actually even with the right gear it might take longer depending how easily they come out.

[mikeyG]

those are the outer bushes, are they the ones that are shot? there are inner bushes as well...

http://203.31.191.243/fulcrumCat/

ive done it a couple of times dyi, its a pain. you could use a g clamp etc, but we used some large washers to compress the bush into place.

Interesting topic, im in a similar situation myself,

What is involved in getting to the bushes, do I need to take the control arm off.

When you put this all back in do you have to adjust the camber or anything like that.

Can anyone give me a run down on this.

Also 180 2 Envy do you have any pictures of your car, I would like to see if I am indeed envious of your automobile.

[Duncan]

its a simple enough job, just some work involved.

car up in the air on stands

wheel off

undo the outer and inner end bolts for the control arm to remove it (can be siezed on pretty tight so maybe get some wd40 on them then come back later)

press out the old bushes (hard to do it without a big press, I broke a little mobile press doing UCA bushes)

grease then press in the new bushes

reinstall the upper arm, tighten bolts to spec (pretty damn tight, check the workshop manual)

wheel back on

car back on ground

tighten wheelnuts to 110nm

drive to wheel alignment

assuming the bushes are not adjustable you will have not problems driving to a wheel alignment. if they are adjustable be careful, random wheel alignment can lead to very unpredictable handling (camber affects toe as well). try and set adjustable bushes at home first to same time and money at the wheel aligner..shorter distance between inner and outer bolts = more camber.

[mikeyG]

its a simple enough job, just some work involved.

car up in the air on stands

wheel off

undo the outer and inner end bolts for the control arm to remove it (can be siezed on pretty tight so maybe get some wd40 on them then come back later)

press out the old bushes (hard to do it without a big press, I broke a little mobile press doing UCA bushes)

grease then press in the new bushes

reinstall the upper arm, tighten bolts to spec (pretty damn tight, check the workshop manual)

wheel back on

car back on ground

tighten wheelnuts to 110nm

drive to wheel alignment

assuming the bushes are not adjustable you will have not problems driving to a wheel alignment. if they are adjustable be careful, random wheel alignment can lead to very unpredictable handling (camber affects toe as well). try and set adjustable bushes at home first to same time and money at the wheel aligner..shorter distance between inner and outer bolts = more camber.

Cheers for that Duncan, that helps a lot.

Edited March 13, 2010 by mikeyG

[ssxRicho]

the 33 upper outer arm has a pin/bolt the whole way through, so take the nut off the end and knock the pin through. then prise the arm off the upright.

prise the one end of the bush off, flat head screw driver between the upright and the bush. once you have 2-4mm, some needle nose pliers, open

em up and wrap them around the bush. then push back and forward until you have the bush off. then you can access the bush on the other side

from the center to knock it out.

you can do all that with the arm still on the car, as the bush is in the up right (its quite different to the 32 arm) .

grab the new bush, knock one side in. put the bolt back on (this is if you have split bolt with the new bush) with the largest washer you can

get from bunnings etc, tighten it up a bit.

knock the bush in the other side and do the same. tighten em up, then take the washer out and put the arm back on.

[1802NV]

Hey guys, thanks for the info - i have passed it on. he will give dyi a go as his dad can get the bushes presed in at his work.

Hey MikeyG i should change my username as the 180 is long gone and it never got to an envious stage unfortunately it was a project started but never finished(not even close).

cheers rich

[flovv]

Most excellent info mate!!

Did the removal just an hour ago and it was very easy. I only used a flat head screw driver and a hammer and it was done in about 10 minutes on one side! Time here is now 00:22, so I'm going to bed.

Will do the other side and install the new super pro bushes with camber correction tomorrow.

Many thanx!

BR, Stefan

the 33 upper outer arm has a pin/bolt the whole way through, so take the nut off the end and knock the pin through. then prise the arm off the upright.

prise the one end of the bush off, flat head screw driver between the upright and the bush. once you have 2-4mm, some needle nose pliers, open

em up and wrap them around the bush. then push back and forward until you have the bush off. then you can access the bush on the other side

from the center to knock it out.

you can do all that with the arm still on the car, as the bush is in the up right (its quite different to the 32 arm) .

grab the new bush, knock one side in. put the bolt back on (this is if you have split bolt with the new bush) with the largest washer you can

get from bunnings etc, tighten it up a bit.

knock the bush in the other side and do the same. tighten em up, then take the washer out and put the arm back on.

[buckets]

im in the same boat, well, im getting a slight nocking noise comming from the rear drivers side while at 20-30km/h or so, got told it was prob a bush that was stuck and causing excess movement. only thing is bushes seem to be fricken expensive. what bushes are needed for a standard r33? although mine has a 1.5 diff in it that really shuds ya round corners. is there any dangerous problems from driving on warn bushes if thats my case? i have a trip i have to make on the weekend is all

Edited June 29, 2010 by buckets

[3340TH]

I thought this was the case on my r33, when i sprayed a lubrication at the inner bushes on the control arm, it would stop making noises, i bought a second hand one and had it replaced, but just for shits and giggles we pressed the old bush out of the arm, and made an absolute mess of the bush, but could not find any replacement bushes that were made for that part of the arm. After a month the clunking noise came back so i thought the second hand one was stuffed, so i bought two new upper control arms for $570 from nissan, same thing again, it was all good until i drove over a cattle grid halfway to brisbane. Turns out the clunking noise was just a Stabilizer Link Pin and was shot inside cost $100 to repair.

As for the fulcrum bushes, i replaced the outside bush with the adjustable camber ones from fulcrum, and now it is done up that tight it squeaks every bump driveway, and i still have a large camber. So i will need to get this fixed.

What sort of bushes can i replace the outside bushes with. Was thinking polyurethane again, and would they have to be adjustable ones, even if they come in some sort of kit, i may consider buying this way. What's a different fairly good brand i could replace with?

Cheers.

Edited August 1, 2010 by 3340TH