'04 to '08 front lower control arm bushing failure - please read and look

Old 12-12-2009, 04:43 PM
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It is still there just not as severe as it is around 80. After 80 it settles down to the 65 to 75 mph vibration! The wheels and tires were hunter road force balanced and it has done it with both my stockers and my a-specs??
Old 12-12-2009, 09:06 PM
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Hello Guys and marry xmas to all!

I did the 3rd and 4th gear swith replacement the other day and I noticed my bushings are rippid. Since I read the part has not been redisnged and I am low on cash I would like to know if its importatnt to fix this or I could go by with any major issues. Drive wise I have no issues with the car, however, I did notice my front tires are wearing excesively on the inside and I dont know if this could be related to the bushings. Thanks in advance for any help.

Peace out
Old 12-12-2009, 11:23 PM
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tires wearing in excess on the inside is bad it can be from improperly installed shocks or the alignment is off. do you have modified suspension??? the bushings are pretty important and you would want to have those in good condition
Old 12-13-2009, 03:54 AM
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Originally Posted by Tripnbeats
tires wearing in excess on the inside is bad it can be from improperly installed shocks or the alignment is off. do you have modified suspension??? the bushings are pretty important and you would want to have those in good condition
I am running on a stock suspension and I had an allignment done a couple months ago.

I have a base 04 stock with 60k miles on it. (im putting 18s on with low offsets in the next two weeks)

So I want to get the 07 TL-S bushings that will fit and suposely are better built?
Old 12-13-2009, 10:52 AM
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The type-s bushings fail too. I got some more info on this bushing deal, planning to put up a write-up soon.
Old 12-14-2009, 12:38 AM
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Originally Posted by MrHeeltoe
The type-s bushings fail too. I got some more info on this bushing deal, planning to put up a write-up soon.
Subscribed before you even write it.
Old 12-14-2009, 11:25 AM
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Originally Posted by MrHeeltoe
The type-s bushings fail too. I got some more info on this bushing deal, planning to put up a write-up soon.
Looking forward to reading it.

Both my bushings are torn, but have yet to rip through.
Old 12-14-2009, 02:10 PM
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I am anxious to see what you are going to say heeltoe!!
Old 12-15-2009, 01:56 AM
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both my bushings are shot and i need to change them like right now.... heeltoe,, can u PM me with info on the bushings?
Old 12-15-2009, 07:09 AM
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Originally Posted by Kebby33
both my bushings are shot and i need to change them like right now.... heeltoe,, can u PM me with info on the bushings?
I think you need to re-read this thread bud. He's not selling anything yet nor has he even revealed anything about any potential future offering.
Old 12-29-2009, 09:19 AM
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Heeltoe, are you still going to do that write up?Thanks.
Old 12-29-2009, 11:36 AM
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I don't have time to do a real detailed write-up but here is the bottom line.


I called a buddy of mine who works at Honda in Torrance here in the design department. We discussed a few things but I made it a point to bring this bushing up. He knew all about the failures associated with this bushing, largely because Civics blow these things out all the time, and they race some Civics where they've needed to come up with a solution.

This bushing is there to serve a few purposes. One is to help control torque steer. Another, and more important reason, is that this "compliance" bushing is intended to give compliance to the entire suspension system.

Originally Posted by Merriam-Webster
Main Entry: com·pli·ance
Pronunciation: \kəm-ˈplī-ən(t)s\
Function: noun
Date: circa 1630

1 a : the act or process of complying to a desire, demand, proposal, or regimen or to coercion b : conformity in fulfilling official requirements
2 : a disposition to yield to others
3 : the ability of an object to yield elastically when a force is applied : flexibility
This bushing is made to absorb and deflect under impact which actually removes the force of impact from other parts of the suspension. Making this a rigid bearing would take away this attribute and could actually cause other bushings or arms in the suspension to fail! So that is not a recommended change.

Changing to poly bushings has not been a good solution either, as the twisting movement of this bushing actually causes the poly to split and has not proven to last in endurance racing (hard on parts, and a good indicator that in 50,000 miles of street use the same failre will occur).

The best method for resolving this issue has been to use a completely rubber-filled mount. Take the stock mount and fill it with 3M window weld. This add enough resilience to the mount to resist breaking, flexes enough to move freely, and is compliant enough to prevent suspension part failures. I found a few good tutorials online but I think I will make a new one specific to our application.

Marcus
Old 12-29-2009, 01:30 PM
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im going to have to check my bushings this weekend...
Old 12-30-2009, 10:08 AM
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I have seen spherical bearings that move on two axis... both rotational and vertical movement. wouldn't an XY axis bearing like this be a solution?

How is this compliance bushing anymore of an issue than the older rear control arm bushing issue? I realize it's on the front end and critical, but I think a spherical in that spot would be the best solution(you can forget about daily driving your car)
Old 12-30-2009, 01:46 PM
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Good question. I think the answer is really having to do with the function and load on the bushing.

On the older Civic trailing arms the bushing is designed to allow the arm to rotate. It has less load on it also.

The compliance bushing on the TL is designed to twist. Also, because of the weight and torque put on the arm there are a lot more forces involved.

It adds up to the bushings failing more regularly on the TL. Agree that the spherical bearing would seem to be the best way to go. But it was specifically not recommended to do that.
Old 12-30-2009, 06:13 PM
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Think 3M window weld could be done on the car?Take wheel off hold up with jack squeeze full.
Old 12-30-2009, 06:20 PM
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I think so, might be a fine way to do it.
Old 12-30-2009, 09:58 PM
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Talking

Had my tires rotated about 2000 miles ago (Bfgoodrich G-Force All seasons) I started hearing what i thought was a wheelbearing, Took my car to my local Honda dealer (Dont deal with my local Acura dealer for about a million reasons) He writes up that my compalint is that I'm complaining that i hear alot of road noise, Solution to the problem REPLACE TIRES! TIRES NOT IN STOCK lol
Tires are starting to wear on the inside... thats seriously halarious to me. So i talk to the technican and he told me the same, I told him that replacing the tires would only be a temperory fix to the problem, he agreed? I told him the suspension is not designed not to angle the tires, He said my problem is coming from either 3 things

1. Lack of tire rotation (just got them rotated )
2. Alignment (took my car from them at this point and told him i'm going to get the car on a machine to check it out right now it ended up that the one of the tires was .8 of a degree off, the guy there told me it has to be the struts for sure because only one tire was off a little, and there is wear on two of the tires, hence the problem is on both sides alignment issue is only with one wheel. saved 40 bucks by having it check out at bell tire insted of having the dealership do it)
3. Struts- Problem with the struts is that they are not putting weight on the wheels correctly and causing the tires to wear on the inside(they completly checked the suspension at honda everything checked out fine... even tho i'm sure they saw FRONT BUSHING TORN

so tommorow they are calling acura telling them the issue is for sure with my struts because the alignment proves the issue is on both sides. My car also has that little wiggle in the steering wheel at highway speeds and there is no way in hell i'm going to let them replace my struts and not replace the torn bushing... So i'll most definetly keep everyone updated.
Old 12-30-2009, 10:15 PM
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1- doubt it. That would slow the inner wear possibly but certainly not prevent it.
2- This is most likely. Toe is probably off, or you still need the rear suspension bulletins looked at.
3- First off this car doesn't have struts it has shocks. This is a possible cause for sure, but if it were that bad you'd be seeing more than inner wear. You'd have some pretty boaty handling too. But the shocks being worn does not specifically cause the alignment to be off. They would allow excessive movement in the suspension which would cause excessive alignment change when you are driving. Static on an alignment machine you might not see and issue, but when driving you might have a problem.



The wiggle in your wheel is caused by wheel balance being off. That is probably a product of the tires wearing unevenly.

I'd first drive the car to determine a worn shock issue to see if it were obvious. Then I'd look at the alignment to see how that is. Then I'd look for applicable service bulletins.

People tend to dislike dealers when they try to self diagnose (or get 3rd party diags) and push what they think down the dealers throat and get shut down because of it. The REAL reason to hate a dealer is if they don't do their due diligence themselves thus earning that fat labor bill.

Marcus

Marcus
Old 12-31-2009, 07:29 AM
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HeelToe, the toe was acually off on one wheel, but i have inside wear on 2 tires. You think the cracked bushings could have something to do with inside tire wear?
Old 12-31-2009, 07:30 AM
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Originally Posted by odehboy
Had my tires rotated about 2000 miles ago (Bfgoodrich G-Force All seasons) I started hearing what i thought was a wheelbearing, Took my car to my local Honda dealer (Dont deal with my local Acura dealer for about a million reasons) He writes up that my compalint is that I'm complaining that i hear alot of road noise, Solution to the problem REPLACE TIRES! TIRES NOT IN STOCK lol
Tires are starting to wear on the inside... thats seriously halarious to me. So i talk to the technican and he told me the same, I told him that replacing the tires would only be a temperory fix to the problem, he agreed? I told him the suspension is not designed not to angle the tires, He said my problem is coming from either 3 things

1. Lack of tire rotation (just got them rotated )
2. Alignment (took my car from them at this point and told him i'm going to get the car on a machine to check it out right now it ended up that the one of the tires was .8 of a degree off, the guy there told me it has to be the struts for sure because only one tire was off a little, and there is wear on two of the tires, hence the problem is on both sides alignment issue is only with one wheel. saved 40 bucks by having it check out at bell tire insted of having the dealership do it)
3. Struts- Problem with the struts is that they are not putting weight on the wheels correctly and causing the tires to wear on the inside(they completly checked the suspension at honda everything checked out fine... even tho i'm sure they saw FRONT BUSHING TORN

so tommorow they are calling acura telling them the issue is for sure with my struts because the alignment proves the issue is on both sides. My car also has that little wiggle in the steering wheel at highway speeds and there is no way in hell i'm going to let them replace my struts and not replace the torn bushing... So i'll most definetly keep everyone updated.
Hate the wiggle! My TL is on rails and true till about 70 mph, then annoying wobble. I had it balanced 3 times in 2 weeks, and twice when the running gear was installed. I have Koni's, too.

Hate the wiggle!
Old 12-31-2009, 07:41 AM
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Would a little taller side wall tire help with so much steering sensitivity?I was parked beside a 1st gen TSX and noticed they have a slightly taller side wall tire.Im guessing they handle great?I know there lighter but could be a trade off on our car for less steering input?Thanks again Heeltoe for all the help.Hated this car for awhile but it looks so good and the engine kicks,would like to get things feeling right.
Old 12-31-2009, 07:52 AM
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I was also told by a friend that only the best tires on the production line are picked to go to factory showroom cars - the rest being sold to the public. I think this is totally possible since everyone that's owned a new vehicle knows it will never drive like that 1st 10K miles ever again.
I think the Mich Pilots were great...for about 20K and not worth the dollar per mile to replace.
Old 01-04-2010, 11:27 AM
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Originally Posted by dolfan13
Think 3M window weld could be done on the car?Take wheel off hold up with jack squeeze full.

Do you think this would work for already cracked bushings?
Old 01-05-2010, 01:37 AM
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^I think that the suggestion is to do this if it IS cracked/torn in any manner

I'll be trying it out this coming Saturday
Old 01-05-2010, 01:43 AM
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sorry but can someone with a manual be kind enough to post up torque values for the bolts that hold the lower control arm in place?

... I'm assuming it will be too difficult to fill the mount while it's still attached
Old 01-05-2010, 08:50 AM
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Please note - the following pages are from the 2004 manual.






















Old 01-05-2010, 11:50 AM
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^thank you sir!
Old 01-05-2010, 08:20 PM
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Yep, Mine Too....

Hey guys. Interesting thread going on here. Took a look at my bushings
(06' with 49,xxx), and both sides each have one crack on them about an inch long, in the same location. Handling/ride does not seem to be affected (yet).
Was wondering if it is worthwhile trying to get these replaced? I'd hate to go all the way to the dealer and be told they're just stress cracks....
A poll should be started where people can "vote" on successful (or unsuccessful) replacement by the dealer.




By redlantrn, shot with Canon PowerShot SD850 IS at 2010-01-05
Old 01-06-2010, 02:50 AM
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My car is under the extended warranty and when I took it to the place to have the oil changed they told me that my passenger side was cracked. I am wondering if this would be covered under the warranty or if it is something that they will not replace. The reason I am asking is because the local dealership is so far away that I do not want to drive all the way down there to come home without getting this fixed LOL
Old 01-06-2010, 11:46 PM
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i just ordered some new bushings to goop with window weld... ill let u guys know how it goes..... the car is still sitting nicely with the poly, maybe ill put them on someone elses car to see how that works. also how long does the 3m poly take to cure? anybody know?
Old 01-07-2010, 08:47 AM
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you probably want to do it in 2 stages. Do half then let it dry, then do the other half. I would bet you are looking at about a day total time to get them really nice.
Old 01-07-2010, 09:42 AM
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Originally Posted by Tripnbeats
i just ordered some new bushings to goop with window weld... ill let u guys know how it goes..... the car is still sitting nicely with the poly, maybe ill put them on someone elses car to see how that works. also how long does the 3m poly take to cure? anybody know?
Can you post that part number for me please? bushing only correct?
thanks
Old 01-08-2010, 08:02 AM
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I just purchased the lower control arm for $120 USD on partstrain.com .The dealer quoted me for $300 for just one and that is just for the part.
Old 01-09-2010, 12:06 PM
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51394-sep-a11
Old 01-09-2010, 07:54 PM
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The bushing has different numbers doe TL and TL-S I believe.
Old 01-10-2010, 01:59 AM
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Is everyone just purchasing new bushings? How difficult is it to press the new bushings in and will a machine press be needed??
Old 01-14-2010, 01:44 PM
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nvm. read back through the thread as i should have.

might have to take it to a shop with a press ...
Old 01-20-2010, 08:37 PM
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http://importnut.net/motormount.htm

http://www.mirage-performance.com/te...inemounts.html
Old 01-28-2010, 02:46 PM
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Tripn - any luck on this yet? Got my bushings in, probably gonna have to wait til I get back to NC to do this whole thing

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