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Can I/Should I use the later 03-5 front bushing for replacement.
BEtter? Fit? Performance?
Its redesigned a bit for the later years..
I have the part numbers..

How about the rear front LCA bush? Good visually so far.
Thanks!

 
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I have a 01 civic the needs the compliance bushings in the front replaced. Does an all wheel alignment need to be done after they are replaced? The dealer says yes and my local shop says no.

 
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Anytime you replace suspension components you should have an alignment done, removing the parts will affect it and affect your steering and tire wear. If you want better than OEM performance then go with energy suspension.

 
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Could you please tell what energy suspension is. Is it expensive? Would the dealer install it?

 
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The OEM bushings aren't good quality, even if you replace them they'll fail and start popping again after a couple years. Energy suspension bushings are solid polyurathane, they'll last the life time of the car; the ride will be a bit stiffer and less comfortable, but not significantly.

The dealer will most likely install them, if not a shop will do it, just make sure they check the alignment on the front two wheels after. They cost around $45 for both sides of the car.

 
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I don't think it's a quality issue Austin. It's just too much flex for a rubber type bushing so a polyethylene works much better. A shop may not like the idea of pressing them out/in and the dealer wants to replace the entire control arm so get a shop to do it. It shouldn't be too expensive and yes you need an alignment after.

BTW I have 110, 000 miles on my OEM bushings and they still look great.

 
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warning! highway driver!

 
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The Dealer wants $335 to do both bushings. Does that sound about right?

 
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How hard is it to change a ATF dip stick?

 
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pressing out and pressing in the bushings are the hardest part.
if you have a way to remove the arms and taking it to a shop that have a press with new bushings, it will be the cheaper. all you need is a pitman remover available in any autoparts store.

The dip stick? i will not even comment...

 
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Haha your absolutely right, I'm about 99% highway so I guess the bushigns don't get much of a workout

 
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I understand why Honda chose not to use polyurathane and instead rubber, the majority of people prefer the slightly softer ride given by rubber bushings. When they made that choice though, the engineers should have made the bushings more solid, that would prevent them from failing. It's the exact same scenario with the motor mounts.

Changing the dipstick requires pulling it out and sticking the new one in, just like checking the oil level in your engine. $335 is a reasonable price, only slightly higher than what most independant shops would charge.

 
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How hard is it to change the front motor mount on the 01 civic?

 
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Extremely easy. You need a wrench, a jack, and a block of wood (like a short piece of 2x4, or something flat).

First, just break loose the bolts. Do not unscrew any of them, just get the two bolts into the engine broken free (that first like 1/8 turn or so), and the through bolt broken free too.

Now get a jack and a block of wood, put the block of wood under the oil pan, and jack the jack up to it. Then jack 1-2 more times so that the weight of the engine is now being slightly supported by the jack. (The block of wood is crucial, to prevent the jack from slipping)

Now remove the through bolt, and the two bolts from the engine, and pull free the old mount.

Notice the shape of the mount is kind of S shaped a little, you gotta make sure the new one is going in the same way as the old one that came out, so that the new one installs flush with the engine. Position the new mount in place, and hand tighten the two engine bolts. After they're hand-tightened, give a extra 1/8 turn or so to make them snug.

If the through bolt holes are lined up still, shove the bolt through and tighten that up to make it snug. If for whatever reason it's no longer lined up, jack up or down (be careful!) to get them that way.

Now that all three bolts are in place and snug, drop the jack completely and remove it and the block of wood.

Tighten the bolts up. I'm not sure what the torque spec is for that, I just tightened mine till they felt right.

 
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i will change your atf dipstick for $50 lol

 
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Thanks again.
This sounds simple. So there is nothing in the way of the 3 bolts holding the mount? Easy out and easy in?

 
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No prob. Nothing is in the way, you can easily access it from under the hood and you will have plenty of room to work. You can definitely do it yourself.

 
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Right on , dude. You saved me about 150 bucks. thanks I own you big time.

 
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the only problem i ran into is dont use a socket wrench to loosen the bottom bolt or you will get it stuck between the bolt and the frame. once you break the bolt loose, use a regular wrench to take it out. and be sure to use the flat wood piece (thick like 1/2 inch) otherwise you can damage the oil pan. also i had to use a cheater pipe on the socket wrench to loosen all the bolts. and i tightened them the same way.

 
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Yup, it's pretty simple to do if nothing breaks.

Energy suspension makes motor mount inserts as well, which you just put inside the current mount and it will repair it and prevent it from breaking again. The car tends to vibrate a bit more at idle with the es insert though.

 
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Hey, Not cool.
I guess that was a stupid question. But, it looks like the ATF dipstick insert itself is leaking.

 
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yes, the older it gets, the more trans fluid causes the rubber to shrink. i had trans fluid splatted all over the place in the engine bay and under the trans case before i figured out it was coming from the dipstick being loose. if you order a new one and replace it ($15 from dealer), it will be much harder to push in and will stay in place like it should. prolly will need to replace it every few yrs to keep the seal good.

 
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Awesome Thanks

 
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What do you think about buying an OEM mount off ebay?