eljay67

Hey everyone. I really need some help with this one. I recently went to have my compliance bushings replaced on my 2001 Honda Civic LX, but my mechanic could not get the bushing out due to an unusually amount of rust. The nut keeps turning but will not come out. He tried everything, but to no avail. He says it's nothing he can do and he doesn't want to cause further damage. My bushings are basically shot so you can imagine what the driving performance of the car is like. After bringing the car home I did some research and discovered that the bushing is a part of the control arm system. I have two questions: 1) is it possible to disconnect the control arm without involving the bushing; and 2) if the answer to question 1 is 'no' then what are my options if I can't get the bushing out in order to replace it? Can I still drive the car? I really don't want to buy another one, but I will for safety reasons of course. I will greatly appreciate any help/advice on this matter.

civicny

just replace whole control arms with bushings.on e-bay you'l find them for less then 50$.if your bushings shot not suggestable to drive the car,couse you might loose your steering

TDC2001civic

just replaced compliance bushings and balljoints, what nut are you talking about, the lower control arm is held on by two bolts the balljoint castle nut and swaybar endlink.
heres a pic of lower control arm
photo11.jpg?t=1308289101
you need to replace that front fat round bushing

lowlife9

your mechanic sucks just cut the bolts and put on new ones these ingalls use poly bushings.
http://www.dezod.com/cat_control_arms.cfm

eljay67

I should have said the 'bolt.' One of the bolts (I'm thinking the balljoint castle nut) that is connected to the arm is rusted so badly that it won't come out. As I mentioned earlier the bolt just spins in place when he attempts to take it out.

TDC2001civic

replace balljoint, and just cut off the nut, use puller to pop lower control arm off from knuckle

stevelaw18

Those castle nuts are funny like that. When I was trying to tighten mine, it would just spin without tightening, until I used a jack to relieve some pressure from the nut. Like others have said...find another mechanic.

TDC2001civic

i'm assuming his mechanic has a lift, and the castle nut should not just spin unless it ate its threads and at that point you'll have to cut it off

onedr

i'm in need of replacing my compliance bushings as well..
how well are these ?

lowlife9

ingalls is a well known manufacture of suspension parts they should be just fine. i use ingalls camber bolts and rear camber arms.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

get a set of energy suspension bushings if you want them to outlast the car. they do squeak a bit in cold weather, but the performance is hard to beat.

onedr

Hmmm.. i'm leaning towards es bushings but sleepyriceboi's comment on them in his "diy: repair lca broken bushing" is throwin me off. How hard is it exactly to replace them yourself?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

pretty hard, unless you have a press to remove the old ones and install the new ones. shops will usually install them for $40 if you bring in the LCA and the bushings and say you only want the bushings installed. its much cheaper than them actually working on the car to remove and install the lcas.

onedr

interesting! well referring to what lowlife said, is it possible to just cut the bolt and get a new one, while keep the original lca's? I asked my friend to help me out n he says he knows how to do it, but doesn't like doing it cuz the bolts always seize? If that problem's solved, then maybe he'll lend a hand.

MindBomber

depends on the bolt.

onedr

the one being cut, or the new one?

eljay67

Hey everyone! I was the originator of this particular compliance bushing issue topic. I just wanted to thank you all for your input. The issue was the mechanic. I found another one and, although it took some time, they were able to cut the castle nut and replace both my front bushings. My car rides nicely and I'm grateful for you guys' response because, according to the first mechanic, there wasn't any hope outside of buying another vehicle (I'm not interested in going back into debt). Big shout out to Cooper Lake Automotive in Smyrna, GA. If you are in the Atlanta area and need some work done that you can't, or don't have the time, to do on your own, check them out. I'll be using them for my future vehicle needs. Thanks again, everyone!

CiviStang

hey eljay what did they charge you to do the job?