Another rear subframe thread.

[Mike325]

Ah, ok, so the feet things and everything are not supposed to be there. Any tips on getting them out? I love you FredK.

[FredK]

Thanks for the explanation!

Initially when I removed the old bushing, one of the bushings was situated with a gap, and the other sat flush with the bottom of the subframe. Oh well.

Mike, the bushing hole should look like this (picture from Simon S's writeup):



You might have the remnants of the bushing sleeve still in the subframe. That would look like this:



Check out page 3 of this thread for more pics courtesy of Simon S.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=49944&page=3&highlight=subframe+bushing

[xLibelle]

yes. i believe there is a metal cylinder

fred, when the car sits on its own feet, the springs will actually hold the subframe down, away from the car and result in a correct look. this should be a regular position for the subframe, but i havent been able to figure out what body/suspension motion or drive torque that will manipulate the subframe mount points in a vertical fashion.

IE bushings tend to be the same, but not as bad as you describe. since these are two-piece, they tend to seperate under force(jackstand under subframe). i got a little picky and had some discusion about design size with IE. to which i learned, if you dont like it, make it your self.

soapy water or not, they will move if given the room. otherwise its a design factor. but really, since the weight of the car at the wheels, combined with the oposite direction of the springs, the subframe is forced towards the ground so they might be fine anyway.

[Mike325]

There seems to be a metal cylinder still inside my subframe. There are also two little "leadge" type things at the bottom of my subframe bushing holw that looks like it is connected to the cylinder in the subframe. I pulled the bushings out and it was all rubber. Do the bushings have a metal outer skin over the rubber?

[FredK]

I pulled the subframe and the aluminum cylinder was around the same height as the bore it's supposed to fit in, especially with the thick washer.

The only thing I can think of is that the bushing was installed with some soapy water, and by putting the jackstands on the subframe, forced the subframe to ride up on the bushings before the soapy water dried up.

I pulled the bushings back into their bores so that there is no protruding material and the flange was butted against the bottom of the subframe. I then reinstalled the subframe. Pure joy. At least this time I dropped it really quickly and reinstalled it quickly.

I'm going to let the bushings settle overnight, and hopefully they won't budge when I set the car back down again. Otherwise I'll just drive my car off a cliff. :mrgreen:

[xLibelle]

you need to take them back off the car and do some measuring.
measure the cup depth and see if that is even close to the cylinder that will go inside it. my guess is, its too long.

[FredK]

Thanks for the picture xLibelle. I removed the washer from the old bushings and I put them on the new bushings.

Anyway there is a gap just like the arrow shows in your picture. I don't understand why it should be any different, because I'm using Febi subframe bushings.

[xLibelle]

like this but 1/4" ? if so, then you need to order 33 33 1 127 496 called a stopper.
it sits above where the "C" is in the picture.

[xLibelle]

you forgot the washer?

...digging up my emails with patrick and IE

[FredK]

Bump this up, I just reinstalled my subframe with newly installed stock rubber bushings.

The bushings dropped out of the bushing carriers around 1/4". Doesn't the metal flange need to be flush with the bottom of the bushing carrier? It sort of dropped out when I started tightening the 22mm nut to the bushing mounting post.

Any ideas?

[Keith M]

FredK - The total was $220 for all the bushings and rear bearings. $ 20 ea for 6 bushings (the one on the diff cover was free I guess), and $ 50 for each bearing with hub removal and install. More than I wanted to spend but it was done in a day and I did have to screw around for a half a day with the press.

Keith

[FredK]

FredK's way to take the bushings out of the body is the ONLY safe way to get these out. Speaking of which, do these look like they broke off at all? I don't think so.

Well, I have heard a few other ways to get the bushing out, but without any extra tools besides a hammer, it's a quick and easy way to go!

You can feel the bore that the bushings were installed in. If it's smooth and round after cleaning the powdery corrosion out, you're all set!

I'm not gonna get my subframe blasted. I'm just going to take care of the slight rust in a few spots with some POR-15 paint. There was plenty of cosmoline protecting the subframe, so it's mostly free of rust.

[Mike325]

Glad you got them out. In western Oregon they don't use salt on the roads so the corrosion on mine was minimal (hell, if we get 1/16" of snow, everyone panics and the city shuts down).
I took the rear subframe to a machine shop today to have the new bushings pressed in (also the trailing arms and the one on the diff cover). Pick them up tomorrow morning, then start painting.

Keith

Mind telling me how much this cost you?

[nando]

I'm still at a loss as to why you have to take the bolts out. I just pulled mine last weekend and it was no big deal. Removed the nuts then the..I'm not sure what you would call it, the re-enforcement plate that goes from the bottom of the subframe mount to the sill (at the jacking point, there are two 6 or 7mm hex screws holding it on).

Keith

I think it's because many people have a lot of rust, and it doesn't come apart easily. if you car is not rusty at all (mine isn't) then you shouldn't have to mess with the anchor bolts. my subframe came out as a whole, all I had to do was remove those nuts and tap on it with a rubber mallet.

[Keith M]

Glad you got them out. In western Oregon they don't use salt on the roads so the corrosion on mine was minimal (hell, if we get 1/16" of snow, everyone panics and the city shuts down).
I took the rear subframe to a machine shop today to have the new bushings pressed in (also the trailing arms and the one on the diff cover). Pick them up tomorrow morning, then start painting.

Keith