[FD7683]

I see that you are still active 👌🏼 Did you have any symptoms of sloppy rear end and a clunk when going over bumps before installing these?? I would like to replace all rear trailing bushings on my car for Energy Suspension Black Bushings. Thanks!

 

[FD7683]

Thanks for the reply. Hearing good things about the trailing arm bushings from them and hopefully I can solve my clunk/sloppy handling problem with their bushings.

 

[FD7683]

for lurkers: prothane rear control arm kit doesn't contain the front position bushing (with the flanges) on the trailing arm. It contains the rear position bushing, the knuckle bushings, and the upper arm bushings. I'm returning mine to get the energy suspension version (instructions suggest it contains both trailing arm and both knuckle bushings).

Let us know because the flange is whats stopping me from doing this job.

 

[FD7683]

eBay aftermarket trailing arm bushing replacements come with the supplied flanges that you need. From what i've seen the energy bushings don't supply the necessary flange in order to complete this job. Obviously as the 8th gen series is old most trailing arm flanges will not cooperate and usually need to be sawed off in order to knock out the rubber/collar.

I've finally had enough with the rear end slop. My modified suspension is stiff so all movement is going towards these bushings when taking a turn. I have 3 options; New $600 pair of arms from Honda, Energy Suspension bushing or the eBay rubber bushings but both collars have to come out for the replacements. I'm sure option #3 is best for my situation but the arm is a little crusty so not sure yet...

I'm actually rooting for the energy path since the collars can stay in place but the damn flange...... Thinking about purchasing the eBay rubber kit and using the flanges for the energy bushings.

 

[FD7683]

I was snooping around Siberian Bushings website today and found this:

Seems like a nice alternative to the energy ones and comes with the nessesery collar/flange.

 

[FD7683]

Yeah I have that in my watch list too. Like how wouldn't have to worry about hunting for hardware lol; shipping options make it almost the same as rebuilding flanges+sleeves.

I think I’m going for the Siberian bushing route lol don’t want to make my life hard by hunting extra parts that don’t come in a kit. Keep updating please!

 

[FD7683]

Ended up purchasing the Siberian Bushings. Was too convinced about everything in one kit and couldn't stop thinking about it today. $200 gone but let's see how the install goes...

How did you remove your trailing arm? In one piece (knuckle + arm) or did you separate the two? I'm only knocking out the arm bushings.

 

[FD7683]

I'm going to see if I can knock this out w/o removing the knuckle off the arm. Passenger cam bolt is good because I put a fresh one in with anti-seize slathered on it but driver side I haven't touched it yet and know its seized. Also if I go this route I will not need an alignment which would be great. I have a 12 ton press which will much make this job a piece of cake so I hope its smooth.

I will update on this forum about this job and possibly open a new post about the replacement! Would love to help people with this tedious job because most will need these bushings replaced and up to date info is crucial on this website.

 

[FD7683]

I ended up ordering the knuckle bushings from Siberian Bushings as well. Will be knocked out later but might as well refresh all bushings to make the rear end tight for daily driving. Haven't attempted this job yet but my way will be to drill the rubber until the flange comes out, burn it with a torch (or wire wheel it) and press in new bushing per instruction. Same goes for the smaller one.

I'm following this video (credits to ByrdRebuilds):

 

[FD7683]

Thats why I went Siberian on this job. The smaller one can be pressed out in my case and for the flange I will have to hackzall it first before poking it with a drill bit to remove the collar. Outer shell stays in place on the flange bushing. Shouldn't be too hard of a job if my somewhat-rusty Civic will cooperate.

His somehow fell out w/o burning the bushing. The Element bushing might be a little different but its the same thing.

On top of that, Siberian Bushings are rated at a 65 Shore A hardness - equal to hardened rubber (or rubber territory in this case). I like that because the bushing will still be able to flex w/o any issue. It's the "comfort" polyurethane which I will appreciate a lot. Energy and Prothane are definitely much higher on the hardness rating category but will be much better handling wise.

 

[FD7683]

I was able to prep the bolts today by PB-Blasting them. I also knocked out the knuckle bushing lip that would prevent me by pressing the bushing out by breaking the lip bond with a sharp flat head and hammering it with a heavy hammer. It's ready to press out but need to rent out the ball joint tool kit for the cups first in order to do so (will utilize the shop press).

The small bushing for the trailing arm comes out to be a 1-1/8 in" or 30mm socket. Very flush with the shell of the replacement bushing and should be for the old factory one too.

 

[FD7683]

How long did it take you to remove the large bushing by heating the outside of the shell? I will be using MAPP instead of my standard Propane.

 

[FD7683]

I was at the junkyard today to play around with one and yes, the heat definitely needs to go on the outside of the bushing. Placing the MAPP torch on the outside for only 30 seconds I was already able to poke the bushing with a flathead and seems like it will come out in one piece.

Are you in a rust free zone? My original plan was to buy 2 replacements that are in better condition than mine and the plan failed because the cam bolt was fused shut. I was able to cut it 75% until the battery for my sawzall died so I gave up and left it. Junker was in a front wreck so I checked service records to see what mileage it had and noticed it may have tire wear issues (final 2 visits at the shop were for tires). Trailing arm also looked to be a tiny bit bent so I was leery of taking it. This unfortunately led me to biting the bullet and purchasing new arms from Honda for $650 + shipping to never deal with this job again. I will still continue the project on the Siberian polyurethane bushings because the non-Si bushings are made for comfort and I didn't want that. On top of that I don't think I can return the poly bushings.

This will be the final project for my 2006 Civic because I have done everything else suspension wise for a nice handling daily driver but the trailing arms were left out until now because of the difficulty of this job. At least I got to learn how this job might go. Fun times 😡

 

[FD7683]

Does a hand powered hacksaw work? I think I mentioned buying an arm too: for accidentally telling machinist to cut bushing shell :/. Gotta sell my cored arm after this to recover some haha.

Rust free zone but some corrosion on outside of bushings. The inside should be watertight enough to remove via energy suspension directions I feel (the insides were clean). Seemed daunting to remove this way at first but overall potentially cheapest as only paying for bushings.

When you get the new arms I'm curious if the flange pins move with your finger strength like my 200k ones lol.

Well, I was able to get the suspension assembly out of the junk car but the knuckle was stuck on due to the cam bolt. This is when I played around with the flange bushings which i'm glad I did because it relieves me to know I don't have to stress about this. I had doubts so I left it at the yard. If I really wanted to yes, I could've used the yard trailing arms but I would have to invest in another Milwaukee battery because my single one died really quick. I'm not the type of person to do stuff twice so I purchased new ones to guarantee they are straight. Posts from a couple years ago mention buying trailing arms from the yard but the 8th gen series wasn't old at the time so any 06-11 Civic that was there had somewhat low miles and abuse i'm assuming (probably just paranoid of used parts w/ no real life history).

Researching also unveiled these trailing arms are known to snap from the skinny side due to stress and age. I already knew this from 2020 so if I was going junkyard route I would reinforce the arm with a 1/2 in" long steel bar where it breaks and tack weld it on to prevent it from collapsing. New arm I don't have to worry about this.

What surprised me is that no aftermarket company makes replacement trailing arms. Just goes to show most people don't need to buy new ones unless impact damage occurs or they just snap out of the ordinary.

As for the new arms, i'm sure the flange can be twisted out with a large vise. What sucks is that i'm going to ruin a brand new bushing but it has to be done so I can install my upgraded one. I'm around $1,000 into this job right now which makes me very sick but gotta pay to play. When i'm done my car should handle like a dream and won't need to put a single dollar suspension wise ever again.

 

[FD7683]

That damn collar for the flange bushing needs to come out first in order to install the yellow poly bushing. I've tried everything but that piece will not come out. No way to press it out with a shop press due to design of the arm. All i'm doing is f*** up my new trailing arms so now its going to a machine shop. This has been the most frustrating project ever - never again.

 

[FD7683]

I pressed in the one-piece poly bushing and it was definitely squished in there. Ears were poking out and was not sitting perfect like the one on the Element. Also noticed his doesn't have the stupid shell in there so his bushing sat perfectly fine while mine was squished/binding in there with the shell in place. I pressed them both out and was able to save one bushing out of the two. $63 mistake but I blame the manufacture for not including instructions. Ordered a new one.

The customer service guy where I purchased the bushings from told me to leave the shell in place when I asked him about this specific bushing before I messed with the trailing arms. Had worried speculations the collar had to come out first and damn I was right. No machine shop responded to my email (assuming its a waste of time to them) so looks like I might have to invest in an air compressor and an air hammer. Seems like a good investment anyways but would rather not spend more.

Looking back the energy suspension bushing is a much easier alternative if the right collar for the flanges is obtained. Only went with Siberian for the 65A hardness rating and the one piece construction which will never squeak (twist vs drag on energy bushing).

 

[FD7683]

I've been unmotivated to work on these trailing arms. Right now i'm planning replace my thermostat and VVT valve gasket due to failure. Maybe i'll plan to visit a couple machine shops near my area to see if one wants to tackle the collar.

 

[FD7683]

Was finally motivated to work on the arms today. After weeks of planning I decided to have a nut welded on top so I can use a cup to press the collar out using my hydraulic press. Best cost effective route for me since I paid $20 for the weld job and worked great vs using an air hammer + maybe risking damage. Next plan is to restore the affected area with black spray paint and finally install the large flange bushing.

Posted this so someone in the future can see that pressing the collar out is an option if a nut is welded on top. Both came out with a fierce pop. Smaller piece I was able to chisel out in the vice.