SRD front control arm bushings (size problem)

[Rikmx]

Hi everybody, I usually post on the Dutch forum (I'm from Holland) but car tuning here is less developed as in the US and although there are quite a few klze powered mx3's (including mine) nobody seems to know anything about bushing kits or SRD products.

I ordered the SRD shift bushing for my mx3v6 and it fitted great! few days later I went to the garage to have a mechanic fit The SRD front control arm bushings (see picturebelow) becouse I cant do that myself, when I got back to pick up my car the the guy said the bushings did not seem to fit the ones whith the rounder top was to slim according to him and the other one (with the ring) was to long so he said...

I found one other guy on our forums who had these bushings but he didn't get to fitting them yet... I assume guite a few of you here have got these things or other aftermarked bushings fitted so hopefully you know more. I posted a picture below to show the bushings ant the specific sizes of them.

Thanks very much for any help! ( I ordered all the bushings from corksport.com)


Shot with DSC-P8 at 2007-07-28

[Rikmx]

so the big questing is ofcourse: is the mechanic right? and how do I find out?

not a lot of fun when there is a problem with a part ordered from overseas with high shipping costs involved

[lakersfan1]

The ones with the tapered ends (39mm) go on the rear of the A-arm with the taper facing the back of the car with stock nut and stock washers on the tapered end.

The shorter bushings (38mm) go on the front A-arm. Look at the stock bushings to see which side has a thicker lip so you know which way to press that one in. That shorter bushing gets that blue washer pressed on the opposite end.

Use Energy Suspension grease on the bolts that go through the bushings. Also use it on the endcaps that will be making contact.

Kick you mechanic in the nuts.

[Shades]

Actually the rear bracket that houses the bushings are different in the different years.

I had this problem too... you gotta find an MX-3 that has the rear bracket that holds the bushings that fits the bushing.

The bigger brackets actually have a bushing that is oil filled, for vibration.

Good luck, go hit your junkyard!

[hoffman_BMX89]

the ones with the tapered end were loose on my car they just ploped right in i had a lot of peoblems with squeeks when i installed these and i didnt really notice any performance gains in my opinoin these things are s--- and i wouldnt recomend then thats just my 2 cents

[nope-mx3]

We also had problem with the bushings being to slim.
Had to get a "bushing" made to make them fit tight.
(a pipe if you understand. something that spaces out to make it fit...
Dont remember the correct term )

With that installed, it`s awesome.
Turns in really tight, big improvement over stock bushings.

-nope

[Rikmx]

Actually the rear bracket that houses the bushings are different in the different years.

I had this problem too... you gotta find an MX-3 that has the rear bracket that holds the bushings that fits the bushing.

The bigger brackets actually have a bushing that is oil filled, for vibration.

Good luck, go hit your junkyard!

any idea what year mx-3 I have to look for? mine is a 1991 v6

[PATDIESEL]

I wonder if there is a difference in the E spec MX-3s lower control arms. Mine fit perfectly. My OEM bushings were liquid filled. I own a 93' MX-3. I pressed the bushings out, used a dremel to remove the remaining rubber from the inside of the bushing hole in the control arm and pressed the new bushings in. Very tight fit. They did squeek, but I wasn't using the correct grease. Now that I've changed the grease they squeek a tad, but not anything like what they did before.
Also, there are two bushing sizes fpr the front control arms listed at the place that makes a full set of bushings for our cars (cannot remember the name, but a quick search will pull it up). So, obviosuly there is some difference in years or locations.
Luke at SRD owns a V6. I don't know the year, but he modeled the bushings off his control arms.

[lakersfan1]

I had a little initial squeeking with the provided grease, and ALOT of squeaking a year later. I just redid with the Energy Grease and now I have ZERO squeaking in the fronts.

[Mooneggs]

I ordered the SRD shift bushing for my mx3v6 and it fitted great! few days later I went to the garage to have a mechanic fit The SRD front control arm bushings (see picturebelow) becouse I cant do that myself, when I got back to pick up my car the the guy said the bushings did not seem to fit the ones whith the rounder top was to slim according to him and the other one (with the ring) was to long so he said...

Thanks very much for any help! ( I ordered all the bushings from corksport.com)

did corksport not include the instructions? I am wondering if your mechanic pressed out the inner ring instead of leaving it... can you take some pics of what your control arms look like? along with pics of your rear brackets for the control arm? I'm assuming your car is at the shop taken apart?

it sounds like your mechanic tried to put the bushings in the wrong spots! LOL - although that is not very funny... I'll try and scan in those instructions sometime this week - they are very easy to read and understand with pictures.

[Rikmx]

the mechanic took one controlarm off and took a good look at the stock bushings and the new srd ones, he then concluded that they didn't fit... he put the original controlarm back on and he did look through the instructions <-- thats what he said (i wasn't there)

would it help if I shoot a picture of a control arm while its on the car? I read that these bushings fitted perfectly on a 93 mx3, mine's a 91 and I beleve they made some changes somewhere in 94 so if they fit a 93 they should fit mine and if they dont... from what year car should I get controlarms on a carjunkjard?

thanks for the tip on the energy grease!

[Mooneggs]

I forgot I had some pics uploaded of when I did mine... not sure if they will help or not maybe to compare to yours?

driver's side front



passenger side front



driver's side rear