I need some bushings bad. Is this a hard job? I read mix reviews in the search.. I was hoping I could knock this out in half a day... do-able? Seems like a nice fix for $70. My heart is telling me to go with the aluminum ones, that way I never have to do it again.

 

thats what i would do. i have the Derlin ones, and could not love it more. getting the old ones out is the fun part.

 

I have aluminum ones, can't remember where they came from. After install the rack would still move up and down about 1/8". I shimmed it so now there is near zero play.

Any replacement is an improvement!!

 

Car up on stands, drop rack cover, drop rack (PS lines and U-joint can stay attached), polish press to push old rubber centers out (or napalm), cold chisel and a hammer to collapse the old bushing inserts, install the split delrin bushings, button up and presto.

 

They can be a real bitch to get the old ones out if they are in good shape.

 

BradW is the master at removing the old ones. Removed mine in less than 3 minutes. Air chisel does the trick. I had the delrins from Roger in my last car....made a huge difference.

 

I installed the Delrins even though the old original ones were firm. They still sagged some. As Rob suggests, it's not too tough. The cold chisel or the air chisel is the question I guess. I have tthe air chisel but have also done some serious damage with it. Intentional, but if you aren't ready for how it works you can nick up some surrounding parts pretty fast. So a sharp cold chisel and a hammer are usually the DIY solution with less chance of screw-up and collateral damage concerns.

In advance of the project, invest a can or two of spray engine cleaner on the oil sump, crossmember and rack area. The crossmember and rack are the logical catch points for almost all fluids that escape from anywhere above the oil pan drain plug. Road crud sticks to the accumulating fluids, building layers of gooey asphaltic mess under there. Get it cleaned in advance and your project will go a lot smoother and the language in the work area will be more, um, civilized.

Rob's description of the Polish Press is a couple sockets and a C-clamp to push the guts of the old bushing from the outer sleeve. Samll socket that will pass through the sleeve, bigger socket on the other side, big enough for the old bushing guts and the smaller socket to fit inside. Assemble, tighen the clamp, loosen the clamp, dumt the old bushing guts. Repeat for the other three old bushings. The sleeves are thin steel, ends rolled over to hold them in the aluminum rack ears. That sharp chisel gets used to collapse the sleeve. A few good whacks with the hammer gets it started, then clamp the remaining parts with a Vise-Grip, twist, remove. Repeat on the other three.

With the new bushings installed, I found that the rack sat up a little higher. Enough to make it worthwhile checking and adjusting the front toe settings on my car, which sits up in the actual factory height range. Most cars have sagged out of that range, so moving the rack up will have a bigger effect on toe. Go drive the car with the new bushings for a bit to get things settled again before you make toe adjustments, of course. Don't forget!


I think I did mine in less than an hour, using the lift, air tools for the bolts, and the air chisel set on 'stun' for the bushing sleeves after getting the lips rolled out a bit by hand. No cleaning involved in that time, but that time did include belly pans R&R. I think I replaced a couple plastic ties on the way, for the electrical harness to the starter. Alignment time was additional.

 

I have the big Snap-On long stroke, the BAD boy, running at 145 PSI, and it would not touch the last ones I did, damn things were in there.

Pushing the centers out was not going to happen on this one, I thought it was going to break the ear off of the rack.
Shocked me how tight they were.

I ended up folding the top over, a little at a time, making cuts in it and folding the next 1/8 inch and repeating.

The point I am trying to make, is that on a good fresh rack they are not going to just drive out with a air hammer.

 

Go the delrin versions - perfect feel for steet use

 

I have the solid bushings from 928MS. About to order a second set for my second 928. They are awesome. Felt like a totally different car after installing them.

 

One of the best, cheapest mods for steering feel IMO. It really makes an appreciable difference.

 

The 'new' 2-piece design that holds the rack tight both vertically and laterally are an excellent design innovation [eh Roger :-) :-) ].

 

The latest design is the 8 piece set with bushes that are inserted from the top and the bottom to ensure no vertical movement - thanks to DaveO. $72 for either Delrin or Aluminium.

 

Half a day should be no problem. You'll spend more time cleaning than changing them. YMMV

Here is what I used. I drilled the rubber all around to make it easier to remove the centers. Good luck.

 

If you take a cape chisel and bend the top part back and fold it in on its self, no need to take the centers out.
To me, that is the quickest way.