How To Install-Poly Axle Housing Bushings ***Pics***

94GTCoupe

10 Year Member
May 7, 2006
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Today i'm installing Prothane's Poly Axle Housing Bushing's.
Ordered from Summit Racing,$26.94 shipped.
Part # PTP-6-309BL.

After much searching,it's about 50/50 for or against poly bushing's.
Some have had binding issue's,others have not.
I decided to give these a try.
Maybe i'll get some torque box reinforcements soon.

Tool's Needed.

1-Prothane Poly Axle Housing Bushing Set #PTP-6-309BL,Summit Racing $26.94
1-jack
2-jack stand's
1-drill
1-selection of drill bit's
1-19mm wrench(may be different)
1-18mm socket(may be different)
1-9/16 deep socket
1-ratchet
1-knife
1-small wire wheel attachment for drill
1-can WD40

Here we go.

REMOVAL

1.place wheel chock's in front of front wheel's.
raise rear,support with jack stands.
place under frame,not axle.

2.remove rear wheels.
you might not need to,but i like lots of room to work in.

3.here's the upper control arm(passanger side).
give it a shot of WD40,let it sit awhile.
just remove the axle side bolt.
rotate up and out of the way.
i used an 18mm on a ratchet and 19mm wrench,may be different if stock arms.
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3.mine were ready to go.
cracked rubber and the metal sleave came out easily.
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4.Do One Side At A Time!
the poly bushing's reuse the stock bushing shell's,so we'll need to cut out the rubber.
i used a drill to remove most of the rubber.
(some burn the rubber out.i have no torch,so i went this way.)
than,a knife to cut out enough to get my wire wheel in.
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5.next,i used a small wire wheel attachment on my drill to remove the rest.
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6.here it is all cleaned out.
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and here's the mess.
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INSTALL

7.for driver side install,first disconnect brake line brace.
need to move to the side to install poly ring.
loosen and remove 9/16 nut.
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8.with supplied lube,lube up the poly ring and install on small end of bushing shell.
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9.lube inside the bushing shell,make sure you save enough for the other side.
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10.place poly bushing in shell.
i used a small metal mallet to drive it in.
use medium blows,right in the center.
smear some lube on the face of the bushing.
(sorry about the dark pic's,flash did not go off.)
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11.wrestle control arm back on,insert bolt and leave loose.
reattach brake line brace.

12.repeat on other side.

13.with both sides done,and control arms loosely installed.
place jack under center section of axle,slowly raise until it raises car a fraction off the jack stands.
the reason for doing this,is that the suspension must be loaded before tightening control arm bolts.

LEAVE JACK STANDS UNDER CAR,INCASE JACK FAIL'S!

14.tighten control arm bolts

15.reinstall wheel's.

16.place car back on ground.
make sure you tighten your lug nuts!

17.all done!
 
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thank's guy's
driving around last night,the rear did not feel as loose as it was before.
definetly felt more solid back there.before i could really feel the rear end moving around in tight turns.
i did not notice any binding.

here's a link that i think does a pretty good job describing what exactly suspension bind is.

ELEPHANT RACING Tech Topic, Suspension Binding

we all know the upper control arm control the vertical(up down)motion aswell as trying to control lateral (side to side) movement of the axle.
the rubber bushings do a good job of absorbing this lateral movement.
the poly bushings are much harder and will not deflect as the rubber bushings do.
from everything i've read,this will put increased stress at the weakest point.
this being,the torque box's.
there are weld in,and bolt in Torque Box reinforcment's available from a number of sources.
 
Very nice write up! And great pictures.

Regarding the bind comments, would spherical bushings like the ones Steeda or UPR offer be a better choice than poly? I've been thinking about those, but it seems like a sphereical joint might make the lateral axle movement even worse without a panhard rod. Steeda markets theirs as being for hard-core drage racing use. Has anyone done those without a panhard rod and are they streetable?

Thanks
 
Spherical rod ends will reduce binding and are good for a drag racing application, but they'll transfer a ton more NVH into the passenger compartment. You'll probably also want to make sure you have some sort of torque box reinforcement, if you go that route.
 
Bump. I was curious what your impressions were now after having this mod for awhile. If you had to do it over again would you have stuck with the poly bushings or used the rubber ones?

Excellent thread by the way. Many thanks! :nice:
 
with the poly,i have not noticed any binding.
i drive pretty "spirited" and have had no problems.

would i do it again?
sure i guess:shrug:

but as of now,i have stock rubber bushings in the rear.
i completly rebuilt another rear with 3.73's that i am now running in my car.
 
Bushing install?
Not long from what i remember, certainly can have it done in an afternoon.

I'm in California, so i had no rusted/frozen fastener problems.

If you're in an area where rust is a problem, take that into account.