im sure by now some of you guys with higher mileage s14's are starting to experience shifting subframes and that phantom 'clunk' that comes and goes.
since my chassis has about 211k mi on it the bushings have seen much better days......
i decided that solid subframe mounts would be too hardcore for the street and that lockers wouldnt help much as my actual bushings were destroyed, so i decided to go with urathane bushings.
ES doesnt specificaly make a bushing kit for the s14 chassis but the one from a z32 will work, but you will have to accept some changes.
some of the changes are that the bushings are taller than the stock ones are requiring the use of diffrent nuts because of lack of thread engagement (using stock ones only yeilds like 2 turns, not good on a suspention component).
before you go out make sure that you have 4 new m10x1.25 nuts to go in place of the stock subframe nuts, would suck to get 1/2 done only to find out that you are SOL and without a car; grade 8 nuts or higher here only.
removing subframe:
1. jack rear end of the car up and place jackstands for proper support, you are going to be underneath the car quite a bit so safety is VERY important; dont forget wheel chocks.
2. remove wheels.
3. unbolt brake calipers and ziptie out of the way, unbolt ebrake cables from the subframe as well as from the calipers, it helps to release the ebrake cable.
4. remove driveshaft bolts to differential, remove shock mounting bolts to hub and unload the hubs from the shock.
5. place a large hydraulic jack underneath the differential, a trans jack is very useful here, jack to unload the subframe nuts.
6. remove subframe nuts (2 in the rear and 3 per each side for the front).
7. slowly lower subframe down and remove from underneath the car.
removing subframe bushings:
there are many methods to doing this but the easiest (but messiest) way to get them out is to burn them out so thats what i will cover here.
1. remove as much rubber material and center pin from the mounts.
2. using a torch, light the rubber on fire and make sure to burn off the rubber bumper rings.
3. whip out the good old wire wheel brush on the drill and remove ALL the black rubber you see on the bushing 'shells'.
the front bushings are a bit diffrent than the rears and need to be treated diffrently, sooooo here goes a bit into that.
4. remove the remnants of the 'middle ring' from the subframe shell (tis plastic so it may have melted....).
5. wire brush the bushing shell so you can see the upper 'shell' and lower 'ring'
6. using a sawzall or dremmel tool CAREFULY cut the 'ring' till you hit the subframe inner wall, just put a slit in there so you can cram a screwdriver into the slit and pop the ring out, takes some work but it will come out if you do this, DONOT CUT THRU TO THE SUBFRAME JUST THE RING.
7. using a hacksaw or a dremmel tool cut thru the upper 'shell' enough to collapse it into its self and remove it from the subframe, again DONOT CUT THRU TO THE SUBFRAME, be careful here.
8. give the bushing holes a once over with the wire wheel and remove as much rubber as you can, pereferably no rubber in any holes.
installing bushings:
1. follow directions that come with the ES kit, diffrent bushings for each position.
**use copious ammounts of urathane safe grease, it helps TONS.**
after installing the subframe bushings, all that is left to do is remount the subframe into the car and follow the reverse procedure for removal.
again you need to use diffrent nuts on the subframe as the stock ones will not allow for enough engagement.
go for a rear wheel alignment to make sure that everything is in check and enjoy the feeling of a more direct but not super harsh subframe.
since my chassis has about 211k mi on it the bushings have seen much better days......
i decided that solid subframe mounts would be too hardcore for the street and that lockers wouldnt help much as my actual bushings were destroyed, so i decided to go with urathane bushings.
ES doesnt specificaly make a bushing kit for the s14 chassis but the one from a z32 will work, but you will have to accept some changes.
some of the changes are that the bushings are taller than the stock ones are requiring the use of diffrent nuts because of lack of thread engagement (using stock ones only yeilds like 2 turns, not good on a suspention component).
before you go out make sure that you have 4 new m10x1.25 nuts to go in place of the stock subframe nuts, would suck to get 1/2 done only to find out that you are SOL and without a car; grade 8 nuts or higher here only.
removing subframe:
1. jack rear end of the car up and place jackstands for proper support, you are going to be underneath the car quite a bit so safety is VERY important; dont forget wheel chocks.
2. remove wheels.
3. unbolt brake calipers and ziptie out of the way, unbolt ebrake cables from the subframe as well as from the calipers, it helps to release the ebrake cable.
4. remove driveshaft bolts to differential, remove shock mounting bolts to hub and unload the hubs from the shock.
5. place a large hydraulic jack underneath the differential, a trans jack is very useful here, jack to unload the subframe nuts.
6. remove subframe nuts (2 in the rear and 3 per each side for the front).
7. slowly lower subframe down and remove from underneath the car.
removing subframe bushings:
there are many methods to doing this but the easiest (but messiest) way to get them out is to burn them out so thats what i will cover here.
1. remove as much rubber material and center pin from the mounts.
2. using a torch, light the rubber on fire and make sure to burn off the rubber bumper rings.
3. whip out the good old wire wheel brush on the drill and remove ALL the black rubber you see on the bushing 'shells'.
the front bushings are a bit diffrent than the rears and need to be treated diffrently, sooooo here goes a bit into that.
4. remove the remnants of the 'middle ring' from the subframe shell (tis plastic so it may have melted....).
5. wire brush the bushing shell so you can see the upper 'shell' and lower 'ring'
6. using a sawzall or dremmel tool CAREFULY cut the 'ring' till you hit the subframe inner wall, just put a slit in there so you can cram a screwdriver into the slit and pop the ring out, takes some work but it will come out if you do this, DONOT CUT THRU TO THE SUBFRAME JUST THE RING.
7. using a hacksaw or a dremmel tool cut thru the upper 'shell' enough to collapse it into its self and remove it from the subframe, again DONOT CUT THRU TO THE SUBFRAME, be careful here.
8. give the bushing holes a once over with the wire wheel and remove as much rubber as you can, pereferably no rubber in any holes.
installing bushings:
1. follow directions that come with the ES kit, diffrent bushings for each position.
**use copious ammounts of urathane safe grease, it helps TONS.**
after installing the subframe bushings, all that is left to do is remount the subframe into the car and follow the reverse procedure for removal.
again you need to use diffrent nuts on the subframe as the stock ones will not allow for enough engagement.
go for a rear wheel alignment to make sure that everything is in check and enjoy the feeling of a more direct but not super harsh subframe.
