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| Nigel |
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Howdy all.
I missed out on the group buy for the Nolothane bushes. However, I scored a deal on a complete set on SuperPro Bushes for the EF. Got them 2 months ago. I also ordered a complete set of Ultima Shock absorbers for $220. Finally got it all in last night, and to be honest, the car is a different beast. Steering is light and direct, no tramlining. Nothing. Just a neutral car. I wish Id done this on my last car!. Its awesome. Like having a 2005 model. The only problem was that I couldnt get the two bushes out of the front lower control arm. Nigel |
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| PIMP_LTD |
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You will need to press out the LCA bushes.
Yes they make a huge difference. Alot of people can buy a car thinking it drives great, and then do the bushes, and the difference is massive. The car will drive even better. Bushes are very important, and i need to change a few myself, can't wait to.
_________________ Commodore australia's favorite car??? What a load of s**t |
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| Nigel |
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I got one of the shops down the road to do the LCA's.
On the EF, they are a 2 peice, both pressed in I beleive. Anyway - my 6 tonne press no go there - and a few dollars later I had two arms. All is nice.. Veery nice |
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| raff-26 |
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well, what a great thread!!! I was going to post something similar but i wont waste my time
 ...I also have an EF Ghia, and believe I need to replace the Shockers and all the Bushes and plastic bits from the front end.
Question:- Where do I buy all this from for a reasonable price? Also what is the best brand of shock's to put on?? I put pedders sports riders on the Sedan EB but feel they are way to firm. For the Ghia I want a more subtle feel I think. Also, providing I purchase the parts- how much can I expect to pay to have Shocks, and new bushe's , ball joints etc installed???
_________________ EF Ghia 5L V8 |
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| snap0964 |
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Nigel wrote: I scored a deal on a complete set on SuperPro Bushes for the EF. Blue or Red ??? Nigel wrote: The only problem was that I couldnt get the two bushes out of the front lower control arm. The EF/EL front LCA bushes are huge compared to the EA-ED ones.
Getting some one to remove them is probably the best option - I used an angle grinder to remove the rubber closest to the arm on each side, this was so I could split and remove the rings on each side, then hacksawed through the shorter side, then used the angle grinder to round down the bigger side to get a pipe to fit over it, then pressed it out in an engineer's vice - about 1.5 hrs work per arm. Took about 2 minutes to put the new bushes in . . . 
I went the superpro blue on both my cars - not much harsher than stock rubber, but certainly makes the cars more stable, along with much improved steering. Ultima shocks made a fair difference - certainly cheaper than monroes, and a better mileage for warranty purposes. Out of the front suspension, I found the radius rod rubber bushes seem to wear the most, so replacing them would be mandatory. It was a good opportunity to replace the upper and lower ball joints too.
_________________ 96 XH Longreach 'S': LPG, Alarm, 3.23:1 LSD, Cruise, Trip Comp, ABS, Power Windows, Mid Series Dome Lt, Climate Ctrl |
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| Nigel |
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Thats exactly what I did - Superpro blue all round. Such an improvement, and like you said all the new ones just went in in 2 mins.
Whole car update cost me $700. Very Happy |
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| snap0964 |
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Funnily enough, I found the front upper control arms the hardest - I had to chamfer the leading edges more to get the new bushes in - otherwise they'd just skew off.
_________________ 96 XH Longreach 'S': LPG, Alarm, 3.23:1 LSD, Cruise, Trip Comp, ABS, Power Windows, Mid Series Dome Lt, Climate Ctrl |
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| Nigel |
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LOL - I got the superpro camber kits and dropped them straight in - nothing to do there! That was nearly the easiest.
Actually the second worst bit was the Shock lower mount - the bolt had become one with the rubber bush, and wouldnt come out. Had to drop the arm and strut as a complete unit and use the press. The rest - was just time. And was interesting too |
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| Grimketel |
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try doing it on an au, about 60-70% of all bushes needed pressing. took me and my mate abt 11 hours to do all bushes springs and shocks, coz we didnt have the right tools to press with, even though he had a 20t press, it wasnt designed to fit the odd shapes of the different arms. what a s**t of a job, but what an iprovement. going lower in the back than the front made it handle better too. just with the lsd unit in it now, cant go hard in the wet or its a minimum 180 degree turn lol. at least with the single pegger it had one wheel to have some form of grip lol.
it will still roll when pushed but not much, which is good coz you know you are closing in on the limit. bigger sway bars and it would sit flatter than kiera knightleys abs.
_________________ enough isn't enough |
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| Nigel |
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I pressed most of em, but I only had a 6 tonne press.
Yeah it was a bastart, but with such a big improvement who cares. I didnt lower mine though - I have the full ticky body kit and it will scrape too much if I do it. Also has higher SAF at the moment |
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| twase |
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I am doing this next weekend, I did a practice run today on some spare LCA and spindles I had.
I found that the easiest way to remove the LCA inner bush is with a drop saw and metal cut off wheel and trim it just short of the metal insert then press whats left out. The Ball joints arn't fun either.
_________________ BF Fairmont Ghia Series II update. |
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| snap0964 |
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Nah, can't say I'm a fan of the ball joints.
You can chamfer the leading edges of the splines of the new ones - not too much. Makes them easier to press in. I took the boots off the new BJ's and outer tierods too - packed them with graphite grease, the existing grease looked like it wouldn't lubricate a door hinge.
_________________ 96 XH Longreach 'S': LPG, Alarm, 3.23:1 LSD, Cruise, Trip Comp, ABS, Power Windows, Mid Series Dome Lt, Climate Ctrl |
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| twase |
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Ended up getting them pressed in at repco, the new ones were never going in by hammer. Did get the old ones out no problem. Superpro bushes and ball joints have eliminated the steering wheel wobble I have had for the last few years at 110KPH. Booked in for a wheel alignment and new tyres today.
_________________ BF Fairmont Ghia Series II update. |
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| efLIAM |
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lol i just did the same thing to my ef futura. lol ultima lowered shocks all round and all new Superpro blue. so much more fun to drive, she loves getting out sideways now oh and i also got my hands on front and rear white line sway bars. she sits dead flat now, i only felt a little bit of role when i get it sideways. also while i was doing all this i changed leads, spark plugs, coil pack, oil in motor and trans and put a BA air intake with a k&n pod filter in the air box. so much of a differance.
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