they probably put the things in wrong...or just didn't know what they were doing.

I think those kits only come with 3/4 of the bushes in the car. Its not everything.

Plus you will have to spend mega $$$ pressing the old bushes out and the new stuff in.

The parts that JOSE got were a f**k load better than whats in the kit, and a f**k better value too. Trust me.



Sorry I missed your phone call on the weekend. Was outside piss f@rt around with my s**t.

But good to see all the work paid off. I do remember saying it would transform your car, so I'm guessing it's all 110% worthwhile.

I kitted out my whole car, i had an xf, which is now basically written off .

But i rebushed everything on the car using nolathane, ever single bush,and that cost me $300, then i bought a 27mm whiteline front sway bar, for $179. i GOT THOSE AT TRADE, not sure what retail is, but my go, that was the best money i spent on that car, i would like to spend that on my new ef, my xf used to handle like it was on rails, that couple with a 4.0l 5spd, was a tail happy mofo, i'm going to miss that car *cries*.

Muff

any pics?

Of what?

what do you want pics for? they are just bushes

I was gonna get the nolathane set from Alted I think it was...was just over $700 supplied for the works I think....then a reputable suspension shop wanted just under a grand to fit em cause for a while im not gonna ahve the time....so I thought hmmm think that can wait quite a while then

if your even remotely mechanicly minded do it yourself, even on your driveway with a jack and stands i couldnt see it taking more than 4hrs to do a whole car (front end could be fun though!) ill write up a short doco on what to do (may be a teeny bit sketchy) OR if anyone in geelong would like me to organise the install for them, i could do it for say $200

here we go, DO NOT correct my grammar or spelling, technical corrections are welcomed though

Nolothane kit install EA-EL sedans

Parts:
Rear:
rear swaybar bushes (1 bag D bushes, 1 bag end bushes)
watts link bushes (1 bag end bushes, 1 bag centre bush)
replacement upper and lower trailing arms
Front:
front swaybar bushes (1 bag end bushes, 1 bag D bushes)
radius rod bushes (1 bag Kframe bushes)
upper arm bushes (1 bag)
replacement lower arm
Misc:
3-4 bags of lithuim grease and a dozen nolothane stickers in amongst the other bags

Notes:
Remember where all washers go, you dont want any left over
Remember the orintation of all parts, you dont wan anything in back to front
DO NOT, open all the packets before beggining
Carefully match each replacement bush to the one you just removed
any bush packest that come with a little packet of lube require it (put it on the inside surface of where the bush goes in, and on the OUTSIDE of the brass?? sleeves that go inside the bushes

Preparation:
Jack car up, if doing rears first jack it up by the diff pumpkin and place car stands under the chassis rails at base of lower trailing arms, i suggest placing your rear wheels just infront of the stands (under rear doors) so if the car falls, youve got extra protection. let jack down so diff is hanging unsupported.
if doing the front first jack up by the middle of the Kframe and place stands under the chassis rails somewhere approximatly inline with the firewall let the jack down untill the car is on the stands but still holding a bit of the weight.

Rear:
Undo bolts at both ends of the upper and lower trailing arms but leave them in for now, remove the rear swaybar (on the rods that connect it to the chasis you wil have to undo the nuts from both ends, use a shifter or vicegrips to stop it turning) replace the trailing arms one at a time (makes things easier to get in and out) Noting the instructions supplied in the packet. after this is done replace rear swaybar bushes, then undo the watts link bolts and replace bushes (the bush in the centre WILL have to be pressed in and out, you can be creative and make something up out of a large bolt, or find a workshop to do it. Check that all nuts and bolts are done up (bushes should bulge slightly on the ends of the swaybar.

Front: (may be slightly more vague than the above)

undo your lower shock bolts, balljoints (you have to "Shock" these out - a few good bashes on the lower control arm will do it), swaybar mounts and radius rods and then the bolt for the control arms that hold it into the Kframe, DO NOT undo the rack ends
remove the lower controll arms NOTING WHICH SIDE IS WHICH! ,swaybar and radius rods.

Cut the front of the radius rod bush off that protrudes through the front of the Kframe, put a 10-15cm bolt through it and use a prybar against the end of the bolt and against the diamond shaped window in the Kframe to pull the rest of the bush out.

Replace the radius rod bush, (note instructions), replace the lower control arm (the lower control arm may fight you going, in just hit it with a hammer), radius rod and swaybar+bushes, do everything up nice and tight.

NOW i didnt actually replace the bushes for the upper A arm, but i suspect you'd just have to compress your springs, and undo the bolts, remove the arms, replace the bushes and reverse the procedure (maing sure you put the arms back on the right way - (whos owning up to that mistake?????).

Afterwards:
Have a good look at everything to ensure that you have done up all bolts, and that all washers are in place. put your wheels back on and go for a drive!

for front upper a arms you don't need to compress the springs, as long as they are held in by the strut.

Yep - WHEN the Nolathane stuff f**k out just replace it with Superpro bushes and she'll be sweet.

Personal experience: I replaced my top trailing arms with Whiteline ones (basically Tickford type ones - ie. you redrill the bolt holes on the diff brackets and the arms themselves are scolloped to make clearance on the diff) which of course came with Superpro bushes. A bit later I had a mechanic replace the lower arm bushes - I asked for Superpro but like most useless prick motor tradespeople nowadays the a***hole didn't do as I asked and instead fitted Nolacrap - sorry, "Nolathane" bushes. Couple of years later I get an odd "thrumming" thru the car - within a day or so there's "clunking" from the rear on the way to work. When I park the car I hop out and look underneath to see bits of red plastic scattered about under the diff - ie. lower arms have NO BUSHES left in them AT ALL!!!! Top arms still perfect. Now she's all Superpro and done more than double the time/distance it took for those red s**t things to fall apart and still perfect.

If they were installed properly, there is no reason why the bushes shouldnt last as long as any other urethane type bush. They typically wont last as long as rubber.

And when I mean install properly, were the bolts tightened when the suspension was at its normal ride height? Were they greased correctly?

Well perhaps the mechanic didn't install the Nolathane bushes correctly - but they weren't noisy or exhibiting any strange behaviour before they failed - and I've heard of many other people having similar experiences over the years. Hey, if people want Nolathane they can knock themselves out - all I'm saying is I've had better EXPERIENCE with Superpro.