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So, this is time for ‘big buddy’, main rear trailing arm bushing, stress by stress, time by time, he need retirement…

Long time ago, Honda doesn’t supply trailing arm bushing separately, they sell entirely trailing arm set! When need to replace? Should check it after 50 000km, but it depend on how you handle your car, modification and the road condition. These bushings are responsible for rear stability, so make sure it always takes a good responsible!

DISCLAIMER: I can not say this is the best or safest way to do. I am not
responsible for any thing you damage, or what ever harm you cause to
yourself or others. This is how I did it and it worked for me.

Some prefer to use Honda/Acura trailing arm bushing removal/extractor (refer the picture below), the benefits is, only need to remove several bolts and you can remove and replace the bushing with the trailing arm still in the car, save your time, the con is, this special tool is a little bit expensive and you need to wait for a long time to use this secret weapon again, except you are full-time car mechanic. And other extremely technique is, to used hammer! I witness this on YouTube. But I prefer to remove entirely trailing arm and take to the machine shop to press the bush.

This schematic take from service manual show where exactly the trailing arm doing the job, the biggest and most powerful arm! Show also the torque spec.

Honestly, this maintenance is very easy and straight forward job, our mission is to remove/deattach anything that connects/attach the trailing arm to the body, necessary only, take the first step, remove the caliper shield.

And next is to remove the parking brake cable, remove the lock pin, clevis pin and clip.

Next step is to remove the brake caliper, only two caliper bracket bolts (orange circle), that all.

Remove any bolt that attach brake hose at the trailing arm.

Remove the compensator arm, one side bolt only…I remove bolt that connect compensator arm to the body, yeah, this is sure will mess with the toe alignment, but it more easier to remove, because the are lot of work space for me. Just do the marking point.

Then, remove the upper arm self-locking bolt.

Remove the trailing arm bushing bolts.

Toing! Remove parking brake cable bolt that attaches to the trailing arm.

And lastly, remove the lower arm self-locking bolt. Easy and straight forward right? Like my texts.

Men shopping time! I recommend you to measure your original old bushing diameter, there are two type of diameter for OEM Honda,

The small diameter bushing is part number 52385-SR3-000. It’s outside diameter is 3.170 inches (80.52mm)

The large diameter bushing is part number 52385-SK7-N02. It’s outside diameter is 3.352 inches (85.14mm)

Goodbye old buddy, take a deep rest, please don’t show your sadness face to me.

The complete trailing arm set.

The oldest one is more thick than the new one, I wonder why Honda reduce it size. From physically and design, the old one look like more rigid and will not allow minor movement, the new one is more flexibility and maybe didn’t keep hard stress and more comfort riding, maybe less for duration and durability, who’s know? There is one another  important factor to consider, the material it self. So, time will speak…

But, there a are another option, aftermarket part! This text I copy from my previous post –> There are many topic people around the world discuss about bushing, but what take my attention is, which one material is better, OEM rubber or aftermarket polyurethane (PU)? For my opinion, each other have their own advantage and disadvantage, polyurethane will give extremely durable, maintain steering geometry, enhance handling & ride characteristic and many more than stock rubber, but it will cost you twice or tree! Two friend of mine change fully bushing to polyurethane and they say there is no problem, the only problem is price,  I also read about people experience with  PU, almost say, it’s too hard for daily driving or family car, and sometime make squeaking noise, and have to re-grease with special grease, there are many brand out there, my friend recommend me Superpro bushing, I also read people choose hard rubber than poly and OEM rubber, for me OEM rubber bush is always fine,  it depend on what your car for, mine is only for daily and street driving, so, I will stick with OEM rubber bush.<– End of copy

Also, you have to consider, about total motion that a suspension has to move through!

Before pressing, measure and remember the correct position (which side is above and below) of the old one. Some prefer to mark when the arm still in the car, on the wheels and sitting on the ground if you lowered the car, to prevent constant pre-load twist that could lead to early breakage because of the bush will twist a little degree from the standard setting, that the great point, but for me, I need to consider about my coilover, how much I lowered my car, road condition (bump and crack), the passengers, the motion of cornering and the bush design it self to handle all the motion, because it dynamically, so I will stick with the natural position.

This is the great chance if you want to replace the compensator arm.

After installing the new one.

Reassembly all back together using reverse step, install the compensator arm bolts close the the the original position (toe adjustment), but, I highly recommend you to do wheel alignment, because wear bush alignment of cause not to match the new one. This procedure also could be use to converted from drum brake to disk brake, just replace the hand brake cable.

After test drive : Improve hard braking, cornering and can handle bumping road better.

I snap this picture after I do alignment and run for 100km, while the car still on the wheels, sitting on the ground and no driver or passenger load, just want to check the position of my trailing arm bush.

The result, almost the same position when the trailing arm still hanging.

So, today I decided, front bushing time! For warm up, we’re looking for some fact;

From the late 1987 (fourth-generation)  - 2000 (sixth-generation) civic, Honda applied a double wishbone suspension, normally used in Formula 1 racing machines and prestige vehicles, to a mass-produced model for the first time. The result was an excellent balance of handling stability and superior comfort.

The advantage of a double wishbone suspension is that it is fairly easy to work out the effect of moving each joint, so the kinematics of the suspension can be tuned easily and wheel motion can be optimized. It is also easy to work out the loads that different parts will be subjected to which allows more optimized lightweight parts to be designed. They also provide increasing negative camber gain all the way to full jounce travel unlike the MacPherson strut which provides negative camber gain only at the beginning of jounce travel and then reverses into positive camber gain at high jounce amounts.

Double wishbones are usually considered to have superior dynamic characteristics as well as load-handling capabilities, and are still found on higher performance vehicles. Examples of makes in which double wishbones can be found include Alfa Romeo, Honda and Mercedes-Benz. Short long arms suspension, a type of double wishbone suspension, is very common on front suspensions for medium-to-large cars such as the Honda Accord, Peugeot 407, or Mazda 6/Atenza, and is very common on sports cars and racing cars. Source : http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Double_wishbone_suspension, http://world.honda.com/CIVIC/technology05/,

And including my fifth-generation, that’s why I love my Honda. Some people say, the system is too much for small car. But, another fact is, the advantages will come with the disadvantages too, the disadvantage is that it is slightly more complex than other systems like a MacPherson strut. Due to the increased number of components within the suspension setup it takes much longer to service and is heavier than an equivalent MacPherson design.

To maintenance the superior level, it must be superior care too, how do I know if my bushes need replacing? I rather use my eyes than suddenly hear with my ears.

DISCLAIMER: I can not say this is the best or safest way to do. I am not
responsible for any thing you damage, or what ever harm you cause to
yourself or others. This is how I did it and it worked for me.

Looking around, there wear, this wear, that wear…

Must take out the ‘wishbone’ itself…

Nothing to worry, nothing to fear…

Must to believe in our self….

Jack up the car and remove the wheels, my goal is to remove entire lower control arm (LCA).  Remove the bracket that hold the sway bar, first remove the bolt that I mark with * at the picture, because the bolt also tie the LCA bracket too. And then remove the other bolts…

Remove the sway bar end link …

To remove the Honda LCA ball joint, I highly recommend you to using ball joint remover, that make your life easy, because Honda ball joint is superior tight, some people may prefer use hammer or ‘jack technique’ .

Be careful not to damage the ball joint boot.

Now, time to go men shopping!

For sway bar end link bushing (Malaysian people called it satay), I use satay (what the funny name) from Honda Accord SM4 (no special reason, just because my dealer didn’t have stock for SR3/SR4).

I go to machine shop and replace all the LCA bushing using press machine,

This is a picture after bush replacement, cleaning and repaint process, look like new! I’m excited to install it back and test drive.

To install sway bar bush, you need to cut it (look at the picture) except if you can do the black magic. Refresh the damper fork and self-locking bolt grease.

Some fact; A sway bar or anti-roll bar or stabilizer bar is a part of an automobile suspension that helps reduce the roll of a vehicle that is induced by cornering or road irregularities. It connects opposite (left/right) wheels together through short lever arms linked by a torsion spring. A sway bar increases the suspension’s roll stiffness—its resistance to roll in turns, independent of its spring rate in the vertical direction. The first stabilizer bar patent was awarded to the Canadian S. L. C. Coleman of Fredericton, New Brunswick on April 22, 1919. Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sway_bar

If the LCA is hanging extended when you tighten the bolts, the bushings will wear out prematurely because they are preloaded when sitting in the normal resting position.  As a generic rule suspension bolts should be tightened with the car’s full weight on its wheels.  If you don’t, the bushings are tightened in a twisted position and will wear out.  To load the suspension, rest the weight of the car on ramps.  You could use a hydraulic jack to raise the suspension arm in relation to the body (this also puts the arms in the correct position) but be very careful to not carry the weight of the car on the jack – this could cause the car to shift or fall down!

Reinstallation is the reverse of removal, DON’T FORGET to put the cotter-pin back, the picture show the cotter-pin correct position. Just remember to tighten the suspension to the final torque in the loaded position.  To do this, install suspension bolts loose (not even wrench tight), rest the car on ramps, and then tighten the bolts to their final torque.

Torque Spec,

Put back the wheel and do tire alignment.

After test drive : Wow, feel so refresh, car going smooth and rigid at the high RPM, improve cornering.

This is normal maintenance. Small job, straightforward…

This piece is called engine stopper rubber but some people called it engine mount, used to absorb vibration from your engine at the both site (left and right) especially when launch time or changing gear, so, it will effect engine torque a little bit.

Jack up the car and remove the tires on both sides.

I started with the right side, open the splash shield…

Wow! Now I know why my engine dance sometimes…

Before remove it, gently and slowly jack the engine up using a piece of wood on the jack to distribute weight evenly on the oil pan and also at the gearbox.

To remove it, very easy job, straightforward until I’m too lazy to write on…

Same goes to right side…

Worse!

Horrible and disaster!

Replace with the new parts…

 All done, throttle response is back and so is smoother gear shifting. Car is also quieter at idle now with fewer vibrations. 

For an introduction, I would to say, this is not “how to do” page,  this is the way I do, I strongly recommend you to read the factory service manual in the first place.

Recently, my rear suspension (right side) makes some noise, especially when I take a hard corner, but it only happens sometime, people say, it is a good practice to cure the small plague before it comes bigger. And I also want to service my rear brake disc, cleaning, refinishing disc, change brake pad, re-paint and re-grease,  so, I take the 1st step,

DISCLAIMER: I can not say this is the best or safest way to do. I am not
responsible for any thing you damage, or what ever harm you cause to
yourself or others. This is how I did it and it worked for me.

1. Loosen the wheel nut slightly, then raise the car and support on safety stands (I used three stand, back, left, right). Put something in the front tire (front and back side) to make sure there is no movement. SAFETY FIRST.

I look around, So, there are some bushing problem, my absorber and upper arm bushing has been tear and shred, there are many topic people around the world discuss about bushing, but what take my attention is, which one material is better, OEM rubber or aftermarket polyurethane (PU)? For my opinion, each other have their own advantage and disadvantage, polyurethane will give extremely durable, maintain steering geometry, enhance handling & ride characteristic and many more than stock rubber, but it will cost you twice or tree! Two friend of mine change fully bushing to polyurethane and they say there is no problem, the only problem is price,  I also read about people experience with  PU, almost say, it’s too hard for daily driving or family car, and sometime make squeaking noise, and have to re-grease with special grease, there are many brand out there, my friend recommend me Superpro bushing, I also read people choose hard rubber than poly and OEM rubber, for me OEM rubber bush is always fine,  it depend on what your car for, mine is only for daily and street driving, so, I will stick with OEM rubber bush.

But for now, I want to service my brake system, my rear brake disc surface has a some groove and need to refinishing, after measurement, it still in standard 9.00mm (max refinishing limit : 8mm).

• Do not spill brake fluid on car; it may damage the paint;  if  brake fluid does contact the paint, wash it off immediately with water.
• To prevent spills, cover the hose joint with rags or shop towels.
•  Clean all part in brake fluid and air dry; blow out all passages with compressed air.

2. Remove the banjo bolt and disconnect the brake hose from caliper, don’t worry about brake fluid, after sometime brake fluid will stop flowing. It’s a good idea to have something to catch the excess brake fluid that will drain from the lines. For example, half of empty mineral bottle. And also remove the caliper shield as well.

3. Remove the two caliper mounting bolt (8mm flange bolt 23Nm (17lb-ft)) and the caliper body from the bracket. Remove the pad spring from the caliper body.

4.  Remove the lock pin and clevis pin. Remove the cable clip and disconnect the cable from the arm.

5. Check the piston by rotating the piston back in a little bit (it also in further to fitting new brake pads), it supposes to rotate smoothly, check also piston boot for crack or tear. It’s very easy to disassemble, but, will give you painful to make it piece back (trust me).

6. Remove the two caliper bracket bolt (10 x 1.5mm 39Nm (28lb-ft)).

7. The next process is to remove the disc. I try to remove the two Phillips head screws (6mm brake disc retaining screws 10Nm (7.2lb-ft)) that secure the rotor to the hub but it’s so tight (maybe because the rusty and never be open since born) and the disc will rotate for every attempt. So I decide to remove the whole set! Remove the hub cap, then raise the locking tab on the spindle nut (185Nm (134lb-ft) it should be replace after open it, but I don’t:-P) then, I remove the hub unit with the disc still stick with.

But, the problem is still the problem ‘THE STUBBORN SCREW’. I spray antirust, try to remove using the an impact screw driver and it’s work! Another option is to using ‘chiseling screws technique’.

8. Then, I refinishing the disc about ±0.2mm using Lathe machine. Then clean the hub and disc from the rust and paint using high temp paint.

9.  Disassemble the caliper body (except piston). Clean all parts. Wipe the grease off and put the new grease at the pin and boot pin. Seal the hole and painting time!

10. Bushing section : Replaced with the new upper arm and shock absorber lower bushing right and left.

11. Reassembly all back together using reverse step, to install new brake pads, rotate the caliper piston clockwise into place in the cylinder, then align the cutout in the piston with the tap on the inner pad by turning the piston back. And I also replace the brake cable (this is the most painful process). Make bleeding the process and wheels alignment. Now, it’s time to rolling again!