I have just been looking over the energy suspension home page

http://www.energysuspension.com/fdt2.html

and found a bushing kit that seems to include replacements for all the bushing including front/rear control arm, front and rear sway bar, and body mount bushings.

My question is... how difficult are the control arm bushing replacements to do? Is this something a weekend mechanic with simple hand tools can handle?

My front end is starting to show its age and I think this might be the answer to tighten everything up!

Also... if anyone has done the full kit, what was your reaction to the ride it gave you?

Thanks one and all for GREAT info in this forum!

 

I have installed this kit on my 97 4wd Expedition. You have to remove the entire suspension to do this. Upper, lower control arms, Torsion Bars if 4wd, rear links (4ea). The Torsion Bars do not like to come out of the lower control arms so easy!. The Control arm bushings are not easy to remove either. I got the bushings out of the control arms with a piece of large rod stock, and large 3/4 in drive sockets. I installed the new ones the same way. I never did get the torsion bars out of the lower control arms, I just worked around them.

The rear are much more difficult, as the rear bushings are a rubber core with a metal bushing inside, and a metal sleeve on the outside, which is staked! I had to cut the stake with a high speed, and then using my 12 ton press, try and push them out. It took me 3 hours for one bushing!

A complete alignment, not check, but alignment adjustment will have to be completed afterwards. Mine was about $125 or so. The upper control arms control the camber, and no matter how you mark, they will be out of adjustment.

I replaced the shocks, ball joints, steering tie rods, pitman arm, idler arm, and steering box as well. If you are going to have it all apart and spend the money on the alignment!

Good luck, if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Vincent

 

a64armt:

Thanks for the reply... sounds like a bear of a job! (probably well above my limited mechanical reality!) I guess I'll just change the bushings and links on the sway bars for now, and maybe change the shocks to Bilsteins...

Thanks again for the info