Rear suspension bushings for a 92 - Toyhead?

[JPaganel]

I have just finished replacing balljoints, sway bar links and motor mounts. The vibration that prompted this did not go away, but got better defined. I now have it isolated to the rear driver's side wheel wobbling. Looks like lower arm bushing is shot.

I did a search here, and all I could find was people replacing the entire arm for $140 or so. Then I looked around some online parts places, and came up empty. Everyone sells Energy Suspension stuff and they don't make Gen3 rear bushings, only Gen4.

Then I started googling for stuff and came up with this site:
http://www.toyheadauto.com/

He has tons of bushings for all kinds of Toyotas, including Gen3 Camrys. A set of upper and lower bushings is around $60. Way better than $280.

Anyone know about this company, or the products? Other places to get bushings?

[toyomoho]

www.rockauto.com lists control arm bushings and a control arm bushing kit. Call the up to confirm this is what you want. No doubt there are other places that have these.

[JPaganel]

I looked there. Here is what Rockauto lists:

SPICER Part # 5651207B More Info {RED-Service Grade}
Front Lower On Vehicle, Rear Position

$11.71 $0.00 $11.71

SPICER Part # 5651206 {Professional Grade Front}
Lower Front

$20.79 $0.00 $20.79

SPICER Part # 5651207 {Professional Grade}
Front Lower On Vehicle, Rear Position

$30.79 $0.00 $30.79

MOOG Part # K90041 {Control Arm Bushing Kit}
Frt Susp; Lower

$33.79 $0.00 $33.79


I am reasonably sure this is not what I am looking for, since I need rear, not front. Everyone lists these front bushings. Nobody I have been able to find lists rears. According to what has been posted here, the dealer does not list these bushings as a separate part.

[Mike Gerber]

"I did a search here, and all I could find was people replacing the entire arm for $140 or so."

I was one of them. I was never able to find the bushings and I needed to get the car (94 Camry) fixed right away, since our 98 had just been totaled, so I had to bite the bullet and pay the $140 to the dealer. Also, I wasn't sure how easy that bushing would be to press out and press the new one in. If you find a bushing kit for this generation I would be interested to see if they come with instructions on how the old bushing is removed and the new one inserted. Is a hydraulic press required? If you do find anything please post back here so we can all learn from your experience. Thank you.

Mike

[JPaganel]

My guess would be that some type of press and lotsa grease would be the means to remove old bushings and install new ones.

I don't know that a hydraulic press would be a strict necessity, maybe a balljoint press like this one http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=42236 can be used with an impact wrench.

Toyhead does list the bushings specifically for Gen 3, so I think I have at least one source. From his prices, looks like a complete replacement of bushings on all 4 arms would be around $120. Helluva lot better than replacing just the two arms for $280.

It's funny, but for being a seller of some pretty unique and hard to find Toyota parts, he only comes up once in a search of the entire site. Somebody referred to him as a source of window gaskets on the Celica forum, but did not mention whether they personally dealt with him.

I have emailed Rick at Toyhead for a shipping quote, we'll see what happens.

[JPaganel]

Originally Posted by JJJJJJ

I've been through this before.

You may have to burn out (with a torch) the old bushings and then press in the new ones...sometimes it's easier to buy the control arm from TRW, etc.

Well, that might not be a bad idea. See, I have a torch, but I don't have a lot of spare cash.


So, you have actually put in new bushings in the rear? How'd it go? What kind of bushings were they?

[JPaganel]

Well, so far I emailed this Rick guy at Toyhead 3 times (granted, the 3rd one was last night) and have not heard a thing. Either my mail or his replies are being eaten by spam filters, or he's not paying attention. Which sucks.

With his bushings I could re-do my entire rear suspension for around $200. Otherwise, that only gets me one lower arm.

I seriously can't believe nobody else sells this crap. WTF? And WTF is it with Energy Suspension? They make bushings for Gen2 and Gen4 and nothig for Gen3. And everybody on the net sells Energy Suspension and nothing else.

[JPaganel]

Originally Posted by JJJJJJ

Junk yard.

I'm tight on cash too, so that's my parts source.

Did that yesterday. Couldn't get the damn thing off, and that yard does not unscrew things for you...

[JPaganel]

Got a hold of Rick at Toyhead. Turns out he was on vacation. Once I got him, he sent me a PayPal invoice, I paid that, and got a shipment notification immediately.

The total, with shipping, was $118 and change. This is for enough bushings to re-do my entire rear end, including trailing arms.

I'll throw another update here once I get the bushings.

Meanwhile, I have borrowed a car to drive to work because I am afraid my teeth will fall out from the rattling...

[Svanzy Ya]

check this out...
similar order that JPangel has made...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

hey there

i need to know what you have for bushing kits so i can perform a full upgrade throughout the rear suspension of my 1994 Toyota Camry Coupe 4 cyl.
on your site i found a couple which i think will suit my needs:

Rear Control Arm Outer Bushing Kit - 0825K-(8 bushings, 4 tubes) $45.70

Rear Trailing Arm (a.k.a. Strut rod) Bushing Kit - 0823K-(8 bushings, 4 tubes) $55.57

now i already have an aftermarket rear sway bar and it has come with its own bushings but these two kits should be sufficient

now i live in Canada and my underbody has signs of rust so will it be difficult to remove the old worn out bushings and install the new ones or should they slip in and out with a little force?

also what will shipping cost to Cranbrook, BC, Canada V1C 2T1

i will use paypal

thanks

Mark D.



Hi Mark,

You will need a press to get the old ones out.

The new ones should go in easy cause of the 2 piece design.

Rear Control Arm Outer Bushing Kit - 0825K-(8 bushings, 4 tubes) $45.70

Rear Trailing Arm (a.k.a. Strut rod) Bushing Kit - 0823K-(8 bushings, 4 tubes) $55.57

Shipping $22.26 by air
-------------------------------
Total $123.53

Would you like me to send you a Pay Pal invoice by email for this order?

Thank you for writing, hope to hear from you soon.Rick Dormoi

[JPaganel]

The bushings came in the mail today. Now I understand why they are so hard to find. The company that makes them is in Australia.

I have to say, this was pretty quick. Rick must've had them in the mail the same day.

I will see if I can get my wife to take some pix when I install the bushings. If that pans out, I will post them here.

[Kevs Toy]

Ya, I've been to the company's site and nice to know that this Rick guy can get them. And they're priced reasonable too when you consider how much it must cost him to import them. I was worried they'd be sky high when I was on their site. I hope to go with their bushing repalcements on my 99

[JPaganel]

Ok. No pics, and bad news.

The bushings I got (and the only bushings Rick lists) are for the #1 lower arm. The #1 lower arm is the forward non-adjustable one. The bushing design of the adjustable #2 arm is radically different and there is no possible way to fit them in.

The #2 arms have bushings that are not just rubber cylinders, they are more like balljoints, with dust boots. The inner metal tubes have a spherical bulge and there is a matching hard plastic insert. The two outboard bushings on mine were rusty inside, which explains why they were loose.

Once I figured this out I ran down to the dealer and forked over the $280. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do. It really isn't that bad, considering the lack of the car payment and the fact that the new ones will likely hold up for another 15 years.

I sent Rick a note, so he will likely put a notice on his site about the bushings.

So, now it's official - if your Gen 3 rear suspension is loose, there is nothing you can do but cough up some cash. Incidentally, in addition to the cost of the arms, I will have to buy a new pair of tires. Driving with the loose rear gave the rear tires really interesting Z-shaped flat spots, which will make noise even with the new arms.

Also, I should mention that if you are planning on removing the #1 arms, you will have to drop the gas tank. The bolts that hold the inboard ends to the suspension member need a wrench on both ends to be unscrewed. The tank won't allow a socket to fit on the bolt, and even if you manage to unscrew it (it will be damn tight), the tank won't let you pull the bolt out. And to drop the tank you have to drop the sway bar.