Crossmember bushings

[scandinavian link]

Looking at picking up some bushings for the st165 in hopes of getting rid of some clunks/chatter. Pretty sure I will order sway bar bushings (even though there are PU on there already, this way I know they are fresh/good), as well as new end links, and control arm bushings.

I see xiiimotorsports (and possible BRD) have crossmember bushings as well. Has anyone here installed them? How involved is it? Did it feel worth the $100 or so for the set?

 

[scandinavian link]

This was probably a pretty dumb/obvious question in retrospect, but Luke at xiiimotorsports sent me a response I'll leave here for anyone else that is curious in the future:

"These bushings are actually easy to install I would say a level 3-4 out of 10. You can support the crossmember with a jack or take the front off then the rear, you should be able to slip the parts in using a pry bar by flexing the engine mounts slightly. Loosening up the bolts for the mounts to the cross member will get you a little more room."

Of course, if anyone here has experience with them, I'm still interested in your thoughts.

 

[grip-addict]

I have these
https://gt4-play.co.uk/shop/front-crossmember-polybushes on my st185 only by virtue of my factory rubber bushings being completely demolished. They work great but I haven't noticed a major difference in drivetrain movement since Installing them. They will however last a very very long time and they are not difficult to install. It's probably the same part between xiii and gt4play and brd but I would recommend double checking that if it's important to you.


Remember that every car has different quirks and levels of abuse, but the single best thing I did for mine was replace the ailing rear diff cushion. I could feel the whole drivetrain move every time I shifted beforehand, and now it's super tidy and firm. Hopefully your car doesn't need that since it's a bigger job and will take 1-2 days depending on whether you want to do other things in the area or not.

 

[scandinavian link]

The xiii ones are aluminum. PU may be better since it's not a race project or anything. I haven't actually inspected the factory bushings yet, but I'm assuming they are shot.

Guess I should check on the rear, I know they are notorious...but since it seems like the racket I hear is up front, I was focusing on the front. But sounds like I'll need to make sure it's also good if it can let everything move. My shifting does feel a bit sloppy. I don't know that the whole thing is moving, but it's not firm by any means. Of course, I haven't really driven the car enough to have a great feel for everything yet. Unfortunately there are rumors of snow tomorrow...so they'll probably dump salt out today/tonight, so driving season is probably over.

In reality, I probably need to plan to replace all rubber bushings/cushions/mounts.

 

[grip-addict]

Sounds like closer inspection of as many bushings as possible is due. Good luck

Alum vs poly on the cross member bush really shouldn't matter too much. As long as it's firm and connects the engine cradle without slop, both would function the same I'd expect.

 

[underscore]

I had poly engine mounts and aluminum crossmember bushings but I took both out because there was a lot of vibration at idle. I'd go poly for the crossmember if your stock ones are toast but I wouldn't put the aluminum into a street car again.

 

[scandinavian link]

I had poly engine mounts and aluminum crossmember bushings but I took both out because there was a lot of vibration at idle. I'd go poly for the crossmember if your stock ones are toast but I wouldn't put the aluminum into a street car again.

I wondered about this. I wasn't sure if the crossmember bushings would affect vibration much, or if that'd mainly be the mounts. But yeah, it makes sense that it would transmit more. I'll make sure mine are shot before I replace them, even with PU.

I have no desire for excessive vibration. My '02 GT-S got 3 new mounts when I had 6th gear repaired. Monkey Wrench Racing used a non-OEM on the passenger side for some reason - OEM on the driver & rear - and it vibrated terribly. I bought an OEM and replaced the passenger side and it felt great. I got a refund on that mount from MWR.

Point being they weren't even PU mounts but having one that wasn't great gave enough vibration to tell me I probably would hate stiffer mounts in anything.

 

[underscore]

Thinking about it more there's no way to know for sure which was more responsible for the vibration, but I still don't really see a reason to make them solid since they're quite small and can't move very far anyways. It's kind of an odd setup since the north-south crossmember has bushings but then it bolts to the east-west crossmember which is bolted very solidly to the chassis.

 

[yyonline]

As long as your left and right engine mounts are in half-decent shape (not falling apart), you do not need to support the engine when removing the cross members.

@underscore Interestingly, only the All-trac crossmembers are bolted together. On the AT180 and ST184, the two cross members do not have the bolt going between them.

 

[underscore]

That is interesting. I would've assumed my 184 had the bolt too but it's been a long time since I last took the crossmember off one of those.