Complete Bushing Guide for BL/BP

[Nonamedude]

That time of month ? Just want to know exactly what benefits I can expect from the various after-market options. (And whether the OEM parts are discounted or not is irrelevant).

 

 

There are plenty of threads discussing nvh, handling, difficulty of replacement for different materials or locations. This is literally an informational thread to list bushing locations and various options for replacement parts.

 

If you look into covertrussians other extremely detailed posts, there are step by step instructions and most even have opinions on post install changes.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ttnio]

A troll?

[RustyShackleford]

A troll?

Blow me. Did you notice I asked if I was thead-jacking and then removed most of my posts when people told me to look at some of @covertrussian other posts for my answers ?

Edited August 9, 2021 by RustyShackleford

[covertrussian]

So, another dumb question ...

 

The various after-market bushings listed here (WhiteLine etc) are FAR more expensive than the OEM ones. Convince me they're worth it ...

 

It depends on the bushing location AND what your goals are, if comfort and cost is the primary reason then stick to OEM or OEM style (notice I didn't say longevity). If handling, ease of install, and longevity is your preference AND you don't mind some extra NVH, I would always go with higher cost, better engineered Poly bushings (AVO, SuperPro, Whiteline, etc). I personally hated lower cost poly bushings like ES or Prothanes, they were very rough and would squeak a lot since they don't have grease retention tech that higher cost bushings would.

 

Now I mentioned bushing location earlier, our Subaru's front lower control arm rearward design is trash: the bushing is mounted vertically, while the arm movement is horizontal. To prevent the arm from binding the bushing needs to be very compliant and tends to rip in no time. I believe a well engineered aftermarket bushing is a must for that location (I like AVO's and SuperPro's design the most, it has the least amount of binding even compared to Whiteline).

 

If you go a couple inches forward to the front bushing, that one doesn't try to defy the laws of physics, thus tends to not go bad often. My main reason for replacing this one is because when it does go bad, it's easier to install poly, they are only marginally more expensive, and you can torque them in place without the suspension being loaded.

 

Anyway back to hiding for me, gotta live up to my name .

[Guest]

It depends on the bushing location AND what your goals are, if comfort and cost is the primary reason then stick to OEM or OEM style (notice I didn't say longevity). If handling, ease of install, and longevity is your preference AND you don't mind some extra NVH, I would always go with higher cost, better engineered Poly bushings (AVO, SuperPro, Whiteline, etc). I personally hated lower cost poly bushings like ES or Prothanes, they were very rough and would squeak a lot since they don't have grease retention tech that higher cost bushings would.

 

Now I mentioned bushing location earlier, our Subaru's front lower control arm rearward design is trash: the bushing is mounted vertically, while the arm movement is horizontal. To prevent the arm from binding the bushing needs to be very compliant and tends to rip in no time. I believe a well engineered aftermarket bushing is a must for that location (I like AVO's and SuperPro's design the most, it has the least amount of binding even compared to Whiteline).

 

I really disagree here. I think SuperPro (and AVO) design is garbage. The separate rings have tendency to get squished and disintegrate.

 

Group N - while OEM design with harder rubber lasted issue free many years and tens of thousands of miles in my car. I'd really recommend these. Also noise and maintenance free.

[RustyShackleford]

Thank you (and @covertrussian) for the non-abusive posts :-)

 

Group N - while OEM design with harder rubber lasted issue free many years and tens of thousands of miles in my car. I'd really recommend these. Also noise and maintenance free.

 

What is "Group N" ? I see the earlier post, but it doesn't really describe them.

 

I decided on the Mevotech aluminum arms. People on the other forum seem to think highly of the bushings (that come pre-installed in them). There's some controversy about the ball joints; some have reported premature failure, the manufacturer blames it on improper installation (beating on them to get to fit into the knuckle), and others say they had a bad batch and it's been remedied. At any rate, recently installed, they shouldn't be too hard to replace if need be.

Edited August 19, 2021 by RustyShackleford

[Guest]

Group N are OEM/STI accessory parts (i.e. sold by Subaru). They are meant for Group N racing and meet their regulations.

 

Most (if not all) are only JDM only, but there are vendors who import them.

 

These are like stock, solid rubber much harder than stock. Stock bushings are soft rubber and some are even liquid filled rubber.

[covertrussian]

I really disagree here. I think SuperPro (and AVO) design is garbage. The separate rings have tendency to get squished and disintegrate.

 

Group N - while OEM design with harder rubber lasted issue free many years and tens of thousands of miles in my car. I'd really recommend these. Also noise and maintenance free.

 

The design part that I really like of the AVO's and SuperPro's is the concave design, which allows the arm to articulate without binding the bushings. The rings that you mention are a legitimate failure point though, I haven't had issues with mine YET, but I probably only have 20k miles on my Outback (which is used for Highway and off-road duty though).

 

No experience with Group N, they were too expensive for regular rubber design and don't offer caster adding options, thus they were not a consideration for me personally.

[subiejew]

This list is amazing thankyou for that. I was looking to replace the bushings in the subframe that go to the body hopefully with the group N. Do we know if they are available or if there are ones that are the same off of one of the other model cars?

[subiejew]

On 2/28/2021 at 4:44 PM, mra32 said:

I am doing a few more rear subframe bushings and found out the following regarding a these bushings.

 

The bushings that mount the rear subframe to the body of the car seem to be a little hard to find, and ultimately I went with Powerflex for these and the rear diff rearward bushings.

 

Powerflex will tell you the subframe to body bushings will not fir the BL/BP but they do fit and they are listed on the BL/BP webpage even though its not on the diagram. Use these at your own peril

 

Powerflex Body to Rear Subframe Bushings: PFR69-417

elgin.owens had a few helpful posts regarding this bushing in this application here: https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/rear-subframe-bushings-254353p2.html

 

 

I also found after the fact that energy suspension offers polyurethane bushings for this application as well: 19.4102G for black and 19.4102R for red.

 

These are cheaper and if you are averse to the color purple or want to deal with a company from the US (this comes up in a minute, bear with me). I happen to like purple and these are probably the most hidden bushings on the car, so color isnt a big deal.

 

For the Rear Diff Rearward bushings, I got the Powerflex PFR69-416, which is actually listed for the car, but I cannot recommend these bushings at the moment. These bushings, with the inner sleeve installed are about 0.010" too small on the OD. I called Powerflex here in the states and they have to forward this to the parent company in the UK before i get a response. Since all these bushings are cast, I would think that all of these, at least from the last run are the same size.

 

I tried the subframe to body bushing in this hole since subaru designed this bushing with the common 59.50mm housing and that one fit great, and those bushings with the sleeve installed measured 59.65 to 59.80mm

 

Again I am waiting to hear back from Powerflex but I would be pretty upset about this if I wasn't doing this on a spare subframe and had to get the car back together to go to work or drive my kid to daycare.

 

 

Also, quick tip for rear subframe bushings:

I used a modified version of my tried and true method to get bushings out when not using a press. The way that usually works for me is holesaw the center out from both sides, sawzall through the shell, hit the shell out. Most suspension bushings will take about 5 min each this way and use pretty normal tools.

 

Since the subframe bushing is so long and the center sleeve is so large, a holesaw isnt really useful. You can heat up the inside of the sleeve until the rubber starts to sizzle, push the center tube through the now slick rubber, then cut through the shell and hit it out.

So I am trying to figure out some alternative bushings for the sub to body. Im assuming your measurements are the length so what is the with of the opening?

[DutchBP9]

Has anyone tried the bushing for the ST WRX part number 20204FG000 as upgrade bushing for the front LCA? Should also feature anti-lift.