With the front strut mount bushings collapsing again what is a good replacement???

[desertg8]

The dealer replaced them once under warranty. But with 50K on the odometer they can no longer do that. It is not part of the power train. So what is the best system to assure that the bushings will not collapse?

[terryscott621]

Lovell's (http://www.kollarracingproducts.com/servlet/the-16/04-dsh-06-GTO--08-dsh-09/Detail) seem to be the cheapest, comparatively, and they include the bearings as well with their kit. IMO, the poly bushings from the various different manufacturers accomplish the same thing.

[AVIDMOTION]

I am in exactly the same situation, dealer replaced about a yr ago, I have 51,888 on the odometer, I heard BMR had ones that would never need to be replaced again. Mine does not look like Montys or SpeedRacers, mine are sitting up off the car by a good 1/4 inch. So I need them soon. What is the symptoms of the collasping strut mount and bearings?

[Chewy]

1/4" is about right actually... Pedders or BMR's are better than OEM. Pedders are single density hard rubber and look identical to stock but stock have a softer rubber inside, and BMR's are poly. I've had the Pedders on mine for about 18,000 miles with NO issues!

Chris

[SpeedRacerX]

I am in exactly the same situation, dealer replaced about a yr ago, I have 51,888 on the odometer, I heard BMR had ones that would never need to be replaced again. Mine does not look like Montys or SpeedRacers, mine are sitting up off the car by a good 1/4 inch. So I need them soon. What is the symptoms of the collasping strut mount and bearings?


1/4" is about right actually... Pedders or BMR's are better than OEM. Pedders are single density hard rubber and look identical to stock but stock have a softer rubber inside, and BMR's are poly. I've had the Pedders on mine for about 18,000 miles with NO issues!

Chris

Yeah, before mine were replaced they were up about 1/2" to 3/4". The higher they are, the more collapsed the bushing is.

1/4" is nothing.

[AVIDMOTION]

Oh cool, they were replaced last yr, but when I saw your post(speedy) and pics I thought the round part had to be touching the metal on the bottom and mine is definately 1/4 in up not toughing, though I do not have any issues except steering wheel shake at speed with light braking(deposits on the rotor) I like the Lovells that come with the bushing.

[texn884]

Is this something I could do myself or does a real tech need to replace them? I seem to recall that mine always looks like they do now.

Sorry for the carpy Iphone pics
http://i871.photobucket.com/albums/ab271/texn884/05b114fa.jpg
http://i871.photobucket.com/albums/ab271/texn884/41f84eb7.jpg

[desertg8]

i saw the lovells. around 150 with the bearings. they sell an entire spring, shock kit for 895 or so. but you can count on atleast another 500 in labor if you are not doing it yourself.

[texn884]

Can the bushings be replaced by me or does it have to go to the shop?

[Chewy]

Can the bushings be replaced by me or does it have to go to the shop?

That's a hard question to answer M8!

I don't know if you have an aptitude for wrenching. If you do, it's not that bad. Drop strut assembly down and replace the bushing/bearing assembly. It's actually pretty easy.

Your's are TOAST!!! Don't be surprised when your car sits higher in front.

[SpeedRacerX]

Can the bushings be replaced by me or does it have to go to the shop?

Just need to buy or rent a spring compressor tool. They're cheap'ish.
I think it took "Monty's" mechanic 1 hour to do both but he had a lift that made it a little easier.

[Monty]

Yup an hour, but of course there was a lift, air tools and a spring compressor. Actually it's not that hard the one thing we did was I held the whole rotor and caliper assembly tight against the strut while he tighten the bolts so he didn't have to do an alignment.

I used the BMR bushings. Unfortunately BMR didn't have the bearings in stock but the GM dealer had them. The bearings are pressed in by hand and because they're plastic and been on the car so long they're not worth trying to pry them out.

[hulkss]

I bought Moog K6515 for $79: Moog Bushing (http://www.autopartstomorrow.com/parts/501375-f-strut-mount)

Moog BS: MOOG’s superior-quality strut mounts feature:

Superior rubber-to-metal bonding
Enhanced rubber rebound and durability
E-coated steel parts
Only OE/OES-style bearings are used.

http://www.autopartstomorrow.com/system/image_files/000/296/346/large/K6515.jpg?1295972192

[dandragonrage]

Go with Lovells. I'm running them and they are perfectly fine. The job is easy to DIY. I did the control arms myself as well as Koni shock inserts - which meant cutting up my stock strut package to install the Koni's inside. But doing the bushings+bearings alone would be very easy. You'll simply need a spring compressor and some various wrenches.

I'd recommend anything poly, and Lovells particularly just because they are priced better than BMR and Whiteline.

[hulkss]

From the LS1GTO site: "Go rubber unless you like the feeling of crashing over every bump and expansion joint you hit. I had poly, just too hash for me. Single bumps were not too bad, multiple bumps, or expansion joint type were horrible. The best I can describe it was that the car would "crash" over them before the suspension would react. When I say "crash", it would transmit that initial harshness throughout the car. Loudly! With the rubber there is just enough give to get rid of that before the suspension reacts."

[desertg8]

hulkss, i went with the softer ones you ordered. is that green item the bearing? i have never seen these apart. thanks for the insight. how long do our original struts last and what is a good replacement stock strut for the front and/or rear?

[Slizzo]

I bought Moog K6515 for $79: Moog Bushing (http://www.autopartstomorrow.com/parts/501375-f-strut-mount)

Moog BS: MOOG’s superior-quality strut mounts feature:

Superior rubber-to-metal bonding
Enhanced rubber rebound and durability
E-coated steel parts
Only OE/OES-style bearings are used.

http://www.autopartstomorrow.com/system/image_files/000/296/346/large/K6515.jpg?1295972192

Are these in pairs, or $80 per? I need front LCAs done (AGAIN! Third time...) and I figure may as well have these done as well since mine are at the point where they're sort of shot.

[desertg8]

good question. i think they are sold individually. surpriseingly they gave me another 8 off and free shipping. 71 by following hulkss link. and they do include bearings. just ordered some new tires today also. all season high performance 245 45 19 conti dws. free gps system also. man the money i spend.

[GRRRR8]

Having installed them all, Whiteline are the best and they come with the bearings.

[Slizzo]

Having installed them all, Whiteline are the best and they come with the bearings.

Got a linky from a site vendor Charlie?

[AVIDMOTION]

Also explain "best". Meaning lasts forever or does not crash/slam/bang on bumps or best price etc. Everyone brand seems to have good pts and bad too. Some poly is not as hard as others some i would like to get poly for the longevity but not at the cost of bump control.

[GT Drew]

I second that. Define 'best'. Who's poly has the lowest Duro number.

[todds87ss]

I will disagree with the increase in NVH as previously posted. Running Lovells on my GTO and have none of that, but it makes much less noise over bumps than it it before. If it looks like a stocker (pedders, moog, etc...), it'll wear like a stocker (require replacement eventually). I know that poly does not give as much as rubber, and that replacement will result in a mount that does not "give" as much. In this application, it's not that big a deal - much like switching to poly on the sway bar links.

[-Ray-]

I had Pedder's put on my car with 3500 miles on it. It has over 40k miles now and zero issues. Don't ask me who made the bushings.

[Eidolon]

I've got BMR poly strut mount bushings on my car and have no complaints. Took me an hour and a half to do the first strut and then a half hour to do the other (the first was a learning exercise). My stockers hadn't collapsed that far, but I decided to go ahead and put in the new bushings. I didn't really notice any increase in NVH or roughness over bumps. Then again, I've found I like the more connected feel, so YMMV.

[texn884]

I am going to have them changed when I replace the struts and go with the GXP FE3 set. Yes the front does sit up a bit high now. Would the lowering springs be a good addition when I have this done?

[Panzer Leader]

To summerize:
CREATE A MATRIX: Use 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest

DURABILITY RIDEABILITY HANDLING COST

Lovels
Mogg
Pedders
BMR
Whiteline

[Ben2009GT]

I am going to have them changed when I replace the struts and go with the GXP FE3 set. Yes the front does sit up a bit high now. Would the lowering springs be a good addition when I have this done?How much you paying for the GXP FE3 set front/rear? I went with Lovells and Eibach pro springs and haven't look back,

[Slizzo]

Who has the whiteline ones for sale? Charlie's word is good enough for me, and I'd rather buy them from a site vendor than not.

[1meand]

A few threads down Auto Agenda has Whiteline bushings.

http://autoagenda.com/chassis-suspension-12235

[BLKG8]

I thought whiteline and lovells where the same??

[AutoAgenda]

I thought whiteline and lovells where the same??

True.

[GRRRR8]

Auto Agenda has them. :)

To help clarify what I was saying: Having installed MANY Pedders strut bushings, everyone including mine seemed to compress or collapse in a very short period of time. Some of this is caused when the outer ridges of the bushing just get worn out. The Whiteline bushings do not have these ridges, fit the tower cup securely and maintain their shape. I only have 5,600 miles on my car and the Pedders bushings are just as worn as my factory bushings were at about the same amount of mileage.

[Panzer Leader]

Thanks Charlie!

[LDM]

Charlie, do you have an opinion on the BMR bushings? They were the ones I was looking at before you mentioned Whiteline.

[GRRRR8]

I haven't had any issues with anything from BMR. I just prefer the Whiteline after using them on the last few installs.

[LDM]

Thanks, good to know. Just to clarify though, are you talking about strictly the strut tower bushings, or does the same hold true for all Whiteline bushings in general?

[todds87ss]

Auto Agenda has them. :)

To help clarify what I was saying: Having installed MANY Pedders strut bushings, everyone including mine seemed to compress or collapse in a very short period of time. Some of this is caused when the outer ridges of the bushing just get worn out. The Whiteline bushings do not have these ridges, fit the tower cup securely and maintain their shape. I only have 5,600 miles on my car and the Pedders bushings are just as worn as my factory bushings were at about the same amount of mileage.
Perhaps they need to "uncompress" occassionally??? :)

[locrzn#92]

I'm about to install the BMR's with my new lovell struts/shocks. I hope they last longer then the stocks did. I also have had a lot of BMR suspension parts with no issues and thats one reason I bought the bmr's. I think they might raise my car in the front some since mine stocks are so worn out. Charlie, does that make sense to you. I know a couple guys had that problem. Should you always install the bearing when you do the bushings?

[roman1978]

i am going to go with BMR mounts and GXP struts

[MoonPie]

Mine are raised up as well but I notice nothing, really. No steering wheel shake no matter what speed I'm at. I do have the Pedders strut tower brace. Still, that couldn't be compensating for collapsed bushings, could it? I mean lthey are raised enough you can tell but so far no other signs of worn strut bushings.

[AVIDMOTION]

What do you feel if the strut bearings/bushings are worn out? Like how do I tell if mine are going or gone, I have 58000 miles on my car, stock ones were replaced at about 25000 miles with new stock ones under warranty.

[Slizzo]

Auto Agenda has them. :)

To help clarify what I was saying: Having installed MANY Pedders strut bushings, everyone including mine seemed to compress or collapse in a very short period of time. Some of this is caused when the outer ridges of the bushing just get worn out. The Whiteline bushings do not have these ridges, fit the tower cup securely and maintain their shape. I only have 5,600 miles on my car and the Pedders bushings are just as worn as my factory bushings were at about the same amount of mileage.

Thanks Charlie and 1meand.

Just so I'm clear, this is what I'm looking for to replace the shot (stock) items on my 43k mile G8? http://autoagenda.com/2008-g8-whiteline-plus-strut-mount-bushings-w-bearings-%28pair%29

[todds87ss]

What do you feel if the strut bearings/bushings are worn out? Like how do I tell if mine are going or gone, I have 58000 miles on my car, stock ones were replaced at about 25000 miles with new stock ones under warranty.
You will hear the front end "clunk" over uneven road. You can tell if they are worn by comparing stock height to current height. May be a challenge for you as you already have different tires that may have affected this measurement.

[AVIDMOTION]

http://m1217.photobucket.com/albumview/albums/joemastro6/2011-09-17_13-27-17_877.jpg.html?pbauth=1_uLEBonVPfaLdh1h3YMYz2U1fT du52KNOgEfGnHdmd4lOBYFDlNs1mYAog6B9nsQbHiEvoCQpFzL t5G1gomZpjAPkS3dlvLvmookHSXODb5RtImgb2ZSrNa%2FJQVF l8JNVZEOHxTHJ%2BZ42bXPFl%2F8e6Ylz5EOz%2Bm3m1BkNIrq U3sw%3D

[Slizzo]

http://m1217.photobucket.com/albumview/albums/joemastro6/2011-09-17_13-27-17_877.jpg.html?pbauth=1_uLEBonVPfaLdh1h3YMYz2U1fT du52KNOgEfGnHdmd4lOBYFDlNs1mYAog6B9nsQbHiEvoCQpFzL t5G1gomZpjAPkS3dlvLvmookHSXODb5RtImgb2ZSrNa%2FJQVF l8JNVZEOHxTHJ%2BZ42bXPFl%2F8e6Ylz5EOz%2Bm3m1BkNIrq U3sw%3D

Holy crap. Yeah that needs fixing.

[AVIDMOTION]

Suddenly my car has all kinds of problems, like an on going wobbling crank pulley, now going to be the third one, and on the way to complain at the dealers for that, when I popped the hood to show the wobbling pulley I heard a pop and noticed that strut mount(I was parked on a mean slope) so I drilled the dealer on that too. He looked it up, I had the strut cartridge/strut mount and bearing replaced at 18,000 miles, lower control arms replaced twice 18,000 and I think 30,000(the whole kit upper n lower etc) and serpentine belts x 2 also. They are ordering the pulley and belts and when they come in will call me to set an appointment. Still have to argue the strut mounts. If they wont replace(out of warranty but like I said was replaced- I never in all my cars with struts had to replace the mounts except when I changed struts after like 60,00 miles on my regal gs)my strut mounts and bearings I will replace with after market poly. So the big question- what brand is the best for over all longevity so I NEVER HAVE TO REPLACE again for failure? I am looking at Lovell's with free shipping. I have BMR diff and sub frame bushings and am happy with their quality too. Any opinions appreciated.

[GRRRR8]

With this type of bearing/bushing there is no such thing as never. However I do feel that Lovells/Whiteline bushings should go 100k......easily. The bearings might too, but that will all depend on how many things you hit, meaning potholes. The more harsh shots the bearings take it only stands to reason that they will fail eventually.

[-Ray-]

Holy crap. Yeah that needs fixing.

This^

[todds87ss]

With this type of bearing/bushing there is no such thing as never.

And this.
However, the longer you can keep the bushing from wearing/compressing, the longer the bearing should last. Make sure you go with poly, whichever brand you go with. Rubber, by it's nature, will compress and need replacing again.

[Eidolon]

If you're considering poly, don't let ride harshness be a worry that stops you. In my experience, the increase in ride harshness is minimal, if there is any.

[Tuclis]

I know this has been a while for the folks on here who have installed their new bushings, whiteline, bmr, lovell's, etc. How have they faired? I had my factory bushings replaced at ~33K, about 6 months have passed and I'm getting 1/4" gap again on the top bushing cap. Dealer says 1/4" is normal under vehicle load, but I'm starting to get a slight vehicle wander that went away when they replaced the bushings the first time. Curious to see how all of your different replacement bushings have faired over time. Thanks again.

[TailG8er]

Just got my Whitlines in today from Maryland and will have them in by the weekend, looking forward to getting them installed.

Fast shipping, thanks.

[joemomma]

I recently replaced the stock strut bushing and bearing on my car. Went with the BMR bushing kit from Summit and the Pedders bearing from Tick Performance. They were the cheapest at the time... It took about 5 hours to do the job, I took my time...

Stock and BMR bushing..
http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/q592/pklynch03/f05b0b45.jpg

Stock bearing fell apart after removing the bushing..
http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/q592/pklynch03/688247ed.jpg

[Eidolon]

Stock bearing fell apart after removing the bushing..
Mine did, too, first time I did it. The bearings aren't held together by anything, even when new, and can easily fall apart. Since then, I've found it easier to remove the nut holding the bushing in place, then get a flathead screwdriver up under the bearing to scrape it up remove it with the bushing. That way it doesn't come apart and scatter balls everywhere.

[WhatNext]

Dealer says 1/4" is normal under vehicle load, but I'm starting to get a slight vehicle wander that went away when they replaced the bushings the first time.

More dealer BS - Two dealers gave me the same response so I replaced the factory bushings with poly and the tracking tightened right up. Just like the first time you had the bushings replaced.

When the strut bushings crush, they allow some side movement too. This allows the top of the strut to move around. Well, that isn't good for the alignment.

[Napalm]

With this type of bearing/bushing there is no such thing as never. However I do feel that Lovells/Whiteline bushings should go 100k......easily. The bearings might too, but that will all depend on how many things you hit, meaning potholes. The more harsh shots the bearings take it only stands to reason that they will fail eventually.

exactly.

however I do think part of the reason why some of the stock ones don't last long has to do with the boat ride. Same thing with the GTO's.

[nasty_g8]

smh, Im replacing mine with oem ones. lowered the car on h&r springs this past weekend and when we took off the first mount the bearing balls fell apart. We cleaned them up and regreased the and put them back together and im riding with it for now...picking up the new ones from dealer today and installing them tomorrow. Gonna probably go with poly lovells next time

[Napalm]

I ended up buying road safe rubber mounts with bearing from Kollar Racing products.

Basically its the same or similar rubber mount and a new bearing set. Was the cheapest overall replacement and I like the rubber for NVH reasons since I DD my car.

I had poly on my GTO and I do believe they transmit more noise into the car frame. Meanwhile - I don't expect the struts to outlast the. Incidentally I bought a GXP strut kit for the car too.