well i found out that the Monroe mount kit is, well....... just a mount. no spring seat.

so looks like the mounts and so called mount kits are the same thing. the ones that say bushing not included are refering to the spring seat as the bushing. The mount contains a bearing.

So that then brings me back to confusion on which part is most likely bad. Is it the upper mount plate that has the 3 bolts and nuts on it, or is it the spring seat?


Travismail, did you keep any of the old control arms when you had them replaced? That would be great if you did, then you could order the bushing and change them so the arms are ready to go in when you start tearing the car apart. For the rear position bushing, it is my understanding is you need to press it out and press it in. I will soon find out how hard this is as I do not own a press, and will just have to try jumping on it several times.

 

For struts, I'd say it depends on your roads - if they're smooth, and you want performance car handling, get Bilsteins or Konis. But if the roads are rough, and you want some comfort as well as for chassis parts to last longer, I'd get the softer OEM struts - they will transmit lower impact forces to both you and the rest of the car. Car can still corner flat with IPD sway bar kit.

 

As far as stock rubber vs polyurethane, poly bushings tend to squeak if not lubricated properly and they may actually cause more noise to be transmitted into the vehicle from the road since they do not absorb like the rubber ones do. They will last forever though..

 

Just replaced control arms for the third time. This time, FCP recommended the Meyle branded product. Once I received them, I did notice that the bushings looked thicker and appear to be a better quality. FCP was good and said that they would warranty the other crappy ones with these. I have yet to send them the old ones so we will see but they seemed good about it seeing that I have swapped them out before.

 

wow! Third time? In how long has that been?

 

The ScanTech and FCP brand lasted only ~6 months to 1 year. Both have low quality bushings that crack and wear out very quickly. I just installed the Meyle units and they look much better with regard to all this installed bushings. I mainly have highway driving on the vehicle so they should have held up to that...kind of ridiculous that these things failed that quickly but hopefully these Meyles are much better. Even the OEM units lasted a good 8+ years.