Chevy Camaro Suspension Bushings - Along Came Polyurethane

On the bottom arm, things were no different. Not only was this bushing shot, but nearly half of the bushing rubber was M.I.A. Check it out: you can actually see the light of day right where the tip of the orange arrow is because the bushings has rotted away. I think I know where that knock was coming from whenever I hit a bump or hole in the road.

When the inner metal sleeves are pressed in glue is applied to the outside of the sleeve to help it remain in the bushings. By heating up the inside of the sleeve it burns off the glue. When smoke starts billowing out of the sleeve it means the glue is burning off and its time to remove the sleeve by prying it from the bushing with a screwdriver.

As for the bushing still left in the arms, spray some WD-40 around the area and push the bushing out with a screwdriver.

Along with the bushings being shot, every single dust cap was also shot. The OEM bushings are made up of a metal base with a rubber cap at the end. Along the upper rim of the metal base, the bushings were slashed open. Energy makes polyurethane replacement dust caps along with new bushings.

With all the bushings out, Bill used a wire brush to clean any out-of-control arm buildup in the housings.

One key aspect to running polyurethane bushings is that they need to be greased. Unlike rubber bushings, the Energy polyurethane bushings will sound like you have a squawking parrot under your ride if not properly greased. Energy supplies you with their Formula 5 Prelube, a special type of lubricant that is long-lasting, waterproof, and keeps the squeaks away. Before the bushings were put in, the control arm housings were lubed up.

Once the bushings are slid into place, the OEM inner sleeve is pressed in using a hand press. Just like the OEM application, the inner sleeve locks the bushings in place.

With the new Energy polyurethane bushings installed, the control arm was bolted back up to its mounting bracket and installed in the car.

When installing the new bushings in the lower control arm, there is an outer sleeve that needs to be pressed in.

Unlike the upper control arms, the lower bushings don't utilize the OEM outer sleeve. Once the sleeve is pressed out, the bushings can be lubed, installed, and the OEM inner sleeve can lock everything in place.

Since all we set out to do was rebuild the front end, the install is now complete,. All that's left to do is start putting the frontend back together and take the car to the alignment shop.