castor bushes question

[toey]

just have 2 quick questions that im hoping someone can answer for me. will lowering your car (vy ss) make the castor bushes ware out quicker then leaving it at stock height??

i only ask this because im pretty sure mine are shagged and car is in for service tomorrow and dealer will check it, they are covered by warrenty normally but since mine is lowered i want to no if they are effected by height.

if they will cover it i will get some superpro bushes and they can fit them (they have done this for me before). if they dont cover it ill do it myself.

so 2nd question is will the car need a wheel alignment after doing these bushes??

thanks

[troytroy]

1. It is very likley your castor bushes are shagged.

2. Technically, lowering the car shouldn't increase Castor wear significantly quicker (it will wear out Strut tops bushes quicker and Shock absorber wear quicker though). Although because the front suspension is all connected in some way - it would be easy for the dealer to refuse it under warranty. You could argue the point - but the burden of proof will need to be coming from you, and the chances of you contracting out a fully qualified suspension engineer to argue would be pointless in terms of cost gain.

3. Definately change them with SuperPro castor bushes.

4. Yes your car will definately need a wheel alignment.

5. I have recently just done this and posted up pictures on here - use the search button. If you're curious.

[toey]

well im guessing the fact that the car has 110000km on it now and stock bushes, and was only lowered 2 n a bit months ago and it had an undiagnosed suspention noise last service (befroe lowering) i may have a chance of them covering it.

either way i will have the superpro bushes fitted, just weither i get my hands dirty and have fork out for the alighnment or they do it and alighn it.

as for your guide, havnt read it all yet but started and have it bookmarked incase i do it myself.

thanks for the info

[troytroy]

If there's a suspension noise coming from the front - you may want to check the front swaybar bushes as well. This is the most common cause of a "noise" coming from the front end. (Castor bushes shouldn't make noise when shagged) Mine were causing a 'knocking sound when transitioning from stop to start. This is also another common issue with VY's etc.

I ended buying a swaybar bush link kit from Wholesale Suspension in Blacktown whilst I bought my castor bushes and did them both at the same time. I now regret not buying the Control rod SuperPro bush that connects to the radius rod and changing that at the same time as well............

I bought the bushes, but have them sitting on my bench....waiting. I have to pull out the Radius rod out again. Much easier to do it all at the same time - then you don't double up on labour if your paying and time if you're doing it yourself!

Good luck. My castor bushes only lasted 80,000km, but I have big brakes - which apparently kill Castor bushes quicker.

[Luke_]

Putting everything else aside (age of vehicle, how it's driven, etc), lowering your car will put more force on everything that sits on the springs.

There are a few reasons why, the springrate is increased on lowered coils (in a properly manufactured coil spring), and on standard shocks the car will bottom-out more often especially on Sydney roads.

The force has to go somewhere, and every other bush and ball joint cops the extra load.

[toey]

sway bar bushes were fitted 15000km ago under warrenty, sway bar link pins i fitted 2 weeks ago (wholesale suspensions double ball joint type), strut tops were done when it was lowered. so there isnt much left to do up there. might just buy both castor bush and control arm bush and be done with it.

thanks for that info luke, it seem logical when its put like that

[LS1-5.7]

Good idea toey, they will definately make a difference. Stay away from genuine as they are rubbish. Follow troytroy's advise and go with something good eg Nolathane or Superpro. You'll also notice that the "disc shudder" sensation may be all but gone unless your discs really ARE warped. Worn castor rod bushes contribute greatly to this sometimes misdiagnosed problem.
Be prepared for the cost as they are not cheap.

[Luke_]

We often find our Super-Pro bushes come well under Genuine bush prices.

Give us a call tomorrow toey and we can price it up for you.

[toey]

so i guess i will be doing an overtime shift or 2 in the next few weeks and then calling luke for some bushes to be sent out.

luke, is there any chance of you pm'ing me tomorrow when your back at work a price for these bushes so i no how much overtime i have to do :( lol.

in the long run its still probly going to be cheaper to fit these myself and get it alighned as its a 600km round trip to holden if they will cover it. but as ive already said it will definetly be getting the superpro's no matter what the go is

[Luke_]

Obviously not in the office now but I'll send you a pm tomorrow, easy job to fit for the experienced mechanic :)

Regards,
Luke

[toey]

easy job to fit for the experienced mechanic :)

lol yeah definetly not experianced but ill give it a shot and learn the hard way like all the other stuff ive done. the how to guides people have done on here make it a hell of a lot easier

thanks again guys

[RRossi]

lol yeah definetly not experianced but ill give it a shot and learn the hard way like all the other stuff ive done. the how to guides people have done on here make it a hell of a lot easier

thanks again guys

These are really not hard to fit at all, you may just need another pair of hands to pull the hub back when refitting them and make sure you tourque then down correctly, and yes they will make a diffrence in steering and braking, there a good mod imho.


Good luck with it!


RR

[Luke_]

lol yeah definetly not experianced but ill give it a shot and learn the hard way like all the other stuff ive done. the how to guides people have done on here make it a hell of a lot easier

thanks again guys
By my comment, as any suspension and braking component they are absolutely critical it's done right, if it's not things can go bad very easily.

Yes these are very easy to change but if it's not done correctly or something is left off it leads to a potential hazard.

Regards,
Luke

[toey]

so just got home and the verdict is they are shagged (knew it already) but holden will cover it. they are even happy to fit the superpro's for free and seeing as they dont have to supply the front ones they will also fit the ones into the control arm for free.

now the down side, after picking up the car i left to head home and pulled into the inlaws who live the next town up the road and thats when i noticed a big gap in the door trim between the leather on the arm rest and the doo handle. now this wasnt there yesterday when i detailed the car and you can even see a distinct dust line from where the trim use to sit. now i assume they were fixing the squeak in the window as it use to squeak and now it dont. so rang them straight up and they service guy wouldnt even go ask the mechanic if he worked on the door and just said it wasnt them cause its not on the paperwork :flipoff::flipoff::flipoff: no bloody respect and didnt even care cause i had hit the road and wasnt in person so a call to service manager tomorrow about it

so now they can go to hell and ill be doing all my own work which means these bushes. may park it up and grab some lowered struts and shocks and do it all together and get just the one alignment.

so thanks again for the info guys and thanks for the pm luke will be in contact very soon

[LS1-5.7]

Toey, they should only take you about 30 minutes total and as long as you put them back in with the washers where they were you shouldnt even need a wheel alignment. The position of the washers determines how much castor each side has, hence the name lol. As for the assault on your vehicle by the Holden dealer unfortunately it happens to all of us and sadly not many dealers give a F**k once they've got your cash. No quality control is one issue as well as the ability to sell 1st year apprentice labour at $7.89 an hour but charge you $120 an hour. Warranty or not, it is still a chargable cost either to you or Holden themselves.:vpo:

[toey]

well all set to do it apart from having the parts. bought some more tools to do the job as i assumed id be doing it. picked up a torque wrench and 1/2" drive socket set as i had neither. just deciding on when to do the job, i may park it up and save a little bit longer and fit some koni's at the same time as the fe2 shocks/struts arnt cutting it. ah the choices

as for local holden servicing :flipoff:

if they cant take care of a car that was spotless (detailed yesterday inside, outside, boot and even engine bay) which obviously is very well looked after by the owner. id hate to see what happens to a car that isnt looked after.

so these idiots in the service department have done there dealership out of 2 sales in the next 9 - 18 months. was going to trade the astra in and get the missus a new calais v and me either a new collarado or maybe a 2nd hand rodeo as a run about/work ute. they can get stuffed now, ill be shopping elsewhere. why shop locally when they tread your car like shit. :soap:

[troytroy]

Make sure you got a decent sized 1/2 drive breaker bar to crack the Castor bush nut (125Nm), otherwise you'll be doing a lot of swearing and will have donated some of your skin to the Holden God......:goodjob:

[toey]

Make sure you got a decent sized 1/2 drive breaker bar to crack the Castor bush nut (125Nm), otherwise you'll be doing a lot of swearing and will have donated some of your skin to the Holden God......:goodjob:

yep got a 18" 3/8 drive bar that i use as a wheel nut spanner with a 19mm impact socket

[Micks]

What's up with you Pussies undone mine with a standard ring spanner, use some muscle...:rofl:

Cheers
VYT

[troytroy]

What's up with you Pussies undone mine with a standard ring spanner, use some muscle...:rofl:

Cheers
VYT

...well I was only using one hand because I was reading a paper, holding a martini and trawling through LS1.com with the other..........:headbang: