Replacing Rear Subframe rubber mounts
 

Edit

Don't buy from Polytorq , they know this product doesn't fit correctly yet advise you get what you pay for , avoid Polytorq from Wrexham .



I noticed on my classic the rear subframe / crossmember mounting rubbers are well and truly fubard , so my question , can I remove the bolts , old rubbers with it still on the car , ie jack it up on stands , jack under diff , undo bolts , lower diff using the jack to lower the subframe and replace bushes with these


http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Subaru-Impre...ATCHING_ACTIVE

Pressed in ? They are only rubber ( old ones ) and the new ones poly , wouldn't of thought they needed pressing in/ out ?

It's the 4 bolts that hold the rear subframe in that the diff / control arms attach to

Not attempted it yet so I may be talking ****e lol

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=su...OOhbbKQIFlM%3A



The 4 bolts on this

Just replaced mine with the same ones you found on ebay. Originals are cartridge type and required me to burn the rubber out before then hacksawing and chiseling out the remaining metal shell. New ones just get lubed and then pushed in easily by hand. I'm not saying it would be impossible to do in situ, just really, really difficult.

Ok cheers guys, mine are really brittle, cracked, 1 has even lost a complete circumference of rubber in my hand (hence knowing they need replacing ha ) im hoping they are that brittle i can brutally remove them with subframe still in place, ie, remove 4 bolts, jack supporting the diff and lower it all about 6" if possible to do the job.

cheers for input guys, is it easy to remove the subframe entirely or worth having a bash in situ 1st ?

make your own press to remove old ones in situ,
washer, long bolt and socket bigger then old bush, then press into old socket,
have a measure up, you may find a press thats about for other cars, I know the old Vectra B rear arm press works on a couple of subaru bushes, but not sure on the one in question.
hth

Hmmm, good thinking batman :-) , im sure i have some threaded bar and can get the big washer etc, cheers

Air hacksaw drill old rubber out cut old bushing outer shell then it near falls out. Clean hole lube slip new ones in job done.

Right, ive removed the 4 bolts, they were in there well !

ive lowered the subframe so got plenty of room, i tried the method of some threaded bar, the bush moves a bit but then it locks up, im guessing the rubber is well and truelly glued in there.

so im off tomorrow to buy a camping gas canister and hopefully a flame nozzle to try and burn the rubber out, there isnt much room to burn the rubber out tho, i mean, the hole the rubber sits in is pretty tight !

Run a hole saw down the rubber to remove
It takes the centre out leaving just a steel shell.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=18...Xg4EZihrIeM%3A

Hmm, thats a thought, ive measured the metal pin, its about 24-25mm, locally i can only get a 25mm holesaw, id like 26mm but might be worth getting the 25mm holesaw, use the blowtorch to burn the rubber and then have a bash with holesaw if burning doesnt work

At least its not raining ha ha

cheers

If you use the holesaw go as slow as you can to keep the heat down, to stop the rubber gripping.

Well i get the blow torch and it made light work of them, got a bit toastie near the fuel tank lol, had a piece of wood shielding it but still, was pretty warm under there !

But hey, all 4 old bushes out, new ones going in tomorrow, just hope they fit ha

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...2f7b7ac5ec.jpg

I don't see any of the outer steel shell of the bushes in that picture.
Without removing them the new bushes may not fit.

Ah **** dont tell me that , I thought what was left was part of subframe , I'm guessing these are the outer shell ? How the heck do these come out , I don't have an air hacksaw !!

Blowtorch and whack it out ?


https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...6fc3c157c.jpeg

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...9c9c04f70.jpeg

You normally tap the shell out with a cold chisel once rubber is out,
As the rubber is gone the shell should collapse quite easily now and tap out.

Ok bud cheers , I have a thick tipped chisel , I could use that to whack the lower part and see if crushes it , failing that buy a thin tipped chisel and tap under the washer area on top

Sheesh thought I'd got it ready to put new bushes in ha

Are you trying to do this in-situ, Dean? Or is it off the car?

In Situ bud , don't fancy removing the subframe , there's ebern nough room so far with it on the car , just fiddly

You'll probably struggle to whack the sleeve out with the subframe in place.

if your struggling to reach any steel bar that is long enough to hit , a small jemmy bar would do and a lump hammer.

Cheers guys , I intend to lower subframe , then fit a socket between subframe and chassis then jack back up to give clearance but also support the subframe from wobbling , wish me luck lads

have you tried a new bush in the old hole as is ?

edited, i doubt it will fit as this is what you are replacing.


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...0b5a448f8f.jpg


hth

Crikey not seen what the originals looked like , cheers bud

I will use the blow torch to heat it up then thwack it to death lol

if you are still struggling to get the steel sleeves out with some heat, carefully cut slot in them with a hack saw and they will fly out.

Yeah , that's the next plan , hacksaw blade in between 2 bits of wood for a handle

Cheers bud

Mine was removed to do the job as was replacing everything at the time which made things easier!! The remaining outer shell has to be cut through to enable you to smash out from underneath. I actually fed a hacksaw blade through the mount then reattached the hacksaw handle to make it easier! You can also drive a screwdriver from above between the subframe and lip of outer shell to free it up a bit. I used the sti mounts from icp and they didn't just slide in...I tried then used my bros press. Those poly ones should be easier, just grease them up n try the homemade press

Well, that was a ball ache and 5 hours of my life gone, But, as mentioned, couldnt do the job on the car, it didnt help i didnt realise the sleeves were inside the part on the subframe, i thought the part on the subframe was the sleeve ha ha so that went well to start with !

Backbox off, trailing arms off, heat shield off, antiroll bar moved out the way, the list goes on ha

The subframe is removed, the sleevs are out ! Now to put it all back together ANOTHER DAY lol !

what a horrible job, not many bolts but sheesh, hard to get at, hard to undo, espeically when the car is on your drive way not on a ramp !

I did go overzelous and get too deep on one sleeve, hope it doesnt have an impact on the subframe ?

i noticed the trailing arm bushes arent the best but can i remove that long massive bolt, can i heck !!

heres some pics

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...51065e5fdf.jpg

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...05ae98fed3.jpg

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...7208bebd1e.jpg

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...47f5722ec0.jpg

Oh, cheers again all for the info and help along the way , much appreciated

:luxhello::thumb:

Me again guys, ive fitted the new poly bushes but they seem a little odd, heres a piced, as they come in 2 halves, i put the longer half through the top and connected the other half underneath, but it leaves it like this

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...b764b63634.jpg



Do i trim the protruding bit off ?

Have i fitted them correctly, altho when i tried the reverse that didnt seem right either ???

The bushes in question, with the 2 halves

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...f086561a6c.jpg