So the time has come. Time to upgrade and replace bushings.
I'm planning on going to prothane bushings since they seem to be going, ive noticed that there IS a nice front control arm kit, rear kit, sway bar kit, etc...what I'm wondering is if I can get bushings for the Tension Strut (i believe that's what the net is calling them) and just swap the old ones out rather than buying a whole new strut. If I can get the right bushings for those tension struts and put them in in the full bushing kit and just do it over a series of weekends I imagine I'd prefer to do that, as it would be the best bang for my buck... but if they're not replaceable then I'm stuck just getting the front control arm bushings and the tension struts as I haven't got enough for really anything else. I did search but I didn't find anything related to actually replacing the bushings IN the struts.
Thanks guys,
Brandyn
EDIT: Ok, so the parts are in now. The front control arm kit from prothane DOES contain both lower control arm bushings (2 bushings per side) and uppers (2 per side). We found the easiest way to get the old bushings out (you need to save the casings) is to heat them with a torch on the metal casing for a few moments, working the heat around until the rubber boils around the edge, then use a screwdriver to just press the bushing right out of the sleeve. Slides right out. Press the new bushings in any way you can (my friend actually pushed em in by hand then used a rubber mallet to push the rod through the center, your milage may vary). I can tell you that autozone's press kit works like absolute crap for doing the job. It appears to be designed for smaller bushings. Don't try to have a shop press the rubber out, itll bring the casing with it and you'll have a fair amount of manual work hammering it back in.
The car is working GREAT now that the job is finally done. She turns flat and has a much more performance feel. I would recommend doing it, but also be very careful when popping the ball joints. They're very fragile threading and a REAL pain to get threaded back.
I'm planning on going to prothane bushings since they seem to be going, ive noticed that there IS a nice front control arm kit, rear kit, sway bar kit, etc...what I'm wondering is if I can get bushings for the Tension Strut (i believe that's what the net is calling them) and just swap the old ones out rather than buying a whole new strut. If I can get the right bushings for those tension struts and put them in in the full bushing kit and just do it over a series of weekends I imagine I'd prefer to do that, as it would be the best bang for my buck... but if they're not replaceable then I'm stuck just getting the front control arm bushings and the tension struts as I haven't got enough for really anything else. I did search but I didn't find anything related to actually replacing the bushings IN the struts.
Thanks guys,
Brandyn
EDIT: Ok, so the parts are in now. The front control arm kit from prothane DOES contain both lower control arm bushings (2 bushings per side) and uppers (2 per side). We found the easiest way to get the old bushings out (you need to save the casings) is to heat them with a torch on the metal casing for a few moments, working the heat around until the rubber boils around the edge, then use a screwdriver to just press the bushing right out of the sleeve. Slides right out. Press the new bushings in any way you can (my friend actually pushed em in by hand then used a rubber mallet to push the rod through the center, your milage may vary). I can tell you that autozone's press kit works like absolute crap for doing the job. It appears to be designed for smaller bushings. Don't try to have a shop press the rubber out, itll bring the casing with it and you'll have a fair amount of manual work hammering it back in.
The car is working GREAT now that the job is finally done. She turns flat and has a much more performance feel. I would recommend doing it, but also be very careful when popping the ball joints. They're very fragile threading and a REAL pain to get threaded back.
pic #39 gives you a good idea of what was done) 
