problems with lower control arm bushings

[strangelove]

I'll second that, love my PT, but hate US auto makers business philosophy. I've gone so far as to be looking at cars made in Brazil as being my next car purchase. But to put things into perspective, I'm going on five years with my PT and no major problems, so for me I'm a happy camper.

[fritz_t_coyote]

quote:Originally posted by strangelove

looking at cars made in Brazil

It's NOT country of manufacture, US-built Hondas and Toyotas are just a reliable as their Japanese cousins.
It is 'mindset of management'.

[rszappa1]

and the quality of parts used....

[strangelove]

quote:Originally posted by fritz_t_coyote

It's NOT country of manufacture, US-built Hondas and Toyotas are just a reliable as their Japanese cousins.
It is 'mindset of management'.

Right I like US cars, I just don't like US car manufacturers business philosophy of building cars cheap fast and overpriced and on the verge of being outdated technology wise. Reason why Honda and Toyota's cars are so much better is that they have the right business philosophy of building the best most reliable cars available with stringent emission and fuel efficiency standards. German cars are known for engineering to make the cars faster and handle better. US cars are known for... made for the masses. Kind of like when you think of China cars or even India cars, which are made for the Mass of Masses and are built even cheaper then US cars. Now what do you think of when you hear about Brazilian cars? To me I think fuel efficient, well engineered, and cheap to boot, because what gets imported to the US is the best that Brazil produces.

[gillclay]

quote:Originally posted by ValAir

Has anyone out there had problems with their lower control arm bushings ripping? I had to have mine replaced 3 times in the past 2.5 years. finally the dealership replaced the lower control arms completely. Luckily I bought an extended warranty.
Val

I own two 02 neons.One has had both replaced once with 20,000 miles and the other with 110,000 has had them both changed 4 times. I did the job each time.I just got done tonight putting Energy suspension urethane bushings in.Chrysler wont admit a problem.I was on the phone with them in Detroit. I found 9 neons in the lot at work with bad ones. They did not know this or even care."they just drive them". The suspension is the same in the pt's. Im betting the urethanes will work. It took two afternoons to do this.

[ddakin]

Could you PLEASE, PLEASE take a few minutes to explain how you replaced the control arm bushings?

I'm new to the forums here as I just bought my 2003 PT GT and, like most people on here, my bushings are bad too. I'm buying the Energy Suspension ones, but I'm getting installation prices ranging from $200 to $400. I'm mechanically inclined so I know I can probably do this, but I'm told I need to press fit the bushings, which means I may not be able to???

Help!

Cheers,
Dan
(Niagara Falls Canada)

quote:Originally posted by gillclay

I own two 02 neons.One has had both replaced once with 20,000 miles and the other with 110,000 has had them both changed 4 times. I did the job each time.I just got done tonight putting Energy suspension urethane bushings in.Chrysler wont admit a problem.I was on the phone with them in Detroit. I found 9 neons in the lot at work with bad ones. They did not know this or even care."they just drive them". The suspension is the same in the pt's. Im betting the urethanes will work. It took two afternoons to do this.

[Sturdevant]

www.steve.sturdevant.com/LCA.pdf

A machine shop can press the old out and the new in.

[ValAir]

Everything has been fine so far with the dealer replacing both lower control arms.........they must have upgraded the bushings or something. This problem is one of the reasons I bought an extended warranty for the car!
The bushings seems to be fine so far........but there is some slight tearing starting.

[strangelove]

Glad to hear that you got it fixed. Sad to hear that you are seeing it tear already. For what it's worth, I ran with those rubber bushings torn for quite a while before replacing them. You might feel some looseness in the steering. You might hear some creaking when you go over speed bumps, but that's about it. The way the bushing works now is just to keep metal from rubbing on metal, so if there is still a bushing there, torn or not it's doing it's job.

[ValAir]

strange,
I deal with the rips up until is bugs the hell out of me hearing all of the racket when i hit a bump. Then I have them replaced, it's covered under my extended warranty and it helps to know the guys at the Chrysler dealership.