Has anyone here done the IRS subframe bushings at their home? I would be doing it at my friends garage that has every tool possibly needed as well as enough floor jacks and jack stands. Just wondering if any of you have any good input.
HOW TO: IRS Subframe bushings at home
- Thread starter NJredfire03
- Start date
There are plenty of instructions on MM's web-site. It's not that bad of a job, did mine in my garage by myself over a couple weekends. Easiest way to get the IRS back up is with a transmission jack from Harbor freight. Also, I left out the half-shafts and spindles until the cradle was bolted up - saved some weight since I didn't have an extra set of hands.
thanks man, i think i will get the bushing removal tool from MM as well. 22 bucks to save time and headaches seems well worth it to me. I have the Steeda kit, but its the same thing. I'm hoping to get this done once it warms up a bit. late march early april.
If you have the Steeda kit, those bushings are made by Energy Suspension and are not as firm as the MM/Prothane bushings. They will probably be fine though, but I'm one of the guys who has used poly with a good results, despite what the poly-haters out there will say. The MM bushings are very firm and do take the slop out (again, despite what the poly haters will say!).
Also, when I did my bushings, the rear diff mount tool worked fine for the IRS cradle and the LCA's. You just have to drill some holes all the way around to break the bond, then be prepared to use a wire wheel inside the shell to get them clean. As for the UCA's, those bushings just pop right out once you pry the end-washers off.
Otherwise, it made a big difference - my IRS is rock solid and completely quiet on the street. No wheel hop either!!
I'm a poly hater 
If you mark your camber bolt locations then you can just remove the axles, spindles and tie rods as one unit. Then you don't have to take off the axle nuts. IMO taking off the axle nuts will lead to loose axle nuts later unless you install with a new nut.
I just rolled the irs under the car on my floor jack and put it back in. Like said above, I did that without the axles to save weight and make it easier to handle.
I just rolled the irs under the car on my floor jack and put it back in. Like said above, I did that without the axles to save weight and make it easier to handle.
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did i miss something in the directions? seems like you guys completely dropped your irs and pulled it out from under the car. is that what you did?
Yes, if you are replacing the cradle bushings.
Start here:
http://www.maximummotorsports.com/content/install/pdf/irs/IRS_Sub-frame_Removalr1.pdf
these are the directions i read. will these directions work just fine?
http://www.maximummotorsports.com/content/install/pdf/irs/MMIRSU-1r5.pdf
http://www.maximummotorsports.com/content/install/pdf/irs/MMIRSU-1r5.pdf
Yes those will work.
Are you replacing the diff mount bushings too? If so IMO it would be easier to drop and slide the whole IRS out to where you could do it all at once.
If all you are doing is subframe bushings then I would just drop it far enough to do those.
BTW make sure you put 14mm bolts in the front subframe bushing. The OEM bolts were 12mm from the factory.
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the bushing kit i have includes the 14mm bolts as well as the low profile bolts for tire clearance. and thanks, just doing the subframe bushings.
As you might imagine, removing the subframe from the chassis is a labor intensive job and you most likely are only going to want to do this job once. We have a video of everything required to remove the subframe from your chassis on our web site:
http://www.fulltiltboogieracing.com/Videos/FTBR_IRS_REMOVAL.wmv
There's also some prep for bumpsteering the IRS in that video.
The replacement of the subframe bushings start at about 4:40 in this video:
FTBR Informational Videos
And if you watch the whole video you can see the rest of the bushing install being done on the IRS.
And there's a bunch more videos on our site for your viewing pleasure:
FTBR Informational Videos
Because this is such a large undertaking, I would advise you against using any type of poly material. Poly is glorified rubber and if you're going to the trouble of R&R'ing the IRS subframe in your chassis, do the job once and do it right. I would suggest using the UHMW bushings we developed for the subframe. It will hold your subframe infinitely more firmly than any type of poly could ever dream of. The SN-95 chassis is not the stiffest of platforms and if you use an upgraded bushing like a UHMW from Full Tilt Boogie Racing your IRS subframe will act like a bolt-in roll bar and stiffen up the rearward portion of your chassis.
Here is the Full Tilt Boogie Racing UHMW subframe bushings I'm referring to:
Subframe Set
Now, as long as the subframe is out of the chassis you're going to seriously want to think about doing your upper control arm bushings at the same time because doing those also requires the removal of the subframe from the chassis. The rest of the IRS bushings do not require the removal of the subframe from the chassis, so you might want to keep that in mind. We can also supply Delrin upper control arm bushings for you if you're interested. We are the only supplier on the market that offers an anti-wear coating on our inner sleeves and a grease fitting kit to insure a long lasting and squeak free operation of your Delrin bushings. They are FT 1000 found on our order page:
Full Tilt Boogie Racing Shopping Cart
I've been designing, developing and R&D'ing our Full Tilt Boogie Racing IRS bushing kit for the last 9 years and there's no kit on the market that even comes close to matching in it fit, finish, price or performance.
I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have regarding the IRS.
:thumbsup::coolman::beer:
So ive tried to convinve my friend to do the bushings at his house, cause he has every tool imaginable. And he really doesnt want to do it at all, cause its "going to be a bitch" and might have to have the car there for a while. SOB. Anyone in the Jersey area willing to help a brother out? I REALLY don't want to spend 700+ dollars for installation of these things.
man i just gotta convince him its not going to be as bad as he thinks.
When I did mine, I used an ATV jack with a piece of plywood on it to lift the IRS assembly in and out. I did the entire thing by myself. It does take some time but is not that bad.
Bribe him with beer and pizza! :beer:
when you guys are saying takes some time, how long are you saying? and i bribed him with beer and a steak dinner. think he went for it.
lol mine took six weeks start to finish
but keep in mind that i am an amateur hobbyist with no garage lift and no power tools. it was just floor jacks, jackstands, and hand tools. it was tough for me to get the correct torque on the lower control arm nuts because i didn't have much room to work the 3/4 drive torque wrench under there.
i did it in my spare time (nights and weekends only), and was not in any kind of a rush.
but keep in mind that i am an amateur hobbyist with no garage lift and no power tools. it was just floor jacks, jackstands, and hand tools. it was tough for me to get the correct torque on the lower control arm nuts because i didn't have much room to work the 3/4 drive torque wrench under there.
i did it in my spare time (nights and weekends only), and was not in any kind of a rush.
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