Heat can cause therubber to harden and crack while petroleum will dissolve it into jelly. When installing control arms with rubber bushings, the pivotbolt must be tightened with the weight of the vehicle on the wheels. Bushings are good for absorbing road shock, minor vibrations and noise fromother suspension parts without making any noise themselves. Findout more about rubber bushing and strutmount by visit ekko-rubber. Mainly for saftey reasons, it is suggested to replace body bushings oneside at a time. Thesecan become a serious problem if the bushings are located near the exhaust pipeor in a poorly ventilated engine compartment. Even when good, rubber bushings can cause excessivebody roll in a vehicle. If theyare not, then the bushing will be quickly destroyed. Tierods and ball joints should be lubricated on occasion to keep them in topshape, but certain lubricants can kill a bushing. Strut rod and radiusarm bushings may not make a noise, but will cause a pull when braking oraccelerating.com. REPLACEMENTReplacongbushings is usually as simple as replacing the components the bushing pressesinto. Upgrading them to urethanewill not only provide handling improvements for the customer, but can open upthe performance modification market to a repair shop. While underneath the vehicle, a Ball Studs manufacturers rubber hammer and pry bar can beemployed. Be sure to also check the sub frame bushingswhen applicable. Also, excessive twisting can cause the it to tear.Suspensionbushings dont require regular maintenance like tie rods and ball joints. Replacement of degraded bushings can provebeneficial to both customer and the repair shop. A metallicwrap sound will emit from one with excessive internal wear. If the vehicle is equipped with link pins that utilize the ball andsocket-type ends, use the rubber hammer to strike upward on them.. Transmission coolant can also cuta bushings life short. One person should rock the steering wheel left and right while theother stands beneath the vehicle and observes the steering and suspensioncomponents. It may require a sudden brake and steer in an empty parking lotto reveal a failed control arm bushing. If the steering wheel seems to have anew center after making different turns, the rack and pinion mountingbushings are suspect. Back at the shop, a dry park test should be performed ona lift. Prying on a controlarm to find 1/8th inch or more of free play (rubber bushing) can reveal whenthey have reached their lifes end, as well as looking at the tire wearpatterns for signs of camber wear. Polyurthane bushings donot have this problem though. BUSHINGINSPECTION AND DIAGNOSINGA goodtest drive has a wide range of diving conditions including left and rightcornering, hitting bumps, and barking and accelerating. However, rubberbushings dont deal well with heat or petroleum exposure.