For anyone looking to do this as well; Tip #1: Go to a scrapyard and get good replacement cores for all of the control arms. Replace all the bushings in your new-to-you control arms and use those as replacements for your originals. This way you aren't without your car as you mess around with the bushings. Trust me, it's worth the extra money. You won't be under a time crunch, so you can pace yourself and do quality work. Tip #2: Clean everything and clean it again. You don't want contaminants entering the bushing like what you see in this video. No disrespect to PMM, but that dirt and debris will get trapped in the grease and act as permanent sandpaper in the bushing. You'll end up with premature wear. Also clean and grease where the bushing mates to the subframe brackets. Tip #3: Poly bushings, especially hard bushings like the StrongFlex Yellows, tend to develop squeaking. The grease works it's way out and dry up, so they'll start to bind. This binding will also result in premature wear. To avoid this you could periodically disassemble your suspension, clean and regrease everything (Maybe every year or two). Or, drill and tap zerk fittings so you can periodically pump new grease into the bushings. Or, a better trick is to wrap the surface of the bushing with a SINGLE layer of teflon/ptfe plumbers tape THEN grease and install. You'll greatly extend your service intervals this way. Replace the tape whenever you service the bushings. You don't want overlap of the tape. Too much tape means it won't fit in your control arm. Make sure to use poly bushing specific grease. Using bargain bin harbor freight wheel bearing grease is a quick way to make your ancestors cry. Tip #4: torque all of your suspension bolts when the suspension is LOADED! Meaning, when the car is on blocks or on the ground so the suspension is supporting the weight of the vehicle. You want the bushings to be settled at the resting ride height when you torque the suspension bolts. This prevents preloading the bushings and will significantly improve the longevity of your bushings. If you follow these tips, you'll get 5+ good hard years out of your bushings. I beat the ass off my miata and it's had no suspension problems. Be clean, be careful, and have fun!
Thank you so much. I'm going to try this. Ordered the kit about a year ago and did the fronts but didn't load the suspension and the fronts squeak like crazy when going over speed bumps or dips. In addition, the driver side has this clunking noise like the strut is loose when going over bumps/dips. When I did the front suspension refresh, I got the same Excel-G complete front struts for both sides and Moog upper + lower ball joints. Need to take them off and redo again, then load the suspension and torque to spec. Need to also do a better job cleaning the mounting areas for the bushings themselves.
@@smlee6290 when you're ready to load the suspension before torquing all of the fasteners, press down hard on the chassis to cycle the suspension several times. This will help settle it in its natural neutral position.
For anyone trying to get the camber bolt out to do the lower control arm bushing: If you can't tap it out with a hammer, just cut it like he does in this video. I tried using a rental ball joint press tool to press the bolt out, and I ended up pushing the bushing sleeve out the slot in the crossmember and widening the hole. My car is now in the garage for the week while I wait for a new crossmember...
Had the same issue I figured the same thing only happened to one side tho I'd figured it'd be alright but I've changed my entirely suspension twice in the last 6 years I had the car I'd figured better bushings would work better instead of buying new omereplacement arms. Thanks for the video bro !
Good video, just did my radius arm bushings yesterday, was having heavy inner tire wear (camber on braking). So went and did them, 2 hours for those alone. In the southwest we dont see this type of heavy corrosion on our cars though, so it came apart and went back together fairly simply.
A trick for reinstalling those two bolts that connect the LCA #1 and #2, you can partially start the threads and then put the arms into the car as one piece. I saw that on cornelius veeee's channel and did it last night and it worked like a charm. Also I got the old bushings out with a torch, a hacksaw and a chisel for anyone else w/o a press!
I tried that, i tried everything. my suspension setup is a little wacky, im sure thats what made it so difficult. It was like those control arms need to be bent or twisted to line up. Very frustrating lol
@@PoorManMods I must have gotten lucky with the first side, I did the other side the next night and struggled a lot more with the alignment of the arms too. Great video btw, it was super helpful!
Not sure if strongflex updated the design of the radius arm bushing, but the ones I received a couple months ago went in pretty easy with a vise. All the grease is clear now too.
Just want to say thanks so much for the vid. It helped me quite a bit since you go over most everything bit by bit. I got lucky and had almost no rust in there (live in the desert) but the funny thing is I stripped the allen cavity on the end links and had to cut that bolt, but since it's fat on the left side, you had to cut it right against the swaybar to get all that metal. Ended up shaving a bit of the swaybar too just to get it off! Not done yet but got everything off. Only thing I'm worried about really is the camber bolt/washer. Not sure how to get that right or at what point to torque it.
Great video, going to be doing all the bushings on my IS soon, was really hoping you would do a before and after comparison to see if you notice any differences. Maybe another video??
No problem! I also really liked your mods regret list. I wish I would've watched it before I bought coilovers for my IS just because they're purple lol. You live and you learn.
All your videos are made with love, I appreciate your efforts, I also have 2003 IS300 for a very long time and can’t seem to let go of it, again thank you from Sydney Australia
Superb, thanks very much. My 2001 IS is sitting on 100K, and I was thinking of having the front end rebushed. But maybe I'll hold off after seeing what's involved. Ralph L Seifer, Long Beach, California.
There's actually much easier ways of doing it than in this video, I took the entire front subframe out and did bushings, bbk etc. You do have to remove the brake lines. and power steering lines but its worth it, it allows you complete access to clean/replace everything. I'm powder coating most of my suspension pieces while theyre out.
awesome video my only comment would be that you should not ever use a power tool to clean/brush out the inside sleeve. You could have removed a fraction of a mm of metal causing the new bushings to slip in and out no longer retaining them in place. Use brakekleen inside the sleeve if you really want to clean it. There shouldnt be anything in there since the bushing have been there the whole time
@@PoorManMods if I could be more specific is it more harsh with the sport bushing kit then stock and if it is, is it livable as a daily? Thanks again for your time
I ordered the reds subframe and diff bushings for my IS and now I'm wondering if I should have just went yellow. What are you opinions on yellow verses red since you have experience with both?
@@PoorManMods to be fair. I live in the south. So no rust but You have a vice and an actual press. All those should pop right out with either of those tools. And doing the lower control arms would be way faster if you completely removed the shocks.
Please everybody, do not sand your new bushings for easy installation. They need to be greased and then with a press and the right attachment the bushings can be forced into their proper place. Polyurethane is much stiffer than rubber, which is why it will improve your car’s handling. If your unable to get the bushings into the proper locations, find a shop with a press that you can just pay to seat them. Sanding those down is almost certainly going to result in a problem down the road, squeaking or worse, and I didn’t see any grease on them after they had been sanded? And if they aren’t greased, Poly will always squeak.
Ok, but this is a quality kit, they are very difficult to install, but it’s unlikely they were the wrong ones. So i am just suggesting another way to install them. And you might not have any obvious issues, but u could have lost some benefits that aren’t obvious on your way to work, but could mean slower lap times or something similar that is a factor when buying a kit like this. I am not trying to start an argument, just pointing out that they should fit
U needed a 2nd set of hands bud. This took me and my buddy 6 hrs in the driveway. Absolutely no press needed. I'm not sure if all that rust made that job more difficult for u I would assume so.
@@PoorManMods I don’t think it would be possible without dropping the subframe. I am actually doing a full overhaul. Dropped cross member and subframe. Powder coating everything.
For anyone looking to do this as well;
Tip #1: Go to a scrapyard and get good replacement cores for all of the control arms. Replace all the bushings in your new-to-you control arms and use those as replacements for your originals. This way you aren't without your car as you mess around with the bushings. Trust me, it's worth the extra money. You won't be under a time crunch, so you can pace yourself and do quality work.
Tip #2: Clean everything and clean it again. You don't want contaminants entering the bushing like what you see in this video. No disrespect to PMM, but that dirt and debris will get trapped in the grease and act as permanent sandpaper in the bushing. You'll end up with premature wear. Also clean and grease where the bushing mates to the subframe brackets.
Tip #3: Poly bushings, especially hard bushings like the StrongFlex Yellows, tend to develop squeaking. The grease works it's way out and dry up, so they'll start to bind. This binding will also result in premature wear. To avoid this you could periodically disassemble your suspension, clean and regrease everything (Maybe every year or two). Or, drill and tap zerk fittings so you can periodically pump new grease into the bushings. Or, a better trick is to wrap the surface of the bushing with a SINGLE layer of teflon/ptfe plumbers tape THEN grease and install. You'll greatly extend your service intervals this way. Replace the tape whenever you service the bushings.
You don't want overlap of the tape. Too much tape means it won't fit in your control arm. Make sure to use poly bushing specific grease. Using bargain bin harbor freight wheel bearing grease is a quick way to make your ancestors cry.
Tip #4: torque all of your suspension bolts when the suspension is LOADED! Meaning, when the car is on blocks or on the ground so the suspension is supporting the weight of the vehicle. You want the bushings to be settled at the resting ride height when you torque the suspension bolts. This prevents preloading the bushings and will significantly improve the longevity of your bushings.
If you follow these tips, you'll get 5+ good hard years out of your bushings. I beat the ass off my miata and it's had no suspension problems. Be clean, be careful, and have fun!
Thank you so much. I'm going to try this. Ordered the kit about a year ago and did the fronts but didn't load the suspension and the fronts squeak like crazy when going over speed bumps or dips. In addition, the driver side has this clunking noise like the strut is loose when going over bumps/dips. When I did the front suspension refresh, I got the same Excel-G complete front struts for both sides and Moog upper + lower ball joints. Need to take them off and redo again, then load the suspension and torque to spec. Need to also do a better job cleaning the mounting areas for the bushings themselves.
@@smlee6290 when you're ready to load the suspension before torquing all of the fasteners, press down hard on the chassis to cycle the suspension several times. This will help settle it in its natural neutral position.
i was also going to comment on his video stating to tighten the bolts when the car is loaded. but you did a good breakdown here i see.
For anyone trying to get the camber bolt out to do the lower control arm bushing:
If you can't tap it out with a hammer, just cut it like he does in this video. I tried using a rental ball joint press tool to press the bolt out, and I ended up pushing the bushing sleeve out the slot in the crossmember and widening the hole. My car is now in the garage for the week while I wait for a new crossmember...
Done the full kit, your video for the rear especially helped a massive amount so thanks!
Lol “cross thread is better than no thread” 😂😂. Great video man, a lot of work there but very good content
Haha thank you!
Had the same issue I figured the same thing only happened to one side tho I'd figured it'd be alright but I've changed my entirely suspension twice in the last 6 years I had the car I'd figured better bushings would work better instead of buying new omereplacement arms. Thanks for the video bro !
Great video! I also changed all the bushings and mounts to polyurethane on my 2002 is300 and it transformed it into a fun daily driver.
Thank you! Doing just the fronts were very noticeable i was impressed!
@@PoorManMods nice!
Man your vids are a life (and wallet) saver. Thank you for taking the extra time to record everything
thank youuu
Good video, just did my radius arm bushings yesterday, was having heavy inner tire wear (camber on braking). So went and did them, 2 hours for those alone. In the southwest we dont see this type of heavy corrosion on our cars though, so it came apart and went back together fairly simply.
Thanks! yeah this is my winter beater so its gets alllll the corrosion from road salt lol
I'm glad that I never ended up doing this on either of the IS300's that I had. My suspension looked like it was under the sea for years.
😭
A trick for reinstalling those two bolts that connect the LCA #1 and #2, you can partially start the threads and then put the arms into the car as one piece. I saw that on cornelius veeee's channel and did it last night and it worked like a charm. Also I got the old bushings out with a torch, a hacksaw and a chisel for anyone else w/o a press!
I tried that, i tried everything. my suspension setup is a little wacky, im sure thats what made it so difficult. It was like those control arms need to be bent or twisted to line up. Very frustrating lol
@@PoorManMods I must have gotten lucky with the first side, I did the other side the next night and struggled a lot more with the alignment of the arms too. Great video btw, it was super helpful!
@@jadynbrown114Glad you got it done! And thank you!!
Not sure if strongflex updated the design of the radius arm bushing, but the ones I received a couple months ago went in pretty easy with a vise. All the grease is clear now too.
Niceeeee
Probably rides better than new.
Hey man great video. Well Edited and very detailed. 👍🏻👍🏻
Just watching you do this made me tired and anxious bro im glad my 2002 is300 only has 140k miles and the bushings aren't too bad lol
Thank you so much for making this video. I appreciate all of your IS300 content
Thank you!
Nice to see vid on these i have had the complete set in my is for a while now and love them 🙏💪
Just want to say thanks so much for the vid. It helped me quite a bit since you go over most everything bit by bit. I got lucky and had almost no rust in there (live in the desert) but the funny thing is I stripped the allen cavity on the end links and had to cut that bolt, but since it's fat on the left side, you had to cut it right against the swaybar to get all that metal. Ended up shaving a bit of the swaybar too just to get it off!
Not done yet but got everything off. Only thing I'm worried about really is the camber bolt/washer. Not sure how to get that right or at what point to torque it.
Glad this video helped out!!Just get it tight, don't worry about torquing it too much. You're going to need an alignment after this anyway
Great video, going to be doing all the bushings on my IS soon, was really hoping you would do a before and after comparison to see if you notice any differences. Maybe another video??
You're my new favorite person. Mklll and an is.... Sleeper central!
haha thank you!!
No problem! I also really liked your mods regret list. I wish I would've watched it before I bought coilovers for my IS just because they're purple lol. You live and you learn.
Awesome video brother thanks for all the info.
Very informative video 👍🏼 I’ll be doing this to my is shortly. Love the content man keep it up just subbed
Thank youuu!
Great video mate. Could you please make another video about rear suspension bushings and which colour bushings you prefer more for daily driver use ?
These yellow bushings feel amazing, i reccomend them for sure. I wont be doing the rear for a long time
@@PoorManMods lol im doing that next, just got a shop press for it, crossing my fingers its not too bad. Got the full car kit from super pro.
All your videos are made with love, I appreciate your efforts, I also have 2003 IS300 for a very long time and can’t seem to let go of it, again thank you from Sydney Australia
Thank you!!
Superb, thanks very much. My 2001 IS is sitting on 100K, and I was thinking of having the front end rebushed. But maybe I'll hold off after seeing what's involved. Ralph L Seifer, Long Beach, California.
Its worth the effort if you decide to do it, but i understand
There's actually much easier ways of doing it than in this video, I took the entire front subframe out and did bushings, bbk etc. You do have to remove the brake lines. and power steering lines but its worth it, it allows you complete access to clean/replace everything. I'm powder coating most of my suspension pieces while theyre out.
🤯thats crazy 🙌👍
How are the bushings holding up two years later?
still great!
@@PoorManMods might have to do these over the super pros! Not exactly sure on the differences yet though
@@Andres-300 im not sure on the difference either honestly
awesome video my only comment would be that you should not ever use a power tool to clean/brush out the inside sleeve. You could have removed a fraction of a mm of metal causing the new bushings to slip in and out no longer retaining them in place. Use brakekleen inside the sleeve if you really want to clean it. There shouldnt be anything in there since the bushing have been there the whole time
There was always rust in there which would make it harder to install the new bushing and maybe even tear it
Hi, great video, found it at just the right time thanks I will follow suite. I was hoping for feedback on the ride quality from you after doing this
Ride qual is great, zero complaints
@@PoorManMods if I could be more specific is it more harsh with the sport bushing kit then stock and if it is, is it livable as a daily? Thanks again for your time
Nice 👍!
Great video. What’d you use to press the caster arm sleeve out?
Thanks! i believe thats an old wheel bearing of some sort
Whats the design of strongflex bushes? I know its conical but does it have crisscross grooves inside the bore?
a year already, any update? any noise? BTW why you use KYB struct when genuine one has same price? thanks!
No issues!
I ordered the reds subframe and diff bushings for my IS and now I'm wondering if I should have just went yellow. What are you opinions on yellow verses red since you have experience with both?
Since its two different cars ive experienced the red and yellows its hard to compare but both feel excellent, no need to regret your purchase
Where did you get the ball joint spacer?
Hey do you know if these are the same size or will fit my 2015 is350 f sport?
i highly doubt theyre the same
Hey @Poor Man Mods, do your poly bushes squeak?
On my supra they do when i jack up the car and set it down
@@PoorManMods How about Strongflex in IS300?
Great video as always Freddy.
thank you!
i ordered both new front lower control arms for my car and it didnt come with hardware, you know where i could get the hardware for them? is300.
I would try the lexus dealership
@@PoorManMods already ordered just gotta drive 40 miles to my closest dealer
what tail lights do you have ??
These, I didn't like them at first but they really grew on me
amzn.to/3PI2Kzt
You don't have to burn the bushings out, you can always press them out, never had to burn any bushings out.
I like fire
Where did you get the mudguards btw?
They're OEM Toyota mudguards
Willing sell them?
Part#?
Instructions unclear. Car won’t start
Bro. You did all of that the hard way.
How?
@@PoorManMods to be fair. I live in the south. So no rust but You have a vice and an actual press. All those should pop right out with either of those tools. And doing the lower control arms would be way faster if you completely removed the shocks.
Why is my mechanic asking to replace the entire control arm instead of bushings only?
Because its easier and they can charge you more
Any squeak??
nopee
How do you like your kyb shocks?
no complaints with them
Please everybody, do not sand your new bushings for easy installation. They need to be greased and then with a press and the right attachment the bushings can be forced into their proper place. Polyurethane is much stiffer than rubber, which is why it will improve your car’s handling. If your unable to get the bushings into the proper locations, find a shop with a press that you can just pay to seat them. Sanding those down is almost certainly going to result in a problem down the road, squeaking or worse, and I didn’t see any grease on them after they had been sanded? And if they aren’t greased, Poly will always squeak.
0 issues and i daily drive the car til this day
Ok, but this is a quality kit, they are very difficult to install, but it’s unlikely they were the wrong ones. So i am just suggesting another way to install them. And you might not have any obvious issues, but u could have lost some benefits that aren’t obvious on your way to work, but could mean slower lap times or something similar that is a factor when buying a kit like this. I am not trying to start an argument, just pointing out that they should fit
Took me 2hrs to do mine under a tree
lol riiiiight 😂
U needed a 2nd set of hands bud. This took me and my buddy 6 hrs in the driveway. Absolutely no press needed. I'm not sure if all that rust made that job more difficult for u I would assume so.
6 hours and no press is very impressive! Extra hands and not filming a video does save time though!
@@PoorManMods great video though non the less man.
i do not like that design of front end n is300`s the supra mk3 is much better
Nice video. I am doing this full kit now. Waiting on my parts from powder coating. Instagram @srtwil93.
Nice! How was the rear? Haven't started it yet but it looks impossible to do without dropping the rear subframe?
@@PoorManMods I don’t think it would be possible without dropping the subframe. I am actually doing a full overhaul. Dropped cross member and subframe. Powder coating everything.