[Dirdy]

I cannot get my sub-frame to quit shifting. The rear bushings took a crap so I replaced them with Dorman ones. Now every time I turn it shifts the sub frame around. I only know because after turning right, the car stays wanting to turn right. After turning left, the car stays wanting to turn left. After I hit a few bumps, it clunks around and shifts back straight. Also, I can see where my sub-frame bolt heads are moving around in the lower bushing cup.

Am I doing something wrong here?

First I tightened them all to 90 ft-lbs. That clunked a lot. Then 110. Thats better, but sometimes harsh clunks and shifting. Then 125 ft-lbs. Better, but still shifting. I did drop them all down to take a look at it all. Let me tell you. I stripped one threaded insert and broke another off in the frame. So much fun to repair.

Another question I have is what shape are the cups in the top of the sub-frame supposed to be? Are they supposed to be straight or tapered? Mine are in a cone shape.

And, is it these crap Dorman bushings causing my problems? They are really soft feeling. Did I over torque?

 

[peva]

I've never messed with the cradle bushings, but I know the 1st gen ones are a different part than the 2nd gen ones. Just thought I'd mention that just in case...

 

[Dirdy]

I got the correct ones. They look completely different between the 2 generations.

Now, I'm wondering if its the bolts that came with them flexing around. Reason I say is it got worse when I replaced the front two bolts with the extra ones from the Dorman kit. If you look at the parts, there really isn't room for the bolts to move much. I think I'll try some heavier grade bolts from the hardware store. Cost me somewhere around $20 or so, but this is just unbearable.

 

[peva]

Ahh - Dorman. Gotta love their quality, eh?

 

[sc.intrepid]

Great, the bushings on my 02 Limited have been crumbling for the last 6 months. I have had 4 sets of the Dorman's waiting to go in. On the quality front, the bolts and bushings themselves look ok. I haven't ever looked at any others to compare though. Maybe the dorman units need more torque than the OEM ones.

 

[paintballdude05]

O.P. Did you ever get this resolved?