Upper Control Arm Bushings?
Is it safe to drive with torn upper control arm bushings? The Honda dealer wants to replace the entire Upper Control Arm… I'm taking a 4,000 mile road trip… Should I get them replaced? Or leave them? What's the worst that could happen?
The worst that will happen is youll wear that tire out sooner than the rest your front end might pick up a vibration maybe get a 2nd opinion before you take your trip
It will affect the handling & the steering, & may wear that tire unevenly. As to replacing just the bushing or the entire arm - That depends on how the car was designed. Some cars are designed to replace the entire arm while some have a replaceable bushing. There's also a cost difference. It may be cheaper to just replace the arm then it would to pay a mechanic $ 120 an hour to take everything apart to get at the bushing. Ask the garage to figure it both ways, IF the bushing can be replaced alone.
News Flash: Your car does not HAVE upper control arms. It has only LOWER A-frames (control arms). Open your hood and look!
- Will Powerflex polyurethane bushings help my car achieve better handling and corner faster? My car is an 03 Honda Element awd and there's a brand called Powerflex that makes polyurethane bushings specifically for each car. In my case, for my front and rear anti sway bars they offer "street" and "race" polyurethane bushings for my Honda.
- What's the part called on the upper right side? The square next to the grey? This is a Honda insight I'm missing a part of the bumper and I have no idea what the name of it is. I've looked on numerous websites and I still don't know what it is.
- How much of an improvement will these polyurethane control arms bushings give me? My car is a 2003 Honda Element awd. How much a of a handling improvement will it give me through curves percentage wise? Say I can take a curve at 80 mph, how much faster could I go through that same curve with these bushings (front and rear)?
- How much improvement will polyurethane bushings give me? I have a 2003 Honda Element awd and I've had all 4 sway bar links along with 2 front and rear sway bar bushings replaced. So far the car feels like it handles new. However, I've been looking into polyurethane bushings as I want to increase my cars ability to take corners and feel more stable. My question is if I can take a curve at 80 mph, how much faster(in mph) would I be able to take that same curve if I install polyurethane bushings on the control arms and sway bars?