It could be possible that the original plates can get worn over time and that's why Daizen has an option for with and without new case and sleeve. If you're going with the torch route I suggest taking your time with it. I watched my mechanic do it and yes it was very time consuming. If you do it right, rubber melts, and metals slide out (some took a bit of chiseling from a screw driver). You don't want to risk burning the boots or messing up the ball joints in the process. My case and sleeves were still in okay shape so he reused them.

Personally, I would go with piece of mind after watching my mechanic perform the task on just one side, I was actually glad I took it to him. Bushings are just one of those parts where it's cheap to acquire but very labor intensive to install.

Car is stiffer and I do hear more noise coming from suspension.

 

FYI i just got my rear kit from jegs and you do not need any collers for it. just press out the old bushings and push the new ones in and install.

the only ones you need to burn out are the front lower control arms. rest just push out and push in.

 

I installed the front and rear Prothane kit over a year ago. It took a while as there are a lot of bushings to do. If you are somewhat mechanically inclined and have access to a jack & stands and some tools, it's definitely doable.

I pressed all of my new bushings in with a 5" bench vise and an assortment of different sized sockets. I used a little propane camping torch to burn out the old bushings. As long as you take your time you won't burn anything that shouldn't be burned. After the old bushings were out, I used my die grinder with a spherical cleaning attachment to clean up all the old traces of burnt bushing rubber.

I used ALL of the bushing grease that came with the kit. After a year now being in the South Florida heat and rain for 6 months and now being in the sub freezing temps in North Carolina, I am very pleased with the Prothane kit. I don't have any unusual squeaks. They do transmit more road noise into the cabin however the handling is much tighter now.


-Drew

 

Based on the short amount of time the control arm would be at temp and the relatively low temp (vs 1000+celcius) I wouldn't worry about it. In general I would expect a material like the control arm to loose strength after extended exposure to high temps, but at the same time toughen up, which is important due to all of the shock loads the suspension sees. What would be NOT GOOD is if you got your CA really hot and stuck it in cold water right away. The CA arm would probably become more brittle and likely fail under an impact load.

 

hmm tempted to try this for fun along with the steering bushing..