k7q

iTrader: (37)

i remember seeing Prothane releasing these bushings for the GS not too long ago. i decided to try it out, the price was great. around $100 shipped for the caster, front lower control arms, and front upper control arms bushings. good deal for me since i do all the labor myself. i have access to a press. design is a lot better then the daizen poly bushings people were using before. i only did the caster and lower for now. I'm waiting for new upper arms to come, since my upper ball joints were bad (movement play).


prothane bushing kit is for 98-00.
install is pretty straight forward. press out old bushings, press in new greased bushings. i had a little problem with the caster arm sleeve they provided, but i called prothane and they sent me the correct sleeves.

some might not like the poly feel, but i don't mind it. i am also on power by max coilovers.

ill let you guys know how long they last



Prothane also has lifetime warranty. i never had to use the warranty before, so I'm not sure if its easy to warranty.





crappy picture, but this is how the bushing looks when the car is on the floor

Alphaman19

Gotta do my bushings soon. How's the ride feel after all the new rubber?

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

Interesting they chose to make it similar to the Daizen bushing, something I'm not a fan of. I still think FIGS has the best urethane caster bushing design. I wonder what's stopping them from making the caster bushing two-piece instead of one. It would make installation a lot easier and would still do the same job.

Let us know how long it lasts.

k7q

iTrader: (37)

It's a lot firmer since my old caster were pretty worn.

k7q

iTrader: (37)

I think prothane design is better then daizen. The bushing is fuller, then daizen. Not sure if I'm making sense. I saw figs/super pro but prothane at $100 for the caster, Flca, and Fuca. I couldn't say no. Only reason I can think of why prothane didn't make the caster into 2 pieces is that the caster has a lot of up and down movement for stock shocks. 1 piece would be stronger?

bruceb58

After seeing how long my brother's poly bushing lasted on his LS400, they are not worth the effort putting in.

k7q

iTrader: (37)

It all depends on brand and installs. Improper installs and cause them to fail early. I had prothane in my SC400 before and they lasted years. I did the full front and rears arms for my SC.

LexusK

iTrader: (14)

So purely from a maintenance/preventative perspective, what should I replace on my 98 GS400 with 132k miles? Balljoints were already replaced around 60k in 2009 or 2010. If the OEM parts are going to last "forever" then I don't mind just leaving them alone.

sakataj

iTrader: (182)

not hard to do since Daizen's bushings were ****, i did them and hated the ride on them. their quality control was garbage with all the "bubbles" in the molds. Glad i got FIG's Spherical ones, never have to change them again

IS300Jeff

From a maintenance point of view I would change the balljoints anyway(they are already 6 yrs old and pretty cheap anyway)...there's plenty of horror stories if you research enough that the OEM ball joints are a huge failing point on these cars.

I would also recommend replacing the #2(the caster bushing) as those are notoriously known for prematurely wearing out as well. .


sakataj, how much of a difference (performance wise) did you notice from the Daizen's to the spherical mounts?

I have the Figs poly mounts for the lower control arm in a box at home but I am contemplating on getting rid of them for the spherical ones...any opinions/suggestions?
Only drawback I see is that they cannot slightly adjust the caster if I am not mistaken?

sakataj

iTrader: (182)

oh its a complete different feel to me, planted and quicker transitions in the turns without the sloshy feel from the Daizens

LexusK

iTrader: (14)

Should I also change the steering rack bushings? Steerings been feeling kinda loose recently. Not sure if that's the only thing that needs to be replaced. I was looking at the Daizen thread.

IS300Jeff

I probably would go ahead and change them Battle version makes a real nice aluminum driver's side replacement or you can go with Fig's version which I believe(?) replace the driver's side along with that O-ring/clamshell looking bushing.

Deegee

iTrader: (1)

The car handles extremely well with the bushings Kev, glad to see you are still in the game!! Were there other bushings you wish you would of done before getting rid of it? I'm thinking about buying a complete kit soon but wasn't too sure if it would be a waste after already having some installed.

marshun

what bushings? i got polys in all my cars. the oldest of which is the 93 240sx. those bushings were swapped for polys back in 01. still good till this day

did my 99 gs400 10 years ago.

zero problems in both