Back from the dead, again.

Has anyone had any luck having this bushing replaced under the basic OR powertrain warranty?

Thanks.

 

Anyone!?

 

Brought my 04 G35 into the dealer for my 90k check up. Of course, I had about a million things that needed to be fixed, but the most expensive fix was this "Rear subframe bushings leaking and cracked" that was going to cost me $2,300. I took my car to another tech who quoted $900 for the part and labor.

I know zilch about cars (I know.. I am a terrible person :X).. but I don't understand the huge difference in price. From what I have gathered on this thread, the dealership will swap out the entire subframe instead of just pressing in new bushings? How does the process work, exactly? Take off the subframe, rip out the messed up bushings, press in new bushings, then reattach the subframe? Sorry if this sounds dumb... I am literally clueless.

Any guidance would be much appreciated. Happy holidays.

 

in a nutshell thats basically it. its just a bit labor intensive to drop the subframe since diff and driveshaft etc need to come off too.

 

You don't need to drop the whole subframe to replace the diff bushings. That would make it easier, once it's out, but getting it out of the car outweighs the difficulty of replacing the bushings while it's still in the car, imo. I went through this a couple months ago and it wasn't easy, but it wasn't worth almost a grand to have someone else do it either. There are a couple of good writeups on my350 but in a nutshell you can loosen and lower the rear of the subframe by removing the cross brace that holds it's bolts in (and two more that attach to the body) and then loosening the rear bolts. Loosening up the fronts a couple turns helps and it will sag from the back giving you more room to swing a hammer or work a sawzall. Cutting out the old bushing is the best bet I found if you're not pulling the whole subframe out. Definitely have some beer on hand and some alcoholic mechanically inclined friends (bonus points if they owe you favors, you'll be in debt to them otherwise).

As to the dealership question - I have heard stories (that I can't immediately verify for accuracy) that they will actually replace the entire subframe rather than just do a bushing replacement. So if you look under the car and see the rear differential, the aluminum cross brace it bolts into (where the leaking bushing is) is a part of the subframe, you can follow it around to each side of the car and where it connects in the rear of the vehicle basically making a large square. They may try to replace the entire thing. If I remember right (unless it's changed recently) there's no part available for just the bushing from the dealerships, their only option of what they have to work with is dropping the whole subframe and swapping it for a new one.

To anyone else doing it, unless you're very serious about performance I'd recommend the poly bushings (whiteline, energy suspension, etc. etc.) over the SPL solids if you're going to do the install yourself. If you don't really need the performance of solids save yourself the trouble of the install. I did the SPLs and I'm VERY happy with them now that the install is done, but it was a bit of a pain.

 

Wow, thank you for such a detailed response.

I have literally no experience working on cars, not do I have the tools to do the work. Eventually, I will start to play around in there.. But this does not appear to be that time.

With that said, and assuming the dealership HAS to replace the entire subframe because it's one piece.. That doesn't necessarily mean that anything other than the bushings need to be replaced, correct? Basically what I am trying to figure out is "Am I cutting corners by just having the bushings replaced for $1300 less?" The car's performance and longevity are more important to me than the extra $1,300.. But if replacing the entire subframe is completely unnecessary, then I would rather save that money.

Edit: Just talked to my tech. He said my subframe does not need to be replaced, but that I can't just replace the bushings either. He said I have to buy the entire "rods" which include the bushings. He says those parts are only available from the dealer and that they cost $600-$700. Add on $200-$300 for the labor. What are these "rods" he is talking about and why has no one else in this thread talked about them?

Edit #2: The rods I mentioned in my previous edit are called lower compression rods. $366 each. Is this fair and correct?

 

So I bought the SPL solid bushing kit from Z1 and haven't installed them yet. I'm thinking of trying this out myself at my friends shop but I also have the Rear Active Steering. I was planning on just taking the Rear Diff out but wondering how hard is this going to be with the RAS system?

 

Going with SPL solid diff bushing and solid subframe bushings, here's some pics of what could happen, well happened to me











Highly recommend changing them

 

Holy mother of god, what the hell happened?

 

Wheel hop and it gave out, sucks

 

This happened on the stock bushings?

 

Yea stock bushings, didn't last long lol

 

Are there any other weak points of the car being exposed @ 600rwhp? Are the transmission and differential ok after that catastrophe? and what about the driveline??? Any ideas on going with an aftermarket solution with serviceable U-Joints?

 

^the axles/half-shafts are the weakest part. Adding a differential brace would definitely help too. The diff and the driveshaft can handle decent power, but an aftermarket carbon-fiber driveshaft is also an option.

 

Are you saying that happened with the solid bushing?