Honda Car Forum

Honda recently found a circumferential crack in both of the bushings
for my lower arms of my rear suspension (for a 98 Civic). This bushing
connects the lower arm to the rear strut, but I was wondering how
serious this really might be. I took the car to a different mechanic
who told me not to worry about them, but I am new to the area and don't
really know if I can trust him. Any comments would certainly be
appreciated since the repair for this item seems to be quite high due
to labor.


(This crack appears to be about 90 degrees around, and also appears to
be slowly growing.)

drmathis@purdue.edu wrote:
> Honda recently found a circumferential crack in both of the bushings
> for my lower arms of my rear suspension (for a 98 Civic). This bushing
> connects the lower arm to the rear strut, but I was wondering how
> serious this really might be. I took the car to a different mechanic
> who told me not to worry about them, but I am new to the area and don't
> really know if I can trust him. Any comments would certainly be
> appreciated since the repair for this item seems to be quite high due
> to labor.
>
>
> (This crack appears to be about 90 degrees around, and also appears to
> be slowly growing.)
>
if you can post links to some pics, that would be best, but from your
description, they don't sound serious - it's a common thing.

the bushings to look out for are the main bushing in the trailing arm.
when those go, cornering can get real sloppy, and you're entering the
zone where inspection is a good thing. jack the rear up so the wheels
hang free and look for cracking or even separation. fortunately,
there's a tool that can help you swap those out without too much
trouble. google for elle's experience with it a few months ago.

drmathis@purdue.edu wrote in
news:1158636698.547995.217520@e3g2000cwe.googlegro ups.com:

> Honda recently found a circumferential crack in both of the bushings
> for my lower arms of my rear suspension (for a 98 Civic). This
> bushing connects the lower arm to the rear strut, but I was wondering
> how serious this really might be.



Not very. They all crack after many years.



> I took the car to a different mechanic
> who told me not to worry about them,



He's right. Get it looked at once you start hearing clunks and clonks
when you drive on bumpy roads.



> but I am new to the area and don't
> really know if I can trust him. Any comments would certainly be
> appreciated since the repair for this item seems to be quite high due
> to labor.



Lots of work to change these. I've done it.


>
>
> (This crack appears to be about 90 degrees around, and also appears to
> be slowly growing.)



The inner sleeve is delaminating from the rubber. Normal.



--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

Thanks, that seems to be general thing I have been hearing. I ended up
going to another mechanic who said the exact same, so I'll be on the
look out for the clanking and also make sure to have the trailing arm
bushing looked at regularly. Hoping to keep this car for another
couple of years so that it can live up to some of this Honda
reputation.

Is there any other typical trouble areas for a 98 civic that would be
good to look for?

Thanks again,

Dave Mathis

drmathis@purdue.edu wrote in news:1158891639.862843.105860
@m7g2000cwm.googlegroups.com:

> Thanks, that seems to be general thing I have been hearing. I ended up
> going to another mechanic who said the exact same, so I'll be on the
> look out for the clanking and also make sure to have the trailing arm
> bushing looked at regularly. Hoping to keep this car for another
> couple of years so that it can live up to some of this Honda
> reputation.
>
> Is there any other typical trouble areas for a 98 civic that would be
> good to look for?



Other than rust and the usual Main Relay trouble, not really.

If you have a Delco alternator, those are prone to failure either way
(under or over charging).


--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/