front cross member questions

[lostforawhile]

I finally got a good front cross member for the hatch from the yard, two days later and in the ER for exposure to the heat, mine has always been crunched right under there the radius rod bolts go through, anyway I finally got one, and I was wondering if anyone knows if the bushings are still made? If t comes down to it I can get some material and turn some, but I was considering making some out of aluminum also, has anyone ever made solid ones? it seems like a dumb place to put a rubber mount. After this one is pressure washed and cleaned, it will get some fresh black paint amd back on my car. They were crushing the crap out of cars so the car is probably now gone, it came from an 86 hatch LXI, if I had had the money the doors and everything would have been gone. I don't think they had done the body changes yet, it still had manual belts.

[lostforawhile]

what happened if I was out there for about three hours in that heat trying to get the radius rod nuts to come loose, my wife finally made me go home, then I ended up in the ER later, it had to be over a hundred degrees out there. I was able to go back this morning and finish getting the thing off, I soaked ithe threads in automatic transmission fluid before I left, that probably helped a lot, I have a 1/2 inch breaker bar on a 4 foot handle, it took that and everything I had to get those nuts to turn a little at a time.

[DBMaster]

Take it easy, dude. No sense killing yourself. No matter how tough you are it does get harder to tolerate hours in the heat as you get older. I am speaking from the experience of having several episodes of heat exhaustion (almost heat stroke) during my 36 years in Texas. 3-4 hours in the heat is about my limit. I sweat so profusely that even if I try to drink enough water or diluted Gatorade I can't.

[Tdurr]

Yea the bushings are still made. Moo6 makes poly ones and they are like $40 bucks. Search strut rod bushings.

[lostforawhile]

Yea the bushings are still made. Moo6 makes poly ones and they are like $40 bucks. Search strut rod bushings.

I should clarify, I was talking about the body bushings between the front cross member and the body, I have the moog poly bushings for the radius rods, The set of bushings and washers that were on this one looked practually brand new, so I grabbed them in case someone needs spares, my front cross member got crunched at some point right under the bushings, someone probably ran over a parking lot divider or something

[Dr_Snooz]

what happened if I was out there for about three hours in that heat trying to get the radius rod nuts to come loose, my wife finally made me go home, then I ended up in the ER later, it had to be over a hundred degrees out there.

I've noticed that going to the junkyard in the heat always turns into a survival situation. It doesn't matter how much water I take in, or how I pace myself, the junkyard in the Fresno heat just beats me down. I come staggering out like a desert refugee gasping for water and shade. I don't know if the sheet metal reflects the radiant heat more or what, but it's always ugly.

Take care of yourself out there Lost. We need your expertise and crotchety disposition around here. ;) Are you doing okay now?

[lostforawhile]

I've noticed that going to the junkyard in the heat always turns into a survival situation. It doesn't matter how much water I take in, or how I pace myself, the junkyard in the Fresno heat just beats me down. I come staggering out like a desert refugee gasping for water and shade. I don't know if the sheet metal reflects the radiant heat more or what, but it's always ugly.

Take care of yourself out there Lost. We need your expertise and crotchety disposition around here. ;) Are you doing okay now?

yea I'm ok. still a little weak but I got the POS out this morning, we've been getting temps with a heat index of 112-115, I was laid off this week and wanted to work on the car all week, but it's eithier way too hot or we are having a severe storm, that garage is not the place to be in a severe south Georgia lightning storm

[2drSE-i]

Is it gravel in ya'lls junkyards too? I'm still in my early 20's (OK barely...) and I can't handle it for very long. Tim, take care of yourself dude. I don't care if your 60 or 18 3 hours in 100+ isn't good for you.

[lostforawhile]

Is it gravel in ya'lls junkyards too? I'm still in my early 20's (OK barely...) and I can't handle it for very long. Tim, take care of yourself dude. I don't care if your 60 or 18 3 hours in 100+ isn't good for you.

it's packed georgia dirt, I swear as soon as you walk out on the lot the temp goes up 20 degrees, I think it reflects the heat, it's that or all the heat being radiated by all the metal, I had to try and get what I could as they were crushing everything like crazy, I have no idea if any of the three geez are still there now,they will be crushing all week, they had an S600 there, perfect body, and it was crushed,they wouldn't sell the body

[lostforawhile]

I've got the crossmember soaking in over cleaner now, purple stuff took some of the muck off, but not all of it. 25 years of grease,oil,dirt and who knows what else. I guess I can try to make the body grommets out of aluminum, it's a strange design, the middle inch or so directly contacts the metal of the frame rails, and then a big rubber donut surrounds the center pins.

[ecogabriel]

With triple-digit temperatures the body can no longer cool down via perspiration regardless of how much water one takes.

Hope you are doing better now, but take care.

[obdriver6]

Its never fun when you have to deal with 100+ degrees at the JY and I should know cause I was at one today and I only lasted an hour (I could have lasted more but my dumb ass forgot to bring water!).

Just take it easy next time.

[lostforawhile]

does anyone know if they make the front cross member bushing? the bottom half is perfect and had to be driven out, the top is shot, I may have to make a set of top bushings out of poly, the bottom already looks like it's poly factory, definitely not rubber,they look brand new, the bushings are really important as the crossmember floats,since it also sets your caster, these bushings being worn, affect your alignment. Everyone replaces the front radius rod bushings no one replaces the other four, both sets affect your alignment

http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/528062_10151113712927018_2146190006_n.jpg

[lostforawhile]

here's the part number, it's the top bushings I need, there are eight total four in front and four on the rear cross member, most likely I will order one and reverse engineer it, if all eight of these were made from poly,thats a bunch of slop out of the subframe, that means better steering and suspension . the bottom bushings looked like new, I will make the assumption the rears are the same

http://www.hondapartsunlimited.com/product/Honda/ACCORD/1987/4DR%20LXI/KL5MT/honda/insulator-b-sub-frame-mounting/50231-se0-000-honda/

[Dr_Snooz]

With triple-digit temperatures the body can no longer cool down via perspiration regardless of how much water one takes.

Hope you are doing better now, but take care.

I can handle the 90 degree temps no problem. Once it hits triple digits though, it's just blasted hot. Our forecast for the week here? 106 today, 107 tomorrow, then 106, 102, 99, 98, 96, 97, 97, 98. The news will say we are in for a "cooling trend." It always makes me laugh. Yesterday was 107. Before that was 104, 102, 101 and 101. Just another summer in the Valley. The heat is real dry here though, so it's not like having those temps in Lost's part of the world. You have to be careful when working outside that first hot day. You can get in trouble. After that, you become acclimated for the year and can work harder without getting heat stroke. That's how it works for me at least.

[Oldblueaccord]

I've got the crossmember soaking in over cleaner now, purple stuff took some of the muck off, but not all of it. 25 years of grease,oil,dirt and who knows what else. I guess I can try to make the body grommets out of aluminum, it's a strange design, the middle inch or so directly contacts the metal of the frame rails, and then a big rubber donut surrounds the center pins.


I would just make solid spacers like you said. Never took mine apart to see what was in there.

[lostforawhile]

I would just make solid spacers like you said. Never took mine apart to see what was in there.



I think they can't be solid on top as that wouldn't fit the contour of the crossmember, definitely have to be poly, both the front and rear crossmember float on bushings, the bottom four bushings on the front are large steel and rubber bushings, back the same, those on the front looked brand new, and looked to be made out of poly, it definitely wasn't regular rubber, the top bushings look to be rubber and were shot. you can see how much better the steering and suspension geometry would stay if all eight of those were replaced. if the crossmember can move in the bushings, it throws off the caster in the front, and in the back it adds play to the steering rack. Everyone knows to replace the radius rod bushings with poly, these other bushings also have a direct affect on those radius rods. I think this may be whats causing the mystery noise so many people complain about from the front end, even after replacing the suspension and everything in it, the noise remains, it may be the cross member moving on the bushings. It would be worse on acceleration as the engine rotates and the motor mount loads the front cross member

[glutenfree]

Apologies for necro'ing this topic but I am almost certain this is the ONLY post here on 3geez regarding the k-member to body (front crossmember) bushings.

Did you ever find a source for these? I am currently redoing my front end and these are on my list of parts. It might be worth making a mold of the round rubber ring bushing from these and reproduce them using urethane perhaps?

[conozo]

I dont know what these actually look like but is there any chance you can use stiff rubber washers for this.

[Oldblueaccord]

https://www.3geez.com/forum/project-central/126449-bscanlan-hatch-build-sequel.html

I ask a while back for some pictures since I always been curious what they look like.

I had a 2011 Dodge Challenger and the rear sub frame was rubber mounted and you really noticed it wiggle in the rear. It was a big reason I got my Camaro the rear is solid bushed.

My Honda despite its age feels really tight to me.

I got one of those old late 70's Chrysler cars that had iso clamp rear bushing under the leaf springs and huge bushing on the front K frame. Wow just horrible. We used to weld bars from the K member to the frame for dirt track cars.

[glutenfree]

I will post pics tomorrow...I just got them all cleaned up although a couple look pretty bad. I have been running parts/hardware through my cleaner in preps to put my front end back together. I will be publishing my build thread a bit later, took some time to locate my pics of the car when I purchased and anything since then (not including pics taken during my current project).

Thanks again for the replies! I have been up to my eyeballs in this repair but I brought a snorkel :)J

Edit: I just read this post I opened last night and found a pic with these bushings but its not a close up so I will still provide those tomorrow but here is the link to the post..

2nd picture down, the 4 rubber bushings on the blue paper towel next to the k-member
https://www.3geez.com/forum/project-central/126449-bscanlan-hatch-build-sequel-post1220949.html#post1220949

[Dr_Snooz]

I had no idea those bushings existed. It could explain why my car still tracks road crown, even though everything in the front is new. Please keep us posted with what you figure out. I want to replace mine too.

[ShiRen]

I had no idea this car had them, but if you really want them replaced I would suggest to have somebody machine them out of aluminum. Would not be hard as long as they are somewhat intact, much easier than tracking down new ones