Peaty

These bushings are harder than stock, they install on the ends of middle crossmember that holds the tranny mount. For the Manual Tranny only. (see pics below)

The install isn't that tough, the rear set is a snap but the front one's are a little tricky. This install was done on my 04' Forester XT - MT, I suspect other Scoobies will be similar.

What you need:

Eye Protection - You will be working under the car, no need to get dirt in your eyes.

A way to get the car safely in the air - I used RinoRamps, I did it with just the front wheels off the ground.

Bottle or Floor Jack - To support the crossmember for the rear set install and raise the tranny for the front set.

14mm Deep Socket - To remove the Bushing nuts (front) and bolts (rear), also to remove the tranny mount bolts.

Torque Wrench - To tighten up the bolts when done.

Razor Knife or similar - To remove the nibs from two of the four bushings.

When installing the bushings you will be working near the exhaust and tranny. It's best to wait till the car has set overnight and is stone cold.

Currently the bushings need a minor modification (this may change in the future) On two of the four bushings there are raised nibs that need to be removed. I used a razor blade, they were simple to cut off. Just level them with the bushing surface as shown.

You can get the bushings here:


ORDER LINK - A Pic of the bushings are not up yet but look at the bottom of that list and you will see them.

From Kartboy - a ScoobyMods Sponsor

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__________________
Peaty

cheeze@sunflower.com

2004 Forester XT - MT Cobb Stage 2

2006 B9 Tribeca - 7 pass Ltd (wifes ride)

1999 Miata - Daily Runabout

 

Peaty

After you get the car in the air, start by doing the rear bushings first. Take a jack (I used a bottle jack) and support the crossmember to keep it from dropping after you remove the two rear (14mm) bolts. Just lightly touch the crossmember with the jack; don't have a lot of force on it. After you get the bolts off remove the lower bushing and plate, lower the jack a little, just enough to get to the upper bushing off of the top of the crossmember you just lowered. There are two metal guide sleeves that you will need to remove from the OEM bushing and re-use.

Now install the new bushings by putting the upper bushing (w/o nibs) in place on top of the crossmember. Locate the bushings holes so you can insert the metal guide sleeves. They should stay put in the holes. Raise up the jack to get the bushing closer so you can thread the bolts. Now put the lower bushing on (nibs up) then the plate. Notice the plate has a lip, the lip faces down (see pic) Next snug the bolts but don't torque them in yet. You need to do the front set first.

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__________________
Peaty

cheeze@sunflower.com

2004 Forester XT - MT Cobb Stage 2

2006 B9 Tribeca - 7 pass Ltd (wifes ride)

1999 Miata - Daily Runabout

Peaty

On to the front set. This set is more difficult because here the crossmember is resting on top of another one. These bushings are a little more hidden. Because of this it was hard to get any good pics I'm sorry to say.

Start by removing the two 14mm nuts from the front bushing and the two 14mm lower tranny mount bushing. The tranny mount bushings nuts need to come off so you can raise up the tranny enough to get the bushings out from under the tranny.

With the those removed, raise up the tranny enough to get the bushings and stud plate off. When raising up the tranny don't go too high, it will raise easly then you will feel resistance, stop there. Removing the stud plate that holds the upper bushing is kind of like a puzzle to get out. I found it came out if I held down on the crossmember with one hand and then tilted it towards the passenger side (LHD) of the tranny. It was a tight fit but it comes out after some fiddling with it. After you have that off, remove the bushing that's below the crossmember. Put the new KB bushing w/o the nibs under the crossmember. Locate it as best as you can over the bolt holes. I kind of did this by feel since it's hard to see what you are doing. Look from below too that helps. Then put the bushing with the nibs on the stud plate (nibs down) and insert the metal guide sleeves. Put that on top of the crossmember inserting the whole thing in pretty much the same way it came out. More fiddling to get it in there. Once you get the studs through the holes you can lower the tranny. Put the nuts back on the front bushings and the tranny mount. Torque all nuts and bolts to spec. using the attached pic. Keep in mind that the torque specs in the brackets at the end are Ft/Lbs, not the first numbers you see.

Done, clean up your tools - get the car off the ramps and go for a spin

Peaty

11-29-05

Attached Thumbnails

         

__________________
Peaty

cheeze@sunflower.com

2004 Forester XT - MT Cobb Stage 2

2006 B9 Tribeca - 7 pass Ltd (wifes ride)

1999 Miata - Daily Runabout

Peaty

Topline feedback - I haven't had a lot of seat time yet but so far I can say I get no increase in NVH (I'm currently running the stock tranny mount) which is nice. The amount of driveline lash I had appears to be reduced too.

__________________
Peaty

cheeze@sunflower.com

2004 Forester XT - MT Cobb Stage 2

2006 B9 Tribeca - 7 pass Ltd (wifes ride)

1999 Miata - Daily Runabout