Once you’ve put a few miles on your car and it’s started to feel the effects of a 20-year lifespan, the first things that are going to go are the rubber components in high-wear areas. One of the areas that will almost certainly need some attention after decades is your suspension.
There wasn’t much life left in these old bushings. They’re cracked and were clearly in need of replacement.
Suspension bushings are rubber, which breaks down over time. As it ages the rubber loses its ability to contract and expand when force is applied, so it becomes rigid and brittle. In some extreme cases, the rubber will crack and fall apart, resulting in metal on metal contact, slop in the suspension, and potentially serious damage to the metal components that you rely on to absorb shock and transfer the weight of cornering, driving, and bumps in the road.
The video above offers a great walk-through of how to replace those bushings. Pet Rock is doing the work on his wife’s 1998 V6 powered Mustang convertible. While replacing the upper and lower control arm bushings he swapped them over from rubber to high-quality polyurethane components from Energy Suspension (PN 4.18112G, black, or 4.18112R, red) that will last longer and outperform their standard rubber counterparts.
If you need to do this to your car because the bushings are going out, or want to do this to your car to ensure that they won’t go out, this video will make it easier for you to do the same job on your Mustang by giving you an easy to follow example. Make sure you watch it from start to finish, and it may seen help to follow along on a phone or tablet while your working on your suspension so that you don’t get lost, especially if this is your first go at changing suspension bushings like this.