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One of the bushings in the rear control arm of our ’04 Galant has been getting progressively worse over the past 6 months, to the point where the inside of the bushing has torn away from the rest o.o I don’t have a current picture, but I will update this when I can. It seems to only be the right side, but it’s affecting both tires (eats through recycled tires in ~2 weeks, sometimes less) and causing a god-awful low rumbling/rattling noise which goes away when on right hand curves, but comes back as soon as the wheel is straight. Since its a rubber/silicone bushing, a friend of mine mentioned using something like flex seal to try and bridge the gap and maybe temporarily solve the problem, but I’m not sure I trust that even as a quick fix. Is this a simple/cheap repair job I could do with what little tools we have, or do I need to enlist some outside help from a local shop? Our main concern is safety, considering it makes our tires bald quickly and makes it skittish in adverse weather and semi-rural illinois has terrible roads where I live ._. Any help is greatly appreciated!
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I know precisely what you’re talking about, the rear lower bushing letting the wheel flop around like crazy. The bushings are replaceable but you need a way to press them in and out. We use a tool that presses the bushings in in and out with the control arm still on the car, that I could not locate for sale on the internet just now. It uses a threaded rod with nuts, washers, bearings, with a pressing die and receiver cup that is specific to the size found on Mitsubishi rear lower bushings. When we (a mitsu dealer) need to buy a new one, it’s PITA to find the part number of it and it costs us a bit over $100. The only generic pressing tools like that are sets that are significantly more expensive.
Filling in the bushing is not likely to work, I’ve never even seen one come in for repair that has been jury-rigged like that. The loads on that bushing are high, which is the main it commonly tends to fail.
If your car came in to the dealer I work at, it would be around $300 to have both sides done properly. You’d have to twist the service guy’s arm to get just one side done, obviously citing financial hardship.
You could take the control arm off and take it somewhere with a floor press as a way of getting around the tool. You can mangle the old one out in the back yard with basic tools, but getting the new one in in any usable condition is where the real issue comes up.
You could probably make it a year or 2 before it breaks and comes apart when it comes down to it. Obviously I strongly advise getting it fixed right, but the metal there is not weak and it will make it a bit. If left to go, it would eventually get banged up enough to interfere with changing the bushing normally. That could end up with it needing just extra labor, or a knuckle and control arm in a worst-case scenario.
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