hi all:

sorry to come again with a new problem with my (new) 93 del Sol.

i did a MD inspection today and the mechanic says the REAR TRAILING ARMS BUSHINGS are cracked and need replacing (a $500 job); problem is that it seems nobody caries those bushings (even the dealer suggested that the bushings for other Civics may fit; otherwise I would have to buy the whole trailing arm at $300+ a piece).

i called napa, adv auto parts, and olympic.

could anyone recommend an alternative? I live in Gaithersburg, MD but work in Falls Church, VA.

i know the mechanics in MD are "biased" (to be polite), but need to get this done ASAP.

Pls advise. thanks. Neko

I believe our suspension is the same as Integra's (at least mine and my roommate's '95 Integra LS are the same) and the Civic Si's from '99 - '01 I believe. Might want to check around for bushings from those cars as well and see if you can find them.

On a side note, where are the rear trailing arms located? I've never heard of those, but I'm not exactly a mechanic.

thanks; i will try the '93 acura to see what i can find; my haynes manual shows a trailing arm (need to read it better though); also, the mechanic said that the failure of the rear trailing arm bushings is very common to civics :(

Take it to another mechanic. I used to live in MD, 90% of the inspectors out there aren't worth shit. Also, if you are a woman, have a man with some car knowledge take it in for you. It's sad, but it is true that men tend to get lower quotes than women. Your best bet is to take it to a small, non-incorporated shop. The smaller shops are more concerned about keeping your buisness than the bigger ones are.

Another option- if you have a freind in DE, change your offical address to his, and register the car there. No state inspections in DE :evillol:

I aggree with the last person: the mechanics here for the most part are a bunch of bandits; had a friend w/ a lot more car knowledge than me take a look at it, did some tests, then he said they are OK, then i took it to a different mechanic and it passed with flying colors.

the jerks that said it cannot pass are at the Amoco gas station on Flower Hill Blvd (or Av or something like this) in Gaithersburg, Montgomery Co, MD. This is the Amoco station on the same side of the street as Giant and MacDonalds and is located between them. Pls avoid them like the plague for anything; I think dishonest shops should be driven out of business.

Thanks.

You do not need to replace the whole arm. Here's a Honda sevice bulletin to prove it. It lists the part #'s. Dont let any con you into buying a whole arm

http://rbf351.com/car/service/Clunk.pdf

Print the pdf above, and take it to the dumb ass mechanic.

also Energy suspension, and prothane both sell aftermarket poly bushings.

Or, there's the mugen bushing you can get at King Motorsports.

Here's a Honda sevice bulletin to prove it.

Do you have anymore of those service bulletins? or all of them? I've been looking forever for them and can't find them anywhere. I found one website that will list the existance of the bulletins, and their topic. But Honda sued them and made them take the actuall contents of the bulletins off the website.