Powerflex Black Series Ordered!

[Harvey]

No updates yet.....is that a good thing ?

I guess we will have to see,they could be down the pub still.

[LeeT5]

Actually, having now completely Powerflexed my top engine mount assembly with every available Powerflex Black Bushing available, I can say I'm genuinely happy with the way it feels and aside from increased dash vibration which would happen with any grade of Powerflex, I love the feeling of the car and am quite comfortable with the comfort level. On a run, even at 30mph, I don't notice any vibration from the Black bushes and that's the honest truth.

Really?? Not true. I have PF top engine mount yellow and i get No vibration.

[LeeT5]

So James, exactly which bushes have you changed now then? Have you just changed the Wishbone and top mount? What about the rear of the car? No point just changing the front otherwise your going to put undue stress on the rear of the car.

[M-R-P]

Done.

What a ball ache! if I can give any advice for fitting black wishbones... Don't! It was hard as hell to get the wishbone in.

I managed to slip with a spanner and go chin-first into the brake disk, crushed my hand, fingers, and just about every moving part on the top half of my body has stopped working.

Was it worth it? Yes (but I'm not doing again)

The ride is tight and feels precise, there's no significant vibration or noise and the handling is very nice.

The black engine mounts however... I don't like those - very shaky.

James is on his way home, hopefully a full review will follow tomorrow. I did a little something else to his car today too, which I think he's pleased with

I'm just having a nightcap (yes it took 9 hours) of codine, ibuprophren and beer before a shower so I'll stick around for a bit if anybody has any comments/questions.

[LeeT5]

Done.

What a ball ache! if I can give any advice for fitting black wishbones... Don't! It was hard as hell to get the wishbone in.

I managed to slip with a spanner and go chin-first into the brake disk, crushed my hand, fingers, and just about every moving part on the top half of my body has stopped working.

Was it worth it? Yes (but I'm not doing again)

The ride is tight and feels precise, there's no significant vibration or noise and the handling is very nice.

The black engine mounts however... I don't like those - very shaky.

James is on his way home, hopefully a full review will follow tomorrow. I did a little something else to his car today too, which I think he's pleased with

I'm just having a nightcap (yes it took 9 hours) of codine, ibuprophren and beer before a shower so I'll stick around for a bit if anybody has any comments/questions.

Well done you! I do hope James is getting the wheel alignment done pronto?
I knew the black top mount would vibrate and honestly I don't see the point. No improvement in performance just annoying vibration - which could have an adverse effect on electrical items and components in the dash.
What was the 'little something else'??

So all you've done is wishbone bushes and top mount? What about the rest of the car?

[V70 Graham]

So your of the 'wishbones worth it engine mounts forget it' way of thinking, much the same as many members thought might be the case.

Shame about the slip/crush incident....hope your not too sore.

Hopefully James is happy and will post a full review tomorrow when he's done a few miles.

[graemewelch]

Exactly what i thought. Wishbones great mounts a huge no no.

[LeeT5]

The lower torque rod, from what I understand, stops the gearbox from twisting and keeps it in line. I can't imagine two Polybushes in there causing any comfort issues.

The lower transmission torq mount is there to secure the base of the transmission to the Engine subframe. This prevents excessive forwards/backwards movement of the gearbox which in turn prevents your gear lever jumping out of gear. It also enables smooth gear selection when changing gear between acceleration/deceleration. Without it, your gear changes would be nigh on impossible and if you did select gear it would jump out as soon as you hit the throttle.
Fitting poly here makes a big, big difference and you may experience harsh gear changes and or excess engine vibration.

[Harvey]

The lower transmission torq rod is there to secure the base of the transmission to the Engine subframe. This prevents excessive forwards/backwards movement of the gearbox which in turn prevents your gear lever jumping out of gear. It also enables smooth gear selection when changing gear between acceleration/deceleration. Without it, your gear changes would be nigh on impossible and if you did select gear it would jump out as soon as you hit the throttle.
Fitting poly here makes a big, big difference and you may experience harsh gear changes and or excess engine vibration.

Also stops the front lower engine mount from Being pulled around to much as well.

[LeeT5]

Also stops the front lower engine mount from Being pulled around to much as well.

Very true!

[M-R-P]

I don't know what James has planned for the back end tbh. And he says he's happy with the vibration. It's as bad as mine was before fitting the strut brace tensioners. Not the end of the world, just annoying.

I've not fitted any rear bushes to mine as at the time, all the bushes were in good nick. Recently however, it's getting a bit sloshy back there, so I'll be looking at sorting that lot when I get myself a man-cave and a driveway.

[Harvey]

I don't know what James has planned for the back end tbh. And he says he's happy with the vibration. It's as bad as mine was before fitting the strut brace tensioners. Not the end of the world, just annoying.

I've not fitted any rear bushes to mine as at the time, all the bushes were in good nick. Recently however, it's getting a bit sloshy back there, so I'll be looking at sorting that lot when I get myself a man-cave and a driveway.

Powerflex don't do any bushes for the rear end,for the FWD cars.

http://www.powerflex.co.uk/resize_im...2615.jpg&w=450

They list for the AWD S60 / V70 cars.

http://www.powerflex.co.uk/resize_im..._238.jpg&w=450

[M-R-P]

a few are cross compatible I believe mate and I can always "make" them fit.

[LeeT5]

a few are cross compatible I believe mate and I can always "make" them fit.

Yeah, that's what I did. Just fit what bushes you can that the AWD car has on the FWD car. More of a choice with the R models thou s nearly all the bushes are the same for S60R/V70R.

[JamesT5]

I'd like to start by thanking Martin for his effort on what was a very difficult task that definitely required the efforts of 2 big blokes with a great deal of tenacity. Without Martin's help yesterday I would not have achieved the job we did as a pair and for that I owe him a lot! I'd also like to apologise to Martin for all the broken tools, injuries, blood, sweat and Agro that he had to put up with yesterday, and to his wife and family for taking him away from them for the whole afternoon.

As we inspected the car it was discovered that the lower ball joints were totalled, the gaitor had come off, grease had gone and they were an MOT test failure if they weren't changed. So we took a trip to GSF and another £63 out of the kitty for Ball Joints as well. I was a bit surprised considering the ball joints that came off were only put on, brand new, just 18 months ago! I think this was the cause of the 'dung, dung, dung, dung' sound when I turned the wheel towards full lock because with the joints being dry, there was nothing lubricating them and it made that horrible sound which has now completely gone! The only thing that remains is that rattle sound going over rough surfaces, a sound that hasn't changed at all since adding the Powerflex bushings and I suspect is either brake carriers of the heat shield tapping against the exhaust pipe on the rear. Anyway, back to the car yesterday and a photo of one of the old ball joints.....



Martin had trouble taking off the drivers side ball joint out of the stub axle, the passenger side came off a lot quicker. To be honest, getting everything off wasn't the real issue although sliding the control arm out wasn't easy. The real issue was getting the control arm back on and locating the ball joint in to the stub axle - what a ball ache! (excuse the pun ) The issue was we had to jack up the hub assembly to get the control arm lined up properly to push the ball joint in to the spline but in doing so, the suspension coil/spring would push the hub assembly outwards (we disconnected the driveshaft to hub bolt and outer CV joint at the start). This meant that the splined hole for the ball joint would move outwards away from the control arm and we had to try and move the whole hub assembly inwards again using a trolley jack against the bottom of the brake rota, and then lever the trolley forwards using an large piece of angle iron for leverage. It didn't help that the brake rota kept turning and slipping off the trolley jack. This technique worked (just) on the driver side but the passenger side was a completely different ball game, by this time it was dark, we were both tired and pretty pissed off.

In the end, the second arm went in by leaving the two lateral bolts out of the subframe, the large (rear) upward bolt in (not tightened) and then using the angle iron as a lever across the top of the control arm with my weight on it, Martin managed to line up the ball joint to the stub axle, pop the 14mm ball joint bolts in and then after some more expletives , managed to get the two lateral bolts in to the subframe using a screw driver to line the holes up. What a nightmare!



The 'scene' earlier in the day......



The first control arm and Meyle HD droplink fitted......





The other little job Martin did yesterday for me, was he just so happened to have a spare injector refurb kit knocking about and decided to refurbish my injectors with new filters, seals and some strange plastic bits, the name of which escapes me but sounds like 'pickle'.



The difference in boost and performance was astonishing afterwards. On the way home at around 11.30pm and about 10 - 15 miles from Poole, I decided to plant my foot to the floor in second only to be met by a big jolt and 'Pooomffff', and a car that was gasping for air. I recognised the symptoms within a few seconds as that of a blown off boost pipe and I wasn't far wrong either. The Intercooler to ETM pipe had actually blown off the ETM! I sent a text to Martin and the good Samaritan turned up in the Starlet with a new jubilee clip, fitted it and then I was on my way. Again, thanks to Martin for making the extra effort to come to my aid there as well.



So my review of the Black Poly's....... Brilliant, outstanding in fact! I love the ride quality, the front end feels like brand new and is comfortable even on rough or bumpy roads, the car handles brilliantly around the bends and on the straight, feels totally solid and goes where I point it. There is less roll, especially from the front end as well and this makes cornering much more pleasant. I also noticed the car brakes better because the front end doesn't seem to want to 'stoop' as much as with standard rubber bushings. I would certainly recommend these bushes to anyone, but just make sure you have a garage fit them if you want to avoid a repeat of what Martin (and I) suffered yesterday.

As for the engine mount bushings, I know Martin wasn't keen on the extra dash vibration but personally I am used to it and quite enjoy it because it reminds me of just how solid things are underneath and when the car is moving, the extra dash vibration is non existent unless the engine is 'chugging' away close to idle.

Can I honestly say I'm in love with the Black Series Powerflex bushes? Yes, 110% and I'm going to lobby Powerflex to bring out an 'official' range for the FWD V70, S80 and S60 because you know what, they've transformed the front end of my car in to something very very enjoyable. Despite the set backs yesterday, I enjoyed every mile of my trip home last night.

Not forgetting though, many thanks to Martin for the help yesterday. I can't put a price on it, honestly, you were brilliant!

[graemewelch]

a job well done. i hope marytn now has a fridge full of beer. glad your happy witht he bushes. my opinion hasnt changed and i was right in what i was thinking. theyd be spot on in the wishbones but not in the engine mount but as ive said many times each to there own.

when doing wishbones i always lower the subframe. it takes the strain off the lower arm bushes and makes getting the ball joints into the hub very easy

[V70 Graham]

Glad your happy James......he's not a bad lad that Martin fella.

[M-R-P]

glad you're impressed with it James, quite a job that lol.

[JamesT5]

glad you're impressed with it James, quite a job that lol.

Yes it was, I also ache a little and to make matters worse I've been cursing at my rear droplinks this morning as well (see separate thread).