The ones in front are original(volvo). There is a little give to the rubber but no cracks, nor any other signs of extreme wear. Im wondering if I need to change them. Car has 200,000 miles.

The rear bushings on the control arm , one(passenger) is OE, the other(driverside) is toasted scan-tech.
The rears were installed when I bought the car. I did it routinely, and dont think it was really needed. Now the scan-tech is toast, but the OE looks in great shape.
Im wondering If I'll be ok with just replacing the scan-tech with OE and leaving the rest as is.
This would be great because I just happen to have one OE rear bush on hand.

To recap: the front OE(volvo)bushings have 200,000 miles on then, but still look good. The rear bushings have 100,000 miles on them. The rear passenger side has OE and still looks great. The rear driverside has toasted scan-tech, and clearly must go! The question is should I keep the others, or change them just because of the cars mileage, and that I have the arms out and will be shopping.

Thanks

I never replaced the front control arm bushings on either of my bricks (19 years, 300k miles). When they squeaked, I sprayed silicone on them. They generally only squeaked in the rainy season.

I replaced most of the rear bushings at least once, and I replaced the rear lower control arm bushings about every 100k miles or so. Other than the lower control arm bushings, it is really difficult to see what kind of shape they are in until you get it all apart.

On my cars, I replaced them at around 150 to 200,000 miles. My '92 wagon just got it's second set at 323,000 miles. I know others here will tell you to leave them alone, but they aren't that hard to press out using a 12T or 20T shop press (I have harbor freight 12T and it works). You can easily press the new ones in with a shop vise.

EDIT: While they may look "fine", think of the condition of all of the other rubber suspension bushings you have replaced (i.e. sway bars, bucket bushings, etc.) The rubber dries with age, and looses its elasticity and thus shock-absorbing properties. Why should these bushings be any different?

One failure mechanism is juddering felt through the front end under under braking, which may even lead you to believe you have bad rotors. If you replace them, along with the bigger "bucket" control arm bushings, you will notice a huge difference in the ride/handling of the car and restore smooth braking performance. Somewhere on the internet there is a video of a BMW with worn CA Bushings- you can see the front wheels repeatedly move toward the rear of the car at least 2" and release under braking forces.

I wouldn't hesitate to replace them if you have the tools. Before I had a press, we used to burn them out and use a hacksaw to cut through the bushing shell, the shell could then be collapsed with a hammer and chisel or similar. An air hammer will make short work of them as well. It's not technically difficult work, just requires careful application of brute force. Have fun.
--
'92 240 wagon, 306k, '90 240 sedan 243k

Thats food for thought. I had decided the issue and was going with just changing both bushings in the rear, in fact I have all ready to go back on the car. I'll sleep on it. I would love to hear some other opinions. I heard from a couple good sources that express the "leave the fronts alone, unless obvious problems" school.

If I do go with changing the front bushings, Im wondering if the scan-techs that I have sitting on the bench would suffice. Since the fronts seem to have an easier job.

I was just in the garage looking at the front bushings again, and man they sure do look good. I dont know. Im sleeping on it though. Luckily, being retired gives me time, of which Iam grateful.

I would love to hear from others.

Thanks
L.

If you all ready have had SCAN-TECH bushings fail why would you use them again???????????? If you are going to replace them use OEM or better source.
My 85 240ti has original frt. bushings and seem to be fine. I don't change things just because. I would rather replace when needed.
Charlie

You misunderstood. The failed scan-tech was a rear bushing, the ones that normally need replacing. I was considering using the scan-tech for a front bushing, since the fronts, for whatever reason, dont seem to be working that hard. Seems like a good idea to me. The other part is that I have a scan-tech front bushing, peacefully sleeping in my parts stash.

I to think things should only be changed when needed.

Thanks.

Sorry I didn't misunderstand,I think if you took a survey on this board you will understand why I say (like you said) you have Scan-Tec Frt. Bushings sleeping in a parts bin. I think you should still leave them there!
I'm not trying to be sarcastic I tried them on control arms and they failed real quick and also on alt.bushings and same thing. It's cheaper to leave them where they are or chances are you will have to do the job all over again to soon.
Charlie

I would love to hear from others.

My evaluation of the skinny front bushing on the front control arm is done after removing the bucket from the rear and disconnecting the strut. At that point, the arm is only supported by the front and the front bolt is still tight.

A torn bushing will be obvious at that moment.

I still have the front bushings I bought 10 years ago waiting for the first time they are needed. So far, in the course of tinkering on 10 240's they remain in their plastic bags, aging gracefully.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

I did a lot of haavy duty supension upgrades (IPD) and replaced most of the rubber bushings with-and here's where I'm always unsure of the "name"-with "polyurethane" ones-I think it's "polyurethane". They do need to be greased occasionally but they pretty much last forever. Some say the ride is a little harder with the polys but Ive never noticed that difference myself. After 3 years they still look like new except for the normal "dirt-grime" that gets on any of them.

Unless there is an obvious problem with the front bushings on the control arms I'd leave them alone--they're tough--and can be very troublesome to press out. -- Dave