Overview
In this technical article, we show how to replace the main bushing in a 1996 Honda Civic rear trailing arm, using a Honda/Acura “Bushing X-Tractor” tool. The same general process will also apply to any Civic 1988-2000, CRX 1988-1991, Del Sol 1993-1997, and Acura Integra’s 1994-2001. RTA bushings should be replaced whenever they are cracked or worn out. You can find replacement bushings for $25 a piece at http://www.magauto.com, part #52385-S21-003. I picked up my bushing Xtractor tool for $125 new, there are numerous places online that sell them.

Tools required

• Bushing X-Tractor tool
• Jack and jackstands
• 17mm, 14mm, 12mm sockets
• Sharpy marker

Step 1:
Some other howto’s I’ve seen online suggest that you take an alignment measurement of your bushings before you jack the car up onto jack stands. Personally, I do not think this is necessary as the bushing X-Tractor tool install instructions show a much easier way to accomplish this. But, for those that might be interested, I did this process of measuring the bushing while the car was on the ground. You can see in the pictures below that I took a straight edge, and basically lined it up flat along the bottom of the bushing “mount arm” then traced a line on the RTA (rear trailing arm) for alignment.

After we take the initial measurements, you’ll want to jack the rear of the car up and put it on jack stands.

Step 2:
Once the car is up on jacks, we can start removing the bolts necessary to drop down the trailing arm. I started by removing the bolt on the front of the trailing arm (14mm) and the two large bolts that go through the holes in the bushings (17mm). Remember to note the exact location of the first 14mm bolt on the trailing arm because that is used for alignment. An alternative option is to remove the bolt just to the right of that one in the picture, this one won’t potentially mess up alignment.

Now, for the next bolts, what I ended up doing is a little different then my pictures show. In the pictures below you’ll see I removed the two 14mm bolts that hold the camber adjustment arm to the cars chassis. A much easier way to do this is to remove the single 14mm bolt on the outside part of that same arm, and then also remove the 14mm bolt that holds the bottom of the shock to the lower control arm. In my opinion this is much easier then removing the two bolts that go into the chassis becuase they are a bitch to get back in sometimes. Once you remove these bolts the trailing should “fall” out and hang well below the car body so that the bushings are easily accessible.

Step 3:
Now, lets mark the alignment of the bushing as instructed in the X-Tractor tool instructions. You’ll notice on the bottom of your bushings a small arrow pointing down. Use your sharpy to mark on the trailing arm so that it lines up with the arrow on the bushing. At this time you can also measure the depth of the bushing in the trailing arm. The bushing round section should stick out about 1/2″ from the inner part of the trailing arm (sorry forgot picture.)

Step 4:
In this step, we will hook up the X-Tractor tool and press out the old bushings. Start by hooking the arms of the tool around the base of the trailing arm. You can then slide it up near the bushing while you are holding the X-Tractor cup in the old bushing. Screw the bolt on the X-Tractor in so that the cup is flush on the bushing. Once that is done, you can use a 14mm socket and wrench to drive the old bushing out the back side. Also note that you may have to remove the e-brake cable bracket (as I did in my case, 12mm) to get the bushing to push out the back. It is probably also good idea to use the safety wiring on the X-Tractor tool to keep the old bushing from launching out the back (not that I know this from experience or anything…).

Step 5:
Once the bushing is out go ahead and wipe out the inside of the bushing slot so we have a clean surface. We are then ready to hand press our new bushing into the trailing arm. Place the bushing into the slot with the short side of the bushing facing toward the outside of the car. Use your mark you made on the trailing arm bottom section to line up the new bushing by hand. You’ll notice the new bushings have two small little dots on the bottom instead of an arrow like the old ones. Just line up your mark in the center of the two dots, also be sure the bushing is facing downward (LWR pointed down). If you made the line with the straight edge earlier, you can also use that as a second guide (as I did).

Step 6:
Now that the bushing is pressed in by hand, hook up the X-Tractor tool once again and begin pressing the new bushing into the trailing arm. Be careful when the bushing gets close to the necessary depth as we don’t want to overshoot it. The X-Tractor instructions say the edge of the bushing should stick out about 10-12mm above the surface of the trailing arm (about 1/2″ or a tad less).

Finishing up:
Now that we have the new bushing in place, go ahead and bolt everything back up in reverse order. For general torque specs, on my ’96 Civic, you use 40lbs for the smaller 14mm bolts, and 47lbs for the 17mm larger bolts and the single 14mm bolt on the front of the trailing arm (I recommend consulting a Helms manual or something similar for exact specs). After you get everything back together it might not be a bad idea to go get your alignment done again, just to be safe.