I ain't got a clue where mechanical issues are concerned, so I asked my mechanic friend to fit the 6 set's of Bushes I had bought.

Apparently after 20hrs work his conclusion was:

"They are a f00king pain in the arse to fit!"

He couldn't fit the "Lower Eng Mount" bushes as he said it seemed the bolts were solid & were most likely to shear - if this was to happen it would drop the engine & would be a "bit of a mare to sort out!"

He also advised against fitting the "Anti Roll Bar" bush as this "could strip the drive shaft!"

Is he right in stating what he said?
Is it better to leave these bushes off or go elsewhere to get them fitted?

Please advise.

I had bushes fitted to my GT-four which made my car very rigid round corners and certainly felt the bumps and pot holes a lot more.

But i had all my bolts replaced and a lot of restoration work done to the car but NEVER had any problems with my driveshafts even with 350+BHP.

No ofence to your buddy (i had the same with my mechanic) their knowledge is limited and i think your find with a lot of standard mechys that when it comes to something other then the normal product their knowledge falls down to opinion rather then fact.

Personally i'd take it to a reputable aftermarket performance garage with knowledge and ask the same question. could always call Jam-sport and ask them.

Agree with stason about mechanics my mate had my car for a day at his work to fit my 300mm upgrade and axel spacers he did the upgrade no probs then spouted s**t about not having time to do the spacers then other day he had it again for 2 days to lower it fit spacers and change front lamda sensor all he did was lower it so I've fitted spacers today not got a clue what I was doing on the first an took 3 hrs but second did in an hour job done

So I would ring up a well known performance ford garage an see what they say hope the SA helped

I had mine fitted a few weeks back and my experience was:

They fit them all in a couple of hours bar the rear beam which he said wouldn't be easy (but still possible and he would do it on a different day).

The lower engine mount is a piece of piss and doesn't support the engine at all. It's actually a torque mount that limits the engine swinging and twisting on the two top mounts as you accelerate. I've had my whole torque mount off and in my hand in about 5 minutes without the engine falling on the floor. The bolts being tight might be a bit of an issue but i'm sure with a blowtorch and stuff he could get them out. Doesn't matter if he burns the existing bushes away as they need to be gotten out anyway.

No clue what the's saying about the front ARB bushes. They're stronger than the original rubber ones so how can this be a problem?

How you finding them stew

They're ok, the steering feels a little bit more exact and when you brake or accelerate hard you don't get the squirming around but apart from that it's not hugely noticable.

I still need to get the rear beam bushes installed as well as the torque mount just because the kit I bought didn't have those. I'll probably be getting the vibratechnics link though. And I need my tracking/alignment doing as it's an absolute mile off at the moment. My steering wheel points to the left just to go straight. After all that is sorted hopefully it will be even better.

I'm not convinced they're worth the RRP +quite a lot of labour but I got the actual bushes cheap and a garage near me who i've got to know has done them. I've still not paid the garage because the guy is really laid back and he is going to do the rear beam at some point.

Thread resurected. I've Been thinking about these today i've seen the kit advertised for £169.95, worth doing do you think stew?

Hmm, it's a tough one, things I would say are:

1) Presumably that kit comes with the gearbox torque link bushes (1 x large and 1 x small). This is the only part that my kit didn't have because i'm going to get one of the vibratechnics ones at some point.

2) I paid considerably less than £169.95 but only because I got a good deal off somebody on this forum so i'm not going to comment on the price.

3) I paid £100 labour for fitting which included them welding an exhaust hanger back on which had come off. The labour could be much more than this as it took them two days to do it all. They didn't necessarily spend all of the two days doing it as they had a lot of other jobs on but i'd expect it takes longer than the 3 hours labour I paid for. I am friends with the guy at the garage.

4) As for how much difference it makes, it's difficult to say. It's not huge by any stretch of the imagination. Especially when going over speedbumps. The steering feels "different", maybe more exact and tight. The only time I notice it is when I go over speedbumps, the back end seems to stick to the bump more and feels more solid when you come down. I think the biggest difference came when the rear beam was done which leads me to think those bushes were either worn or just generally make more of a difference to the car's handling.

Ride is probably a little bit noisier and firmer although that won't be helped by my Bilstein suspension. Lozzy said she really likes it.

Im surprised, everyone I know raves about polybushes. I was considering getting some too but you dont seem convinced that they make much difference. What about if you used the car on track? Do you think you would notice them then?

I can imagine on track they would be a small difference, but then again if you had something like bilsteins aswell they would be a major help.

Stew you'll have to go on track and tell us how it is

Duncan, is that other people with Fiesta ST's? From what I understand, on other cars they can have a much bigger effect, especially cars with fully independent suspension for example. Our cars have very little adjustment and having a rear beam means we're not fully independent.I don't understand the full effects of this but it may be a factor.

Also, how worn and how tough a rubber is used in the OEM bushes being replaced can have an effect. Perhaps mine wern't as worn as other peoples maybe?

Finally, I chatted to Duff who also has polybushes and he pretty much said the same as me that he can't tell much difference specifically. Admittedly he has a supercharger to take his mind off them but still.

Jack, I DEFINITELY want to get it on the track and see how it does. On the road it does handle fantastically, I can fly around corners with not a hint of under or over steer, the bilstein is probably the main cause of that.

Yeah it was other people with ST's... On track I was understeering a little, might try a strut brace first and see if that helps

Strut brace FTW!