Transmission crossmember bush replacement.

[Growlerbearnz]

Lower transmission mounts are still available from Mitsubishi at a reasonable price*, but if your upper mount bushes (the ones that connect the crossmember to the chassis rails) are sagging, replacements are only available from Mitsubishi if you buy the entire crossmember assembly. For about $400. Ouch.
Looks like the Automatic transmission crossmember assembly MB581265 is out of production, so replacing the bushes is now your best option.

Nissan Micra/March/Tiida/Cube/Versa/ front suspension lower arm rear bushes. $16 each. Febest part number NAB-134.

The tube in the middle is about 6mm too long. To prevent burning the rubber I drilled 3mm out of each end, then finished with a file. It's alloy, so easy to work.

The bush's outer diameter is about 1mm larger than the mount, but it's a press fit so merely cleaning up the mating surfaces was enough. Flap wheel in a drill for the bracket, angle grinder flap wheel and the redneck lathe for the bush. Again, being careful not to get the bush too hot.

Install bush with a press (aka sledgehammer and a chunk of exhaust pipe as a mandrel) and it's as good as new.

Before and after shots:

The bushes are stiffer than the old (failing, worn-out) bushes, but I haven't noticed any extra vibration or noise. I'm declaring it a success.

*Lower transmission mounts are apparently getting harder to find.
Automatic lower mount part numbers: MB581258 and MB581261
Manual: MB581114 and MB581113
The brackets are all different shapes, but the bush inserts are the same (see below). I ended up cutting the bushes out of a new set of Automatic mounts and fitting them to my Manual gearbox brackets, and they fitted perfectly.

 

[jeffery]

Thanks for this! I am experiencing a full body shudder that occurs only when the van is in park, or at foot-on-brake idle. Do you think transmission mounts are a good place to start?

 

[ccmickelson]

Got a set of replacement bushes made in Russia from @natematos for the upper and lower transmission mounts and just getting around to swapping them in...



So, this evening I started with the upper mounts...

You can see the old bushes are quite dried and cracked. You'll also notice that the inner sleeve is slightly offset, unlike the replacement bushing. I wondered whether this might cause any issues as it would effectively raise the rear of the transmission a half inch or so. But I also noticed the bushes in Growlerbearnz's install were also not offset so not to worry.

Getting the old bushes out of the mounts and installing the new bushes took no small amount of violence as I have no machining tools nor shop press. With the help of a large socket, approximately the size of the outer sleeve of the bush, a cold chisel, drill and 5 pound sledge, I got the job done.

Worked the edges with a cold chisel to try to loosen the bond.

Drilled out and removed the rubber inside of the bush. (No going back now!)

Out!

Installing the new bush I set one side slightly into the ID of the mount and whacked the opposite edge with the sledge which effectively set the thing into the mount enough to allow me to begin to really go at it. I worked it in using a small ball peen hammer around the edges driven by the sledge. It was crude but it worked.

Reinstalled the mounts and all is good. For ease of re-assembly, I do recommend not doing a final tightening of the bolts until the whole assembly is back together.

Took it for a test drive and no issues. In fact, the drive train feels smoother. I did have a slight shudder around 1,200 RPM when accelerating from a stop, which I understand is common, but now it is barely discernible. Perhaps after I swap in the lower mounts it will be gone completely. Fingers crossed.

I am wondering if the lower mount bushes will prove to be more difficult to replace as they are set deeper into the mount.

 

[Growlerbearnz]

Great work! You removed the old bushes pretty much the way I do (drill out the rubber until there's just the steel ring left).
Once you get to that stage though, try using a hacksaw to cut through the steel ring. Once you've cut most of the way it should collapse enough to come out without the cold chisel. (You'll have to remove the blade from the hacksaw, pass it through the mount, and reinstall the blade on the hacksaw.)

 

[ccmickelson]

Great work! You removed the old bushes pretty much the way I do (drill out the rubber until there's just the steel ring left).
Once you get to that stage though, try using a hacksaw to cut through the steel ring. Once you've cut most of the way it should collapse enough to come out without the cold chisel. (You'll have to remove the blade from the hacksaw, pass it through the mount, and reinstall the blade on the hacksaw.)

The hacksaw idea is brilliant. Would have been a lot less effort. I'll use that trick for the lower bushings. Thanks again, GB.

 

[ccmickelson]

This afternoon I moved on to the lower transmission mounts...
These bushings are offset, as are the replacements, so it is important to note and mark the orientation/position of the inner sleeve relative to the mount itself so that everything lines up and goes back together properly. You can see the marks I made here...


After I drilled out the inner rubber material I took Growlerbearnz's advice and used a metal cutting blade on my sawzall to carefully cut through the outer bushing sleeve.

I then used a 1 1/2" to 3/4" cast iron pipe reducer with a cap/plug in the 3/4" end as a drift/driver. The reducer has an OD of 2 1/2" and is the perfect size for the lower bushing. This worked well for pounding the old bushing sleeve the remainder of the way out of the mount.

For the new bushing install I carefully oriented the new bushing before beginning to insert it into the mount.

Pounding the new bushings into the mounts took a lot of effort, even after greasing both the inner surface of the mount and outer sleeve of the new bushing. I started with a medium sized ball peen hammer and finished with the 5 pound sledge and cast iron reducer (drift) until it was flush to the mount.

I was amazed at how resilient these mounting brackets are considering the abuse they took during this procedure. I think I may have tweaked one of them just slightly, but everything went back together as it should.

The pipe reducer also took a beating...

As did my workbench and vise!

With a shop press and the right sized fittings this job would be a lot easier but I feel it was certainly worth the effort and it only takes a few hours to get it done with some simple tools and a bench vise.

I took the van for a test drive and I can't detect any shuddering when accelerating from a stop. The drive train now feels very smooth. I am very pleased.

 

[ccmickelson]

Update on these bushings...

When idling at a stop in gear (as when I come to a stop light) there is a noticeable and significant shudder/vibration of the drive train that has developed which wasn't there before installing these bushings. When I accelerate and drive down the road it is completely gone, but instantly returns when I come to a stop. Hmmm...

 

[sk66]

Is it just me, or are the orientations different?
Edit: I'm guessing/hoping they are different mounts

 

[sk66]

Update on these bushings...

When idling at a stop in gear (as when I come to a stop light) there is a noticeable and significant shudder/vibration of the drive train that has developed which wasn't there before installing these bushings. When I accelerate and drive down the road it is completely gone, but instantly returns when I come to a stop. Hmmm...

 

[ccmickelson]

Is it just me, or are the orientations different?
Edit: I'm guessing/hoping they are different mounts

View attachment 3229

The bushings themselves had almost the exact same offset and I did my best to install the replacements with the offset in the same orientation as the originals. They reassembled easily so I think I got pretty close.

 

[ccmickelson]

View attachment 3230

This is an interesting comparison and probably what I am experiencing. If I can't live with it, I may start with replacing the lower bushings with OEM. Apparently the only alternative for the upper bushings is to order the entire upper cross-member which is crazy expensive.

 

[sk66]

Apparently the only alternative for the upper bushings is to order the entire upper cross-member which is crazy expensive.

The febest parts Grant used are OEM rubber type (I believe).

 

[rtaylor6753]

Lower transmission mounts are still available from Mitsubishi at a reasonable price, but if your upper mount bushes (the ones that connect the crossmember to the chassis rails) are sagging, replacements are only available from Mitsubishi if you buy the entire crossmember assembly. For about $400. Ouch.

However, there is an inexpensive solution if you're ok with some minor modifications:

Nissan Micra/March/Tiida/Cube/Versa/ front suspension lower arm rear bushes. $16 each. Febest part number NAB-134.

The tube in the middle is about 6mm too long. To prevent burning the rubber I drilled 3mm out of each end, then finished with a file. It's alloy, so easy to work.

The bush's outer diameter is about 1mm larger than the mount, but it's a press fit so merely cleaning up the mating surfaces was enough. Flap wheel in a drill for the bracket, angle grinder flap wheel and the redneck lathe for the bush. Again, being careful not to get the bush too hot.

Install bush with a press (aka sledgehammer and a chunk of exhaust pipe as a mandrel) and it's as good as new.

Before and after shots:

The bushes are stiffer than the old (failing, worn-out) bushes, but I haven't noticed any extra vibration or noise. I'm declaring it a success.

This will be my next project. Evan sent me replacement bushings and I should be able to press them in/out at work. Question, did you support the transmission before taking the mounts completely off?

 

[Growlerbearnz]

I may start with replacing the lower bushings with OEM. Apparently the only alternative for the upper bushings is to order the entire upper cross-member which is crazy expensive.

But.. but.. this thread is about replacing the upper bushes. With rubber. Without buying a whole new crossmember. Have a read from the top.

This will be my next project. Evan sent me replacement bushings and I should be able to press them in/out at work. Question, did you support the transmission before taking the mounts completely off?

Yes. Otherwise it'll fall on your head. Just put a jack under the transmission to take the weight off the bushes, then unbolt the bushes, leaving the jack in place while you swap out the bushes.

 

[ccmickelson]

But.. but.. this thread is about replacing the upper bushes. With rubber. Without buying a whole new crossmember. Have a read from the top.

Ha! True that. I'm hoping that replacing the lower ones will eliminate the squeaking. I'm not sure I have the heart to replace the upper ones after all the the violence it took to get the poly bushings in there.

 

[rtaylor6753]

But.. but.. this thread is about replacing the upper bushes. With rubber. Without buying a whole new crossmember. Have a read from the top.



Yes. Otherwise it'll fall on your head. Just put a jack under the transmission to take the weight off the bushes, then unbolt the bushes, leaving the jack in place while you swap out the bushes.

Haha. Yes, I figured. I was going to put some blocking on a jack to support the trans. Thanks for the quick response.

Cheers!

 

[ccmickelson]

I've noticed the poly, lower transmission mount bushings have "mellowed" considerably since the initial install. No more squeaking but the shudder/vibration is still there when idling at a stop. I'm gonna bite the bullet and order up an OEM set from Amayama.