Hi all,

I have a Mk7 Fiesta 1.0 Ecoboost 2014 and I'm going to fit new rear axle bushes very soon. The bushes I'm fitting are original Ford bushes which were delivered today. Upon inspection of the new bushes I noticed that they are slightly oval and not truly circular as I expected. My question is, is this meant to be slightly oval? If yes, is this due to aiding for a better interference fit?. Any info or advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Changed mine about a year ago and was definitely round..they were aftermarket ones

Always use the removal cups to change...saves bashing the hell out of it.

You will notice a small hole on the top of the swing are..put some penetrating oil 2 or 3 times over a week before removal..this will make removal a bit easier..and grease to install.

Don't forget before torquing up..lower the car and put wheels on let it settle otherwise it will bottom out when you go down a pot hole..torque when it's in the middle..

 

On 3/23/2025 at 9:19 PM, Danny cj said:

Always use the removal cups to change...saves bashing the hell out of it.

You will notice a small hole on the top of the swing are..put some penetrating oil 2 or 3 times over a week before removal..this will make removal a bit easier..and grease to install.

Don't forget before torquing up..lower the car and put wheels on let it settle otherwise it will bottom out when you go down a pot hole..torque when it's in the middle..

 

Thanks for that, much appreciated. Do you know the torque setting for this please?. Could you also explain what you mean by "torque when it's in the middle" please?.

Edited March 26, 20251 yr by Shaffick
Needed to add something to my last post.

From memory I can't remember the torque setting sorry.

Should of explained that better. 

Put car back together as if you were to drive it with wheels on and restingon the ground..then torque 

This will put the swing arm at its normal running condition and not at its max travel as it would be on axel stands

Hope that explains a bit better

One other thing to mention is don't forget to put them in the right way! the bushes have a void present so they are far more giving in the vertical plane and not horizontal. If you put them in 90' out, then your car will be very "loose" in the back. 

I saw a youtube video done by a backstreet asian garage and they talked through doing it then promptly fitted them 90' out. Laughed for ages. Just don't get it wrong. You can't pop them out and reuse them.

Marky146 well done mate forgot that

This was my first time doing and took me 2 hours a side...not difficult but was a learning curve

Also before installing..clean the hole with wire wool or (abrasive whatever) and clean

All sorted. Took about 3 hours to do. Thanks for all of the advice. 

We're all here to help and learn 

On 3/28/2025 at 2:52 PM, Shaffick said:

All sorted. Took about 3 hours to do. Thanks for all of the advice. 

Great job, and looked like a nice day to do it too!

Any issues getting the old ones out? Were you able to just push them out or did you have to cut them?

I've got to do my wife's soon, and it'll be my first time doing these particular bushes.

On 4/1/2025 at 11:59 AM, MJNewton said:

Great job, and looked like a nice day to do it too!

Any issues getting the old ones out? Were you able to just push them out or did you have to cut them?

I've got to do my wife's soon, and it'll be my first time doing these particular bushes.

Hi there, sorry for my late reply. No, the old ones came out easy. I used a tool that I bought on Ebay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285843093464?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=SFAaIUNDR6S&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=GntVrle9QyC&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

The tool worked just as good when extracting the bushes as when installing the new ones. 

I would advise removing the bottom shocker bolts for extra clearance. The rear springs did pop out when lowering the jack. If your springs need replacing, now's the time to do it. 

I used an additional trolley jack to stabilise the axle better and positioned used some more axle stands which I put underneath each brake drum. Be aware that once your bush bolts are removed and the axle lowered, the only things connected to the axle is the brake hose, ABS cable and handbrake cable. Hence the extra support via the axle stands underneath the brake drums. 

Take note of the bushes in relation to the position that they're in prior to removal and mark the axle in regards to the notch on the bush. 

Once removed, clean the bore with a flap wheel on a drill. Use a little washing up fluid on the bore and new bush then install. 

As mentioned in the previous posts, make sure you fit the bush in the right position and I would recommend using OEM bushes.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/393395568597?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=7k6w-3wmqzu&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=GntVrle9QyC&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

The above bushes are for my 2014 1.0 Ecoboost.

Also tighten the bush bolts once the wheels are fitted and lowered down to the ground. 

Any problems just message me. Good luck!.

I've just got mine done for £120. For me by the time you've factored in the cost of tools and parts, it wasn't worth me doing it myself.

Thanks for the tips @Shaffick, they'll be really helpful I'm sure. 

Incidentally, my new bushes from Ford were also slightly oval like you observed. However I noticed the shape just corresponds to where the rubber mounting points are and so will just be down to them exerting some pressure on only two sides. They will obviously round up as soon as they being forced into the round socket of the arms. 

2 hours ago, MJNewton said:

Thanks for the tips @Shaffick, they'll be really helpful I'm sure. 

Incidentally, my new bushes from Ford were also slightly oval like you observed. However I noticed the shape just corresponds to where the rubber mounting points are and so will just be down to them exerting some pressure on only two sides. They will obviously round up as soon as they being forced into the round socket of the arms. 

Definitely. They weren't as bad as I thought it would be.

Got my rear bushes replaced in March but went with Powerflex poly bushes.

Only ended up getting them replaced as asked a tyre garage if they did wheel alignments (was planning to get new front tyres as they were wearing a little low with my MOT coming up) and there email reply was "no as we've found most issues are worn bushes".

Took it round to my 'other' garage that had helped me with all of the other work in November, and they did a check of both the front and back, and subsequently found one the driver side rear bush had totally delaminated. Cost me £165 parts and labour.

Fronts were ok, but I'll probably get them swapped to poly bushes later this year along with a possible stage 1 re- map .

What were the bushes you had replaced at the front? 

5 hours ago, MJNewton said:

What were the bushes you had replaced at the front? 

Me? I've not replaced my front bushes. I've still got the Ford OEM bushes from buying the car new. The other garage that checked them all found no issues with them, only the drivers rear had failed.

3 hours ago, Zico said:

Me? I've not replaced my front bushes.

Apologies, yeah. I must've misread as I thought it said they replaced some at the front too.