Short version: The bushings, the website and the box all are very…shiny. But, ES provides no meaningful technical info, and the thrown-together kit has flawed fit and harsh ride. I wish I knew where to get a comprehensive rubber set, or a polyurethane solution with better engineering and more sensible hardness than the ES kit.
Long version:
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Disorganized kit, with half a piece of paper
Wow. Kit is literally thrown together: 42 loose parts (30 bushings, 12 washers) tossed in a box with no packing list. The people filling the boxes have packing lists, so why not put one in the kit? You must look at each part one by one to see what goes where and if the box has the right parts or is missing anything. To do this, ES provides a summary of part numbers for each mount location, a tiny sketch, and brief instructions, all squeezed onto a HALF sheet of paper. No kidding—they use one piece of paper to print two sets of instructions, then cut it in half.
Meaningless colors
Red vs black when ordering: who gives a damn? They’re body bushings, for Pete’s sake. On the original bushings, painted color means something, but here it's just a useless marketing ploy. No, the black doesn't mean graphite-impregnated. By the way, ES also sells red covers for your torn tie rod end boots so you can show off your worn-out steering.
No tech info
Online catalog: no tech info on polyurethane, no durometer numbers at all (or what scale they use). I guess they use the same material for lots of things. No list of each kit’s contents, so maybe the so-called “9C1/taxi” kit is exactly the same as the regular B-body kit just with nothing missing? Neither one lists Fleetwood as an application, even though the basic set-up is the same as B-body with maybe some minor diffs in stock bushing firmness. With 194K, my original bushings have seen better days, so I tried the 9C1/taxi kit. The molded-in part numbers help with installation but make me wonder how many different applications ES is trying to cover with a given piece? Catalog doesn't list contents of each kit, so you can't figure out what they're really doing.
Installation
Flawed fit. The ID fits the stock metal inserts, the OD of the protruding metal-ringed part of the uppers fits the frame mounting holes, and the bushing ODs are okay, but the heights are wrong. The ES bushings are thinner than stock, so some of the funnel-shaped metal inserts are now too long to tighten the bushings down. Of course, other people already mentioned the same problem on B-bodies. So, I had to test-assemble each position and if too long get up off the floor, take it apart, clamp it in a bench vise, hacksaw off the excess, deburr it, re-assemble to check, then crawl back under the car. Over and over.
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Minor observation (no complaint, just FYI): ES position numbering 1-8 is different than GM’s 1-7 (GM doesn’t count the very front pair as #1).
Forward ones don’t seem useful
The bushings forward of the battery/PCM seem cobbled together. The gap in their sandwich is frame thickness, not for the thin sheet-metal where they go. There’s no real load on these anyway, just the front tip of the fender. Even if the intent was to leave some play to deal with frame flex at the front corners, the ES design still wouldn’t work well since it isn’t great at keeping itself centered in the sheet-metal hole. And, you still have to tighten the bolts, double-check the door-fender clearance and tweak the shimming in the bushing stack.
No torque information
Nothing in ES instructions. Shop manual says 55 but that assumes stock bushings and dry bolts. After reading various things about compensating for anti-seize compound, I settled on 35 pounds.
They’re very hard
I started in the front, and I’m glad I only did the front half. On poor surfaces the front is quite harsh now, even with soft FE1 springs, regular Bilsteins, and 18” wheels with comfortable touring tires with plenty of tread. The body moves around less but the NVH price is high because the bushings are thin and hard.
Long version:
Disorganized kit, with half a piece of paper
Wow. Kit is literally thrown together: 42 loose parts (30 bushings, 12 washers) tossed in a box with no packing list. The people filling the boxes have packing lists, so why not put one in the kit? You must look at each part one by one to see what goes where and if the box has the right parts or is missing anything. To do this, ES provides a summary of part numbers for each mount location, a tiny sketch, and brief instructions, all squeezed onto a HALF sheet of paper. No kidding—they use one piece of paper to print two sets of instructions, then cut it in half.
Meaningless colors
Red vs black when ordering: who gives a damn? They’re body bushings, for Pete’s sake. On the original bushings, painted color means something, but here it's just a useless marketing ploy. No, the black doesn't mean graphite-impregnated. By the way, ES also sells red covers for your torn tie rod end boots so you can show off your worn-out steering.
No tech info
Online catalog: no tech info on polyurethane, no durometer numbers at all (or what scale they use). I guess they use the same material for lots of things. No list of each kit’s contents, so maybe the so-called “9C1/taxi” kit is exactly the same as the regular B-body kit just with nothing missing? Neither one lists Fleetwood as an application, even though the basic set-up is the same as B-body with maybe some minor diffs in stock bushing firmness. With 194K, my original bushings have seen better days, so I tried the 9C1/taxi kit. The molded-in part numbers help with installation but make me wonder how many different applications ES is trying to cover with a given piece? Catalog doesn't list contents of each kit, so you can't figure out what they're really doing.
Installation
Flawed fit. The ID fits the stock metal inserts, the OD of the protruding metal-ringed part of the uppers fits the frame mounting holes, and the bushing ODs are okay, but the heights are wrong. The ES bushings are thinner than stock, so some of the funnel-shaped metal inserts are now too long to tighten the bushings down. Of course, other people already mentioned the same problem on B-bodies. So, I had to test-assemble each position and if too long get up off the floor, take it apart, clamp it in a bench vise, hacksaw off the excess, deburr it, re-assemble to check, then crawl back under the car. Over and over.
Minor observation (no complaint, just FYI): ES position numbering 1-8 is different than GM’s 1-7 (GM doesn’t count the very front pair as #1).
Forward ones don’t seem useful
The bushings forward of the battery/PCM seem cobbled together. The gap in their sandwich is frame thickness, not for the thin sheet-metal where they go. There’s no real load on these anyway, just the front tip of the fender. Even if the intent was to leave some play to deal with frame flex at the front corners, the ES design still wouldn’t work well since it isn’t great at keeping itself centered in the sheet-metal hole. And, you still have to tighten the bolts, double-check the door-fender clearance and tweak the shimming in the bushing stack.
No torque information
Nothing in ES instructions. Shop manual says 55 but that assumes stock bushings and dry bolts. After reading various things about compensating for anti-seize compound, I settled on 35 pounds.
They’re very hard
I started in the front, and I’m glad I only did the front half. On poor surfaces the front is quite harsh now, even with soft FE1 springs, regular Bilsteins, and 18” wheels with comfortable touring tires with plenty of tread. The body moves around less but the NVH price is high because the bushings are thin and hard.
