Whiteline Front Lower Control Arm Bushings 96-00 Civic EK

Whiteline Front Lower Control Arm Bushing Kit for 96-00 Civic - Part #W53608

Every EK Civic that comes through here for a K-swap or a B16 refresh has the same problem: the inner front bushings on the lower control arms are 25 years old, cracked and letting the arm walk fore and aft under braking. This Whiteline front lower control arm bushing kit for the 1996-2000 Civic replaces both of them with synthetic elastomer, so the arm stays where the alignment rack put it.

What It Is and Why It Works

The EJ and EK lower control arm pivots on two bushings at the inner end. The front one takes the braking and acceleration loads, and when it is soft the wheel moves backward under braking, which changes caster and toe right when you need the car to be stable. You feel it as a front end that wanders under hard braking and an alignment that never seems to hold. Whiteline's bushing is a two-piece shackle design, 37.2mm outside and 22.2mm inside, with a steel crush tube through the middle. It is firmer than rubber, so the arm stops moving, but it is not a solid bushing, so the car does not turn into a rattle box.

You get four bushing halves and two tubes, enough for both arms, plus the grease. This is a replacement-grade part, not a caster offset kit; it puts the arm back to factory geometry with far less compliance. If you want added caster on an EK, that is the inner rear bushing, Whiteline's KCA366.

Specs

Fitment

Whiteline lists this kit for the 6th gen Civic EJ, EK and EM chassis and the RD1-RD3 CR-V. It is the inner FRONT bushing on the lower control arm only; the inner rear bushing on the same arm is a different Whiteline part (KCA366, which is the offset caster version). The 93-97 del Sol shares the EG-generation arm and is not on Whiteline's list, so we have left it off the fitment table until confirmed.

What to Know Before You Buy

The old bushing has to be pressed out and the new one pressed in. You need a hydraulic press or a bushing driver set and a way to hold a stamped steel arm without crushing it; a bench vise and a hammer will damage the arm. If you do not have a press, pull the arms and have a shop do the press work, it is a quick job for them.

Expect more road feel than the rubber you took out. Poly and synthetic elastomer bushings are firmer, not smoother, and you will hear a little more of the road through the floor. Grease the bushings and the tube with everything in the packet; a dry install is what makes them squeak six months later.

While the arms are out, look at the inner rear bushing and the ball joint. If the rear bushing is as bad as the front one, do both now, and if you are lowering the car or going to track use, the KCA366 offset rear bushing adds about two thirds of a degree of caster. Get a front alignment when you are done; Whiteline calls it required, and on an EK the toe will be off after the arms come out.