question about the "damping mount" rubber on 97 Accord

I have a 97 accord with about 140K miles.
I noticed under the hood the deterioration of rubber o-rings
on the damping mount of the suspension.

check out the pics
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/techman41973/detail?.dir=/a8b4&.dnm=8737.jpg&.src=ph
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/techman41973/detail?.dir=/a8b4&.dnm=d6bc.jpg&.src=ph

The drivers side looks fine, but it hard as a rock
The passangers side is peeling and fraying, yet quite soft.
I plan on replacing both, just to be safe.
I also plan to do this on my own rather than spend $45 at the honda
dealer for an hour of labor.
The only thing I worry about is that when I undo the nut, that a bunch
of suspension parts are going to just fall out underneath. From the
service manual I have, it doesnt appear that this would happen. Perhaps
someone out there has a better idea.

Also:
Could the deterioration of these rubber rings on dampening mount cause
suspension noises and degrading ride quality?
I have been getting suspension noise every time I go over a speed bump.

Thanks

 

They still isolate suspension vibration. They have not
fallen off, nor popped off. They are highly unlikely to be
the source of your suspension noise. That noise could be
bent shock absorber piston rod, or deteriorated rubber
spring seat beneath that O-ring. If they were on my car, I
won't replace them.

As for being hard or soft, finger's pressure is not
scientific enough. You need a durometer. Besides, you need
to relieve the compression pressure before you test them.
Thumbing compressed bushings is not good enough.

Don't even think about removing that nut without compressing
the spring! If you don't jack up the car, so that the weight
of the car compressing the spring, you could remove the
rod's nut without any thing else dropping out. On a good
shock absorber, the compressed gas push the rod up. On
leaked one, the rod will not rise if you push the rod down.
So, try not to push the rod down during this process.

 

first, those look like aftermarket shocks, not oem, so it's likely that
bushing was damaged when they were changed or even the wrong ones put
back on. i've never seen a shock bushing damaged like that unless the
shock's siezed. thinking about it, it could also be something to do
with the compression washer underneath. a lot of aftermarket shocks do
not use washers that are strong enough & i would be worried that these
weak version would fatigue & break - potentially causing excess travel &
those symptoms.

as sean says, do _not_ remove that nut unless you have the tools to sort
out any problems. much better you take the shock/coil assembly off and
use a proper spring compressor. beware that honda springs are tight
coils & not all standard compressors fit. i mean it.

yes, deterioration could lead to noise - probably as a symptom of
another defect. make sure you inspect all the other suspension
components carefully while you have the shock/coil assembly out. the
job is quite easy if you have the correct compressor. if you don't, you
could loose an eye &/or about 10lbs in sweat. neither justify not
getting the right tool.