Alan, As far as I understand the bushing makeup (I have a 96 3.5L myself), the cradle bushings pose no serious threat to safety. They simply cushion between the cradle that holds the engine/tranny to the frame. If the BOLTS on it are bad, that's one thing, but my bushings are well-worn and its still quite safe -- the danger you run is getting out of alignment in a serious way if the engine were to shift relative to the rest of the car. This is my understanding of the cradle bushings -- someone with more experience can feel free to correct me on it.
The rack bushings (I assume you mean inner tie rod bushings?) I just replaced myself. $19 for the parts and about 5 hours of work (I went slow) and good as new. Again, if the bushing is gone but the bolts are ok, it doesn't pose a big huge threat to the safety -- the tie rods won't come loose unless the bolts go -- but you get a lot of noise and can potentially get a lot of vibration, alignment problems, etc. That's how I understand the entire deal (armchair mechanic that I am). Nathan On Sunday 30 October 2005 09:39, Alan Moore scribbled: > My wife's 1996 Intrepid is unsafe to drive according to Midas. I > don't trust them but after seeing how the engine cradle and steering > rack mount to the frame, and after reading the NHTSA website about > the same topic, I'll have to agree with them for once. Her car has > been parked for a week now pending a $831 rpeair bill. BUT, I think > the work shouldn't cost that much. According to Midas, the bushings > are $48 each for the cradle and $50 each for the rack. They say > that's dealer retail price. Dodge dealer confirms it. RockAuto.com > has the rack bushings for $28 each but does not list the cradle > bushings, or at least I could not find them. > > Does anyone know where I can obtain these bushings for a lower > price, or someone in the Dallas area who can get them replaced > cheaply? I have found one car lot over in Dallas who I bought my > van from and his mechanic is willing to do the work if I drive the > car 40 miles over there, but I'm afraid to. > > Will be cross-posting this on dodgeintrepid.net, but we have about a > week to decide where and how to do the work before we need to take a > trip to San Sntonio and if it's not done then we have to take my '79 > Olds land yacht. > > Alan Moore > North Richland Hills, TX > > 96 Dodge Intrepid > 91 Ford Aerostar > 79 Oldsmobile Delta 88 > > > > > > > Web: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dodge_intrepid> > Subscribe: <mailto://[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Unsubscribe: <mailto://[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Moderator: <mailto://[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > -- ---------------------------- Interesting things abide: http://www.nathanpralle.com ---------------------------- ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/46t0lB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Web: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dodge_intrepid> Subscribe: <mailto://[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Unsubscribe: <mailto://[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Moderator: <mailto://[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dodge_intrepid/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
