I know my struts are bad but how do I tell if the strut bushings are bad. is there a way to check this

 

As old as they are do you think you should continue to use them?

 

Usually the bushing fail and you will here it rattle or bang .. Did you visually check them ?

Or you can just buy some cool adjustable ones and can get better alignment setting

founders have some for a good price

 

with that attitude I would have to replace everything on the car.

no I think I will replace things as they go bad

 

Well then visually inspect them and decide yourself. The stock rubber bushings are more then likely shot. I've worked on low mile (as in 10xxx miles and less) iroc-z's that have hardened worn out rubber, despite being regularly maintained and taken care of. Rubber just hardens over time and must be replaced. Since your old struts were bad then more then likely they put even more pressure on the the strut mounts. Which added to even more fatigue. I would just suggest replacing them.

Personal experience on car: I replaced my old worn shock/struts with new koni's and left the stock ruined rubber strut mounts in place, it was an oversight on my part. That was about 6 months ago. About three weeks ago I installed a set of solid bearing strut mounts. I was under the impression that installing the solid bearing ones would add more vibrations and make the ride a little more bumpy. Instead my car actually rides better with the solid bearing mounts, my steering feels quicker too. My guess is the rubber bushings were not allowing the struts to fully dampen the bumps and were allowing more squeaks and rattles to appear.

Also the sold bearing ones are about the same price as stock replacement rubber ones.

 

By the way it wasn't a huge improvement in ride quality, it mostly just got rid of a few squeaks and rattles which was real nice. the steering however does feel a lot better then with the stock mounts. going over bumpy roads does feel better however, just don't expect your car to ride like a caddy or something.