Thread: Suspension bush life expectancy

Originally Posted by 29dinosaur

My son changed all the suspension bushes on his 110 deefa a month or so ago. He purchased rubber ones from a supplier in Sydney. I'm not sure if they're genuine LR rubber or otherwise.. Long and short they have disintegrated in less than 100kms... really disintegrated. Vehicle became undriveable with steering wobble. He'll probably post photos later. As $$ to get good polybushes is getting some genuine LR rubbers from LVS today.

Has anyone else experienced catastrophic failure of new bushes?

Hey guys I am 29dinosaurs' son with the flogged out bushes :P I discovered that my new "Genuine" bushes were actualy not genuine!! They were britparts (Possibly copied) but they did not have a part number on them, as in stamped on the rubber.

$110 later I have fitted my new bushes thanks to Land Vehicle Spares.

I would personally use proper genuine bushes as they flex better, are cheaper and apparently handle better on road as they aren't as harsh.

Pete



p.s. I will post photos later

Originally Posted by LowRanger

As I said in an earlier post,I can destroy OEM bushes in under 1000km easily,and bend the large washer used to mount the front radius arm to chassis bush.
If he is serious,forget the rubber bushes and fit Super Pro bushes

Thanks. Super Pro sound like way to go. (In the mean time he'll run the rubber ones). Any clues as to best value source?

Super cheap sell them but I bought my last 2 complete kits from a guy on Ebay in QLD he was a much better price good bloke to deal with too

I just replace them when they start to get worn and the steering gets a bit sloppy. I also tend to do the bushes on the front axle on a more regular basis than the rears...

FWIW - I only use Genuine rubber bushes.

M

Many people seem not to appreciate how the original bushes work. The outer steel sleeve fits one half of the joint, and the inner steel sleeve is clamped by the centre bolt. There is no movement between the bush and any fixed component, with all movement taken by flex within the rubber. This means no wear on anything. Failure is usually the result of incorrect installation, with the centre tube either not clamped, or clamped with the suspension not under load.

John

Originally Posted by JDNSW

Many people seem not to appreciate how the original bushes work. The outer steel sleeve fits one half of the joint, and the inner steel sleeve is clamped by the centre bolt. There is no movement between the bush and any fixed component, with all movement taken by flex within the rubber. This means no wear on anything. Failure is usually the result of incorrect installation, with the centre tube either not clamped, or clamped with the suspension not under load.

John

They fail from either the rubber taking a set when in compression (ie the radius arm or lower rear trailing arm/chassis bushes) or the rubber tears, ie. age.

In the past I've never been a fan of urethane in a rotating bush, but the Super Pro ones just plain work.
The oldest of my Super Pro bushes would've seen 200,000km easily now.

I'd wager that those advocating OE bushes have never used Super Pro, yet at a wild guess everyone advocating Super Pro have used OE rubber bushes

Originally Posted by rick130

I'd wager that those advocating OE bushes have never used Super Pro, yet at a wild guess everyone advocating Super Pro have used OE rubber bushes

I've used PowerFlex but still prefer OE...

M

Originally Posted by JDNSW

Many people seem not to appreciate how the original bushes work. The outer steel sleeve fits one half of the joint, and the inner steel sleeve is clamped by the centre bolt. There is no movement between the bush and any fixed component, with all movement taken by flex within the rubber. This means no wear on anything. Failure is usually the result of incorrect installation, with the centre tube either not clamped, or clamped with the suspension not under load.

John

John
Another reason for bush failure is like a lot of other products,what was fitted from new in the factory,is not necessarily what is sold as O.E. replacement parts even at the dealers.Also with vehicles that have modified suspension setups,the original bushes just dont have the required flex in the rubber to allow the required movement,and hence usually become unbonded from the centre or outer tube.But I still destroy rear radius arm to chassis bushes in 1000km if I use rubber bushes,even after fitting cranked rear arms to relieve tension on the bushes.And yes I do know how to fit bushes under load.Since fitting the SuperPro bushes,I have not lost any articulation,the ride is no harsher than before,and the bushes have lasted a lot longer than anything I have previously used,and checking the bushes again over the last few days,all the SuperPro bushes are still like new,and the genuine bushes that I fitted to the diff end of the front radius arms are u/s again,I will now replace them with SuperPro and report back on how they work and last.