Thread: Suspension bushes

I have used both on my 2a. In my experience, the only advantage of the urethane bushes is that they are easier to change, which is just as well, since they have a shorter life. No difference is apparent in the ride, and the relatively small difference between the inside and outside diameter of the bushes, compared to the difference in diameters common with coil setups means that the bush resilience makes negligible contribution to ride quality.

Ride harshness in a Series Landrover is almost always because the spring leaves are not sliding freely over each other or the springs are intended to be used with the vehicle fully laden.

I have found that with the springs oiled, and fitted with rear station wagon (two stage) springs, the ride is quite comparable to my County, although with restricted travel by comparison, so large bumps hit the stops.

John

Original rubber bonded seem the best.
Less harsh but harder to change and remember to only tighten the bolts once the car is back on the ground. The rubber is in torsion and if you tighten with the car up on a jack when you lower it you can twist the rubber too far & damage it.

Problem nowadays is the quality of the rubber used in the pattern parts....

Homemade tool in use fitting bushes.





Colin

I left my original style bonded bushes in the freezer for a while to shrink down a bit. Worked a treat.

Originally Posted by andy_d110

I left my original style bonded bushes in the freezer for a while to shrink down a bit. Worked a treat.

Worthwhile idea, but the major "problem" with the rubber bushes is not fitting them, but removing the old ones. The major thing you can do here is to make sure that the outside is covered in a suitable anti-seize compound.

John

Originally Posted by JDNSW

Worthwhile idea, but the major "problem" with the rubber bushes is not fitting them, but removing the old ones. The major thing you can do here is to make sure that the outside is covered in a suitable anti-seize compound.

John

I'll put in another vote for rubber over poly. But I did come unstuck (literally) with putting anti-seize on the outside of the rear, front spring bushes. These bushes started sliding laterally within the springs because of the copper grease that I put them in with - they rely on a friction fit to keep them in place. But by all means put some anti-seize on the the other bushes and especially on the bolts to stop them from rusting up inside the bushes. A new set of rubber bushes should outlast several sets of polys.

Pete

A medium size flat edge chisel, hammered between the leaf plate and the loop of the eye, will ease the removal and fit of the bushes. Use detergent if you want a fitting lubricant for non sleeved rubber bushes.

I am right in the middle of changing all the bushes, took 4 hours to do one... Kept stripping thr threaded rod/ nuts. Not my lucky day..

Originally Posted by The Mighty Range Rover

I am right in the middle of changing all the bushes, took 4 hours to do one... Kept stripping thr threaded rod/ nuts. Not my lucky day..

I used cheap allthread first time I used the extractor the Father-in-law made for me and stripped the threads.
I then went to the local bolt shop and got some metric HT allthread along with HT nuts & washers. No problems since.


Colin