Poly Spring Bushings?

[Stomis]

Ok so I just started tearing down my 56's to put in the back of my truck. I'll be turning the shackle flip around. My question is what size bushing eyes do 56's have (mine are a little gunky right now) and wheres the best place to order poly bushings? I dont want to use crap pressed in rubber ones.

 

[dremu]

I think it depends on year. Mine were the same as my 52"s, IIRC, so that I can use the same bushings on all eight corners, but I seem to recall that there are different sizes ... ah yeah, ORD says:

All 1 ton truck applications and any 3/4T with 56" rear springs must measure bushing size before ordering the kit. We've seen 1 3/8", 1 1/2", and 1 3/4" bushing sizes, all on the same truck! To avoid sending the wrong parts we request that you measure first. Remember the outer sleeve is removed to use urethane.​

We have encountered some '88-'91 Blazers and Suburbans with a metric spring eye bushing size. These will measure about 1.7". ORD has the proper bushings to fit these springs if you call us.
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So get out your calipers or measuring tape. You want to measure the ID of the spring eye, anyway, and not the bushings you have.

I know ORD has them; I believe Kert also has that stuff and in my experience he's been a bit cheaper and more responsive, especially for small orders.

-- A

 

[Stomis]

Kert is DIY4x right?

 

[dremu]

Kert is DIY4x right?

Sorry, yeah. I don't seem them listed on his site, but ping him, I'm sure he can hook ya up.

-- A

 

[mp1472]

Kert has 1 1/2" od greasable poly bushings i just ordered some a couple days ago.

 

[Stomis]

Yeah I'll give him a buzz tomorrow. BTW does the stock bushings have a metal sleeve on the outside of it or is that part of my spring?

 

[mp1472]

that metal sleve is your stock bushing hack it out !

 

[dremu]

Yeah I'll give him a buzz tomorrow. BTW does the stock bushings have a metal sleeve on the outside of it or is that part of my spring?

From

http://www.offroaddesign.com/catalog/greasebushings.htm

The factory rubber bushing consists of an inner steel sleeve, the rubber and a thin outer steel sleeve. The urethane bushings fit directly against the leaf spring so all 3 components of the factory bushing must be removed. There are several methods to removing factory rubber bushings. The safest is to use a small diameter drill bit to drill out the rubber around the inner sleeve until it is loose enough to be driven out. After it is out, the rest of the rubber can be "chunked" out with a chisel or screwdriver and the outer sleeve split and driven out. Install the new poly bushings with plenty of grease or anti-seize on the outside and inside. They should be a snug fit but shouldn’t need to be pressed in.

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]As mentioned, yep, it's part of the bushing, and you can go to town with a minisledge and the all-powerful multitool (aka a big flathead screwdriver =))

-- A
[/FONT]

 

[Stomis]

From

http://www.offroaddesign.com/catalog/greasebushings.htm

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]As mentioned, yep, it's part of the bushing, and you can go to town with a minisledge and the all-powerful multitool (aka a big flathead screwdriver =))

-- A
[/FONT]

Yeah I got one out so far... Took like 45mins

I'm gonna call kurt and see if he has them cause I heart diy4x

 

[dremu]

Yeah I got one out so far... Took like 45mins

I'm gonna call kurt and see if he has them cause I heart diy4x

Did I mention my deep-seated hatred of rubber bushings? =))

Seriously, without an oxy-acetylene torch, you're in for some fun. I tried a propane torch, and it didn't have enough heat. A MAAP might, I donno.

Otherwise, get a box of 1/8" drill bits and put the spring pack onto a nice solid surface, 'cuz you're gonna be drilling and hammering until the cows come home

The good thing is that you do this ONCE and forever after, it's easy... poly bushings, especially nice greasy ones, come out with slight motivation.

-- A

 

[dremu]

Hm. All the info appears to come from ORD. It seems ORD would be a good place to buy from...

LOL. I found that if I was buying a kit of stuff they were glad to fix me up, but when I wanted onesies of weird stuff, they were quite confused. When I did my 52"s I built new hangers for the rear, using the same size bushing as the springs use, so that I'd have one part across the board (also also to get the larger bolt size on that hanger.) ORD and Kert now sell the kit for this, but at the time I had to weld my own and get the bushings separate.

I find that Kert is almost specializing in the onesies, which is why I mention him.

Both are good vendors, and both well represented here... I'm just relating my experience.

-- A

 

[Stomis]

Finally got the other one out and measured. I got 1-7/8ths on my main end and 1-1/2 on the shackle.