Spring bushing repair.

[AR_K5]

Im in the middle of doing an axle swap and shackle flip install. The bolt in this bushing (which is maybe a year old) had already rusted in place because I forgot to put anything on the bolt. Anyway I cut the bolt with my recipricating saw. When i went to try to drive the bolt out with a punch the center just popped. From what I can tell there wasnt much holding it in in the first place. There are only two small chunks of rubber that stuck to the metal. The rest is smooth and still in good shape.

I know the right thing to do would be get a new bushing but nobody within a 40 mile radius stocks them individually or only sells full sets of the high dollar ones. I was just wondering why I couldn't either just put it back in or coat the rubber in two part epoxy and stick it in? Epoxy would hold it 10x better than what was holding it. Or would silicone be better?

 

[BloodMoon]

I would order online, energy suspension parts should have OEM replacements depending on your truck and springs (original / aftermarket) Should only be like $40 for a complete set.

Regarding fixing them: you could but your only going to have to replace them again, and since they are out now it will be less of a headache for you; you won't have to drill holes or light anything on fire....

It is a pretty simple job to install, but removing can be pain.

 

[AR_K5]

There really is nothing wrong with the rubber. It will fit tight and I'll have to drive it back in with a rubber mallet, I was wondering if I should use an adhesive. If so should I go with hard and strong (epoxy), or something rubbery (silicone).

 

[BloodMoon]

There really is nothing wrong with the rubber. It will fit tight and I'll have to drive it back in with a rubber mallet, I was wondering if I should use an adhesive. If so should I go with hard and strong (epoxy), or something rubbery (silicone).

Sorry, for some reason I thought the rubber tore in half...

I would use something rubbery to hold the little pieces on to the big ones. Don't want to make it rip and fail prematurely due to no flex in that spot.

As for getting the bushing assembly back together; I am pretty sure the oem were pressed in; no adhesive, so in this instance with ok rubber I would just put them back in with white lithium grease and if smacking it with a mallet does not work getting it in, you could just put a threaded rod through the hole and follow both sides with washers and nuts and just tighten away and it will suck them right into the eye.

 

[AR_K5]

I just went ahead and used the epoxy. Maybe it will help keep the bushing in place (stop spin) if i ever have to remove the bolt again. I'll just be sure to coat the bolt with anti seize or grease this time.

If I ever have to pull it again I'll try to update on how well it worked out, or didn't.

 

[Highpsi]

I just went ahead and used the epoxy. Maybe it will help keep the bushing in place (stop spin) if i ever have to remove the bolt again. I'll just be sure to coat the bolt with anti seize or grease this time.

If I ever have to pull it again I'll try to update on how well it worked out, or didn't.

Hope this works out for you. I can't believe those bolts sized in there that fast.. I'm amazed to see you with the bushing pulled out of the spring like that. Normally that's a bitch from what i hear.

I have brand new springs and just removed the bushings. (Replacing with full set of poly bushings) It was a BITCH... Finally resolved to the flame method with oxy. act. to get them out...

 

[Deuling]

Why would you want it glued in? The hangers and or shackles won't allow it to come out anyways..

 

[Blue85]

If the rubber can move in the eye, the spring can slide sideways into the shackle. It probably couldn't bind against anything, but losing the isolation could make weird noises and/or vibrations. Poly shackles have shoulders on the outside to prevent this.

I always thought the rubber bushings were vulcanized to that sleeve or something. These must be something different than what we're used to finding on older trucks.

 

[diesel4me]

I had the steel innser sleeve come out of the spring bushing when I replaced a shackle on my truck a few years ago (shackle rotted in half!)..
I was not about to go searching for a bushing and have the truck apart for days waiting for one to come in,and the bushing still was intact,just as yours was--so I just coated the sleeve with rubber cement and used threaded rod and washers with 2 nuts to "press" the sleeve right back in the bushing...it went in hard and so far it has shown no signs of failing...

If and when it does I will buy the polyurethane "pop in" bushings to replace it with--pressing those OEM steel ones in can suck...I busted a spring eye once trying to force one in with the threaded rod trick when I tried "opening" the eye a little with a screwdriver hammered into the opening on the "eye"...ended up buying two used ,but like new springs from a friend who put a lift kit in his K5,which I should have done to begin with!--best 30 bucks I spent on that truck..