spring BUSHINGS

[K5Chris]

what kinda bushings do you prefer? i am very unimpressed with the performance of the new bushings that came with my tuff country springs. i guess they are polyeurathane? i put a bunch of poly grease in them twice, and they squeak very badly, and they seem to be tight. i know poly lasts longer, but quite frankly, i don't care. if i have to change my bushings out every couple of years, no big deal. i'd rather them be softer, and not squeak.

i know they have greaseable bolts, but, i do not have room because of the very tight fit between my shackle and dynomax header collectors.

are there rubber or graphite or some other kind of bushing that works well, and is relativily inexpensive??? i dont really care weather they last 2 years or 10 years, i just want something that doesn't squeak, performs well, and doesnt cost a whole lot.

wheres a good place to get bushings cheaply?

 

[camiswelding]

depending one the durameter (hardness)of the material.... they squeak,,, even my fully greasable ones do...
rubber is softer and doesnt... of course it has its downside of wear...

there is one company making grafite impregnated ones out there... Ive never used them.... The polys that came in my superlift springs were dead quiet...more so than the greasable stuff I got from ORD... (daystar?)

As I understand it there are only one or two companies making all the poly stuff...everyting else is rebadged
prothane..
energy suspension
daystar

both have tech lines ...you might chat with them

Look in Hemmings for rubber suppliers... theres a couple out there

 

[jekbrown]

I like poly bushings... mainly because they are so dang durable. Rubber ones do give a bit more flex... but they also have a habbit of becoming fused with the spring eye over time. Personally, I think flex should come from a well designed suspension... not squishy bushings. To each their own tho, some swear on rubber.

j

 

[dyeager535]

The rubber stuff is still available from GM methinks, and I KNOW that Moog had them available last I checked. (hard to find the numbers though, not sure if they were posted on the board or not) Moog makes different durometer bushings for "performance" for some applications, I've only seen one set of part numbers for truck spring bushings though.

Flex should come from well designed suspension, agreed, but with leaf springs, I don't see anything other than rubber allowing the most/easiest flex. For longevity, stock stuff lasts how long? Mine are probably going on 25 years, and although cracked and quite ugly, are still doing their job. Not saying performance wouldn't be better with new ones, just nothing to compare to.

As with body mounts, I would expect to pay more for rubber than poly, don't ask me why. The rubber prices I've seen was in excess of $10/hole.