I did a search but came up empty. I plan on replacing my suspension bushings over the winter season. Has anyone put together a list of all of the 328 suspension bushings, part numbers and source to purchase them outside of the little yellow box? If not, I guess I will be that guy.
Are these the bushings? I took this picture last year, to survey condition. Looks pretty dry! I would say mine are due. Are they a big job to replace, dismantle whole suspension? , require special tools? Image Unavailable, Please Login
I've got a list but I'm not at home at the moment. I've gone with Energy Suspension bushings for the inner A-arms, and the rest I sourced from David Feinberg (FastRadio) after a number of discussions with him. Seriously, I've got every one of the bushings ready now for the day I decide to put them in (a non-trivial exercise). His prices are fair and he can give you good advice based upon what you want to do with the car. http://www.fluentinferrari.com/
Thanks to all for the info. Tac, when you have time would you mind posting the list of part numbers for myself and others? I will check in with fastradio to source the non energy suspension bushings. Montreal328, Robz328 did a comprehensive bushing replacement and documented it with pictures. His thread can be found in the technical write up sticky that is found at the top of 308/328 section.
I've done two 308 suspension rebuilds. The first time I did the Energy urethane bushings. The second time I used OEM bushings from Superformance and Maseratisource. If there are any more times I will use the OEM again and again. Check the attachment forks carefully for cracks. The 328 has beefier forks because of the issues of their first version, but check anyway. Replacement is not for the newbie to DIY mechanics, but not horrible. There is grinding, welding and painting involved. You'll probably need a press.
+1 Its a time consuming and repetitive job especially on the late 328s which have 16 of the damn things on the rear! Agree solid bushings for race cars where they are regularly replaced and the mountings are regularly checked for cracks. Part of the reason for resilient bushings is to prevent all the shock from being transmitted to the mountings. Rather like cartilage in a human joint.
Sorry for the questions, but what did you like about the OEMs over the urethane? Also, I see some listed as 'hard' while another set is not. What does the 'hard' refer to and what would one expect from them? BTW, I have been thinking of doing mine for 2 years now, but have successfully put it off. Edit: Found interesting info on a Chev. chat forum, so I know the main difference between urethane and rubber. Has anyone used the Birdman's method of replacing them? No welding or grinding needed.
FWIW I put the "hard" rubber bushings from Superformance in my '85 308 GTS about 3 years ago and am very happy with them for the 90% street/10% track driving I do. No squeaking at all and never though they were too stiff or soft.
Dan, I got all my parts from http://stores.ebay.com/Maseratisource/FERRARI-308-328-AND-400i-PARTS-/_i.html?_fsub=20993363&_sid=9400024&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322 Very nice guy to deal with. Always offer less and work with him as he always deals. The more you buy the more he discounts. As I understand it only the rear bushings come hard and regular? Iiii got the complete works from him at a greatly reduced priced and got the hard rears per Newman's recommendation.
Wasn't there something aboiut some less than satiisfactory bushings/suspension parts being sold via Ebay? (presumably not from this guy though)
Don't know about that but these looked like top quality when I saw them. Of course I also realize that eyeball inspection is limited. I thought I was missing some and he reshipped no questions asked. I later found them and returned the extras so he stands behind what he sells as far as protecting his reputation. If Newman finds anything wrong with them, as he is doing the suspension now, I will be the first to let everyone know.
There were/are several issue with these aftermarket bushings ranging from rubber that was not bonded correctly to the steel sleeves, the rubber itself not being of the proper "hardness" and probably the most serious problem of all, the outer bushing case was too soft and partially crushed when tightened in the chassis. The actual supplier escapes me, although you certainly can't tell (too much) by just looking at the bushing.
I just replaced all the bushings on the rear of my 308. INNER BUSHINGS There are plenty of posts and DIY articles about the inner ones. There are two choices for the inner bushings: 1. OE which involves grinding the old welds, pressing out the bushing, pressing in the new bushing and welding in the new one. I did this using the bushings from Maseritisource available on ebay. 2. The second is to use the existing outer shell, take the rubber inside out and use Energy Suspension urethane bushings. Many posts on this method. One thing I did notice is that the OE bushings are torqued when the control arms are supporting the cars weight (wheels on the ground). This puts the rubber in the bushing within the control arm in a fixed position which contributes to some of the stiffness of the overall suspension. This can be felt when you take the components apart (wheel off and shock absorber and spring out). The control arms will just stay there and do not fall. If you push the control arm up or down you can feel the resistance of the rubber. How much this contributes to the stiffness along with the spring is tough to say, but with the Energy Suspension urethane set up, there is no "rubber resistance". Although the the extra firmness of the urethane compensates for control arm movement, they do not contribute to the overall spring rate because the urethane bushing design allows the control arm to go up and down without resistance. OUTER BUSHINGS These are the bushings that support the axle carrier and are far more complex, have many parts and involve several critical steps to get things correct. Finding information about replacing this setup proved to be a challenge. I have read most of the suspension rebuild posts and have concluded that not many people in the 308 rebuilds replace the outer bushings and even less seem to press out the old, Teflon(?) coated inner collar and put in a new one. Several of these parts are wear items and there are 8 of them. Things can get real expensive very fast. You can certainly notice scratches and burrs once parts are cleaned. On the Teflon coated parts, you can see if the finish has worn through. Some of mine had a bronze or copper color underneath the coating. I want to thank Fastradio for specific information about this procedure and for his great thread in which he details the setup. He details the specifics starting in post 18, but read the whole thread. It is worthwhile just to look at the detail and beauty of the forged control arms. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=185783&highlight=Suspension+overhaul The outer bushings are a Teflon coated bushing that is pressed into the control arm. A pin bushing fits into this bushing (the bolt goes through a hole in the center this). This controls radial play in the pivot. On one end is a Teflon coated thrust washer that is held in place with a pin. On the 308, a smooth end cap/washer mates against this to provide a smooth sliding surface. The other has a smaller end cap. Rubber sleeves, like flat o-rings cover some of these parts and provide a barrier for dirt. The end cap/washer assembly controls lateral play in the control arm. It really is a nice system, but composed of many parts and things have to be checked to insure smoothness when assembling. Some things to consider: Study the diagram ahead of time and be careful when disassembling that you do not loose the small pins. Bushing assembly is parts 5-12 http://www.trutlands.com/tav_main.php?tav=308GTB_GTS_39 The inner Teflon coated bushing and Teflon coated thrust washer are wear items-replace them. Once the Teflon coated bushing is pushed out, lightly polish the inner surface of the control arm before pushing in the new bushing. When the new Teflon coated bushing is in watch for four things: a. Left and right alignment-you don't want the end to hit the thrust washer b. Make sure the seam on the new bushing is smooth once installed-feel for burrs c. Clean the chrome plated(?) pin bushing and polish it. Look and feel for any scratches or chips. If it is not really, really smooth, replace it (expensive) because this mates and rotates within the Teflon lined collar and provides some of the smoothness and minimal friction of the system. (One of my pin bushings had a missing chip where the chrome plating had come off) d. Pay attention to how tight the pin bushing fits into the Teflon lined outer sleeve. As Fastradio states in the thread, it is a light to medium thumb press. On my control arms, 3 out of 8 were tight. I used 400 grit wet/dry paper and slowly loosened up the fit. Go slow, keep the sanding even and constantly test fit the pin bushing. How tight it goes in is the key. This pin bushing will rotate against the inner teflon lined collar so check it for smoothness in this direction. Once fully installed, it will not move end to end. THRUST WASHER, LOCATING PIN and END CAP/WASHER a. Make sure you install it with the correct side, Teflon, against the smooth outer end cap/washer. b. Make sure the pin is fully seated in the hole and does not protrude and touch the end cap/washer. c. You are looking for smoothness here so polish the endcap/ washer to a mirror finish. If that cannot be achieved, buy a new end cap/washer. This is mating against the Teflon thrust washer and smoothness is essential. Any burrs or scratches will gouge the Teflon coating on the thrust washer which defeats the whole purpose. GREASE AND RUBBER RINGS Follow Fastradio's advise here with respect to lubrication. Get new rings if dry rotted or cracked. This was actually a satisfying task to complete. It does a lot of time. Eight more bushings to push out and eight more to push in, but I cannot imagine rebuilding the rear control arms without doing the outer bushings. Everything is apart already, so its just more time and money! Some pictures: inner Teflon(?) bushing (sorry for the poor quality) thrust washer, pin and end cap/washer completed assembly Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The urethanes started squeaking after a short time. I used quite a bit of the recommended lubricant (some Dow Corning valve lube stuff) because I'd used urethane bushings on my Sciroccos in years past and they started squeaking and groaning. Even then the GT4 would make noises over speed bumps and other large suspension excursion events. The OEM's are more difficult to install but I think worth the effort. They won't groan and squeak and they are as the manufacturer intended. I would ask what you are trying to "fix" by using the urethane? Do you think you need stiffer bushings for some reason? And is that compared to new stock bushings or shot 30+ years old bushings? Are you trying to save money or time/effort by going with urethane? Do you think they will be "better"? (I thought they would be better and cheaper, btw. That's why I used them the first time.) I also have a question/concern about the urethane over time: The urethane bushings have a bearing surface - they rotate inside the old bushings' shells. These shells will wear over time. Will the gritty gease slow or accelerate this? How fast? Will it matter? (The OEM has no bearing surface like this, so there's no comparison.) I don't remember wher I got this but I remember being told the "soft" bushings were for the front and the "hard" bushings were for the rear. The rear busings have a lot more weight to support and control and are harder to compensate.
i used the ES bushings and also used Birdman's process. Once all the a-arms were out of the car, I spent ~ 20-30 min per a-arm to remove and replace the bushings.
Hi, new to this chat room. I just brought my dream car 1986 Ferrari 328 GTB 1 month ago. Had been eyeing on this car for more than a year and finally took the plunge! Have been smiling every day since. First thing I did was change the timing belt which was last done 4 years ago. The car had 3 previous owners the last having it for 13 years and mileage is only 37,000 km. I am also planning to change all the arms bushing as recently some quacking noise started coming up. I will be reading with interest on this tread whether to go with original rubber or poly. I do prefer a softer ride as I don't track but also wanted the replacement to last longer. Cheers!
Just had my inner 16 done with these ,very happy . https://bellclassics.co.uk/product/ferrari-246-308-suspension-polyurethane-bush-kit/ Drop link bushes and sway bar bushes replaced from Superformance Nice taught ride no squeaking . Did not fancy OEM reasons ........ Grinding off OEM welds sounds damaging - needs repainting ? Pressing out distorts the alignment of the two holes on the base of the A Apparently the new welds ( done with the best intentions) then can crack later , if there’s been any micro distortion ,so the whole thing starts to rotate inside the A arm . Final tightening needs to be done with wheels on and off the jacks - easy for average Joe technician to skip ? Anyhow ride is not excessively hard feels fine and modern .They do a hard track set as well .Ive had the std road set fitted . Tyre pressures have the greatest effect on ride suppleness. Note the classiche reference .
This might be someone's lucky day. I traded in my '89 328 GTS and now would like to clean out my garage of the parts that I bought over the years and never used. I have a set of Energy Suspension polyurethane suspension bushings that I'd like to get out of my garage. There are 16 bushings in the box. I'm guessing that shipping will be a bit under $25. Pay that and they're yours. I really enjoyed the 328 but after 19 or so years it was time for something new. Cheers, Jim V.
I provided the full set of records going back to when the car was bought new to the dealer when I traded it in so I'm doing this from memory. I believe the original window sticker back in 1989 was just over $90K. I bought the car in January of 1998 with 6,260 miles on it from a dealer for $60K. The 89 328 GTS is currently listed on the Ferrari of Seattle web site if you'd like to see it before it sells. Cheers, Jim V.
