An EASIER way to do suspension bushings

They can and do squeak, but are supposedly much improved with the graphite in the poly mix, and the newer greases. That is why I have been asking; what happens if the grease washes out or works out after a year or two?....I cannot live with spraying silicone frequently to keep the noise down. Here in the NW it rains often, so the silicone or oil will wash out easily.

That is why I posted about using "anti-seize" over the supplied grease, because it is VERY tacky, and I would presume, even longer lasting...

 

I have been running Polygraphite bushings in my 240 for 4 years (daily driver). Aside from the initial lube during assembly I have not heard a peep out of them and they have required no additional lube.

Everything is press fit (or nearly so) and if water IS getting in the bushings then you have a more serious problem them squeeky noises.

 

Birdman...the rear A-arms have bushings on outer part of the arm as well, do the ES bushing part numbers you used work for this application as well, or are these different bushings?

Awesome writeup by the way...YOU ROCK!

 

Let me add that I have a small tub of silicone grease that has the same properties. It feels like contact cement coming out but once on the part is a good lubricant. Impervious to water also (used by plumbers).

 

As a note:

If you do not have a press or are unable to run to a machine shop you can just use a gas soldering torch to burn out the rubber.

I used to have a (as Spasso has now) 240Z and used this method to replace my old bushings with urethane.

It's dirty (lots of black smoke) and you need to be careful but once the rubber starts to burn it'll begin to fall apart in pieces and you'll be able to get it out without any problems. It takes longer than the press method though. Make sure you have a good set of gloves. I used my old Stand 21-3 layer nomex and had no problems (full nomex not just leather on the palms).

I had no damage to the suspension arms what so ever. The original paint/power coating (or whatever Datsun used) didn't even bubble up. That I was surprised at!

 

Excellent info here, guys - a 'keeper' for sure!

But, the original posting sort of begs a question - The operation shown is for the -REAR- A-arms.

What about the front ones? While I suspect that the work will be similar in nature, wouldn't the fronts use a different bushing part no.? Or, are the front and the rears the same part, so that the identical bushing does double duty for both?

Cheers - DM

 

The 3x8s use the same ES bushings for front & rear inner a-arm bushings.

The OEM bushings have different p/ns for front vs rear, it seems to be the firmness of the rubber. I can't rememer if the Mondials use the same front bushings also. Check the part #s at the ferrari.uk site.

 

Birdman,

I just finished replacing my beloved 308's front and rear bushings. It was a lot of work, as you know. I broke a big vise, I fumed, I learned a lot.

I was a service manager off and on for 10 years and one of the things that i always admired and respected was the mechanics looking for a way to save a bit or a lot of time in doing his work. I respected that, a sense of self worth, of customers' dollars spent, the drive to do the job in a shorter time.

I see a bit of heat coming down and i want to step in to juistify expedient work. We all must work within a budget. If we are personally wiling to do what ever it takes to do a perfect restoration/upgrade, or pay to have it done, that's cool.

But if we also have many other "issues" to deal with, we may need to consider some of the more creative approaches.

I have had a few too many beers to ponder this more deeply, but will take it under advisement

I salute you and your many past repair discussions.

your bud,
chris

 

I had a complete set for my 308/328, but never installed them....sold them recently...never popped one of the tubes open...thanks, good to know...the stuff "looked" like plain silicone type grease. Sounds like much better than that!

 

This is a good thread Birdman, well done.

Ok, Ferrari actually supply and specify a different hardness bush for the front to the rear for 308. They have different part numbers but are the same size. In real life though, just use the hard ones all round, as you'll not notice any degradation in ride quality by using hard ones where soft ones are supposed to be, in fact, quite the opposite.

www.superformance.co.uk supply both hard and soft replacements, for about 11.5 GBP each. I use these and have no trouble with them, fitting is a breeze with a home mig welder too, so although a press is handy at home, I'd argue a mig welder has more value, so if you can run to it, buy that, or why not both!!

The outer rear for the 308 (and inner for things like 400/365BB/Daytona etc) is solid. It is called a "DU" bush by me, as that is what the local bearing supplier terms the teflon sleeve insert and ring thrust washer that is easily and cheaply available. The chromed tube is a Ferrari specific part though, but this tends to outlast the car in most cases.

 

Birdman - excellent post. I am undertaking the full restoration and have cut out the existing bushings, and pressed in new ones.

One observation that I stumbled upon is that when chemically stripped (dipped), the rubber goes to the great wasteland in the sky. When I took my 8 A-arms to the stripper, I had not yet removed 4 of the bushings. When I got them back, the two A-arms that still had bushings in them now were rattlling. The inner bushing was loose within the outer bushing, the rubber was no where to be found. It would be a snap at that point to cut out the inner bush-tube as your suggested. In addition, you now can paint or powder coat the A-arm (masking the bushing tube if so desired).

Just another observation to add to your (Birdman's) treasure chest.

Jim S.

 

"I respect your opinion. When I did my 308, we went overboard, sand blasted and powder-coated the A arms, etc"

IMHO, you did not go overboard, You did a top notch job!

"Guess what? Nobody can see them and knows they are powder coated except me"

You are wrong there, everyone who has looked at that thread knows how much time and effort you put into that job!
The same way that everyone that has looked at this thread has seen these A-arms, hundreds of people.

"I didn't refer to your suspension rebuild as half-assed because you ONLY painted yours, and didn't actually go the extra mile and powder coat them"

I own the same powder coater that you used for your A-arms,
and tests showed that the black powder I purchased was not resistant to brake fluid.
All of the A-arms on my 308 have been re-painted once more with VHT epoxy paint which was resistant to brake fluid.

Good Luck with the new ride!

 

I'm of the opinion that this is the way to go, I'm glad to see you proved it to work. It keeps more of Enzo's blessed Iron in the car, rather than something dug out of the ground after he was in it.

 

There are 3 different kinds of powdercoat. The polyester based ones probably won't stand up long to brake fluid or lacquer thinner. Suspect that's what you tested.

However, the epoxy and probably the hybrid powders should stand up to just about any solvent.

 

Birdman- Great post! Thanks for writting it up. These are the types of posts that make FChat a great community.

Now I know how I'll do my bushings when the time comes. (Probably sooner than later)

 

Sorry I'm too lazy to check this on prev threads, but I take it the agreed opinion is that installing urethane bushings does NOT cause the ride & bump handling to deteriorate into harshness? If not, then this has GOT to be the way to go. Thanks Birdman.

 

Bird man you said at the beginning of the post that this was a rear A arm job.Can the same process be done with the Front A arms?.Thanks in advance