front bushes
- Thread starter pugsy
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matthewb
New member
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Hi PugsyI'm no expert (as Maurice et al will confirm) but I understand that replacement recon wishbone bushes really don't cut the mustard (I know recon bush manufacturers say the opposite - who to believe?). Don't you need some serious tools to push the old ones out and the new ones in?
M
Super_Marv
New member
I've covered tens of thousands of miles with Polybushes and experienced no problems whatsoever, as have some of my friends - so long as they're fitted properly, there's no reason to worry IMO. I'm yet to see any evidence that they don't 'cut the mustard'.
There's a guide here:
http://www.jackals-forge.com/lotus/993/993_diary.html#BUSHES
There's a guide here:
http://www.jackals-forge.com/lotus/993/993_diary.html#BUSHES
Porker993
New member
I watched my Indie pressing bushes out once - he used a 10 tonne hydraulic press.
By the way, my 993 polybushes have been great for the last 5 years/50,000 miles - no way would I go back to rubber.
I've never heard of any problem with them on a 993 ?
We don't fit polybushes on the landrover though, even though the rubber bushes wear out really quickly.
That is because serious off road driving causes during extreme axle articulation, which means the polybushes don't give enough, and the axle mounts can crack. No such problems on road with a Porsche.
By the way, my 993 polybushes have been great for the last 5 years/50,000 miles - no way would I go back to rubber.
I've never heard of any problem with them on a 993 ?
We don't fit polybushes on the landrover though, even though the rubber bushes wear out really quickly.
That is because serious off road driving causes during extreme axle articulation, which means the polybushes don't give enough, and the axle mounts can crack. No such problems on road with a Porsche.
verysideways
New member
Hydraulic press is the quickest and easiest way to do it.
You could try the hot/cold trick for the new ones but the problem is you might melt the polybush pushing it in to a hot wishbone
You could try the hot/cold trick for the new ones but the problem is you might melt the polybush pushing it in to a hot wishbone
Guards Red
New member
Its not too bad really. No special tools required other than a sturdy work surface, a hammer or two, an electric drill a few old screwdrivers to use as a drift, a junior saw and ideally a vice.
The front bush is a thin wall metal tube (say 2-3mm)with molded rubber holding the inner metal mounting tube which is thicker. This latter tube is the bit the bolt goes through. The entire tube is then pressed into the aluminum of the arm. If you look at the arm carefully, you can just make out where the tube starts and the ally finishes. The rearward mount is the same except made of two halves inserted on each side of the hole in the arm. This latter mount also has a small lip which stops in being inserted to far into the ally arm as both halves do not meet in the middle from memory.
Once the wishbone is off the car, you drill loads of holes through the rubber all around the inner metal tube till it falls out leaving a nice big hole in the center of the mounting. You then mount the arm in a vice, detach the blade from the junior hacksaw and insert in through the hole and mount it back on the junior saw frame thereby having the blade connected inside the mount. You then simply saw through the rubber, the thin wall outer tube at which point it will simply fall out of the aluminum arm. You have to go slow and check often that the blade is square and that you are not sawing into the arm itself. Really, really easy and about half an hour each bush. The poly ones are a push fit, no press needed. You do the same on the rear mount noting that there are two bushes, both facing each other in the same hole with about 10mm between them and that there is a lip curling over onto the arm. Some burn the rubber out with a blow torch but that not good for your health or the environment.
Hardest part of the job is undoing the old bolts which weld themselves to the inner bush tube. A long spanner or an air gun come in handy here. The geometry will be completely off after so a proper alignment is essential to get the best out of all your hard work.
Hope the above makes sense, probably not but it should when you have the wishbone in your hands.
Regards
GR
The front bush is a thin wall metal tube (say 2-3mm)with molded rubber holding the inner metal mounting tube which is thicker. This latter tube is the bit the bolt goes through. The entire tube is then pressed into the aluminum of the arm. If you look at the arm carefully, you can just make out where the tube starts and the ally finishes. The rearward mount is the same except made of two halves inserted on each side of the hole in the arm. This latter mount also has a small lip which stops in being inserted to far into the ally arm as both halves do not meet in the middle from memory.
Once the wishbone is off the car, you drill loads of holes through the rubber all around the inner metal tube till it falls out leaving a nice big hole in the center of the mounting. You then mount the arm in a vice, detach the blade from the junior hacksaw and insert in through the hole and mount it back on the junior saw frame thereby having the blade connected inside the mount. You then simply saw through the rubber, the thin wall outer tube at which point it will simply fall out of the aluminum arm. You have to go slow and check often that the blade is square and that you are not sawing into the arm itself. Really, really easy and about half an hour each bush. The poly ones are a push fit, no press needed. You do the same on the rear mount noting that there are two bushes, both facing each other in the same hole with about 10mm between them and that there is a lip curling over onto the arm. Some burn the rubber out with a blow torch but that not good for your health or the environment.
Hardest part of the job is undoing the old bolts which weld themselves to the inner bush tube. A long spanner or an air gun come in handy here. The geometry will be completely off after so a proper alignment is essential to get the best out of all your hard work.
Hope the above makes sense, probably not but it should when you have the wishbone in your hands.
Regards
GR
verysideways
New member
What a fantastic post.
I've got old bushes out that way before - detaching a hacksaw blade from the handle, running it through the hole, and then reattaching it.
Didn't realise the poly bushes were a push fit. Did you use washing up liquid when you pushed them in, or lube free?
Guards Red
New member
Hi Verysideways,
The bushes I used (Powerflex) came with sachets of Copperease. They simply go in by hand, no force required at all. The Copperease is not there to help inset them, but to keep them lubricated and noise free. There is a metal insert that replaces the orginal inner metal tube in the bush, this rotates inside the poly bush and may creak if not lubricated properly.
Regards
GR
The bushes I used (Powerflex) came with sachets of Copperease. They simply go in by hand, no force required at all. The Copperease is not there to help inset them, but to keep them lubricated and noise free. There is a metal insert that replaces the orginal inner metal tube in the bush, this rotates inside the poly bush and may creak if not lubricated properly.
Regards
GR
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