im going through my 78 cutlass again. i am going to replace all the bushings and dont know which way to go.i want it to handle the best it can with the best ride possable.i have grand national sway bars and a monte ss ear end and some no sag springs. any god or bad stories about Polyurethane bushings i should know?
bushings stock or poly?
- Thread starter drolds
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This is a subject you are going to get alot of different opinions.
I can tell you as someone who works on cars for a living,poly are fine.
Alot of issues are them from improper prep, not the bushings themselves.
In your case a mix on poly and rubber would work best to get better control without killing your ride.
I can tell you as someone who works on cars for a living,poly are fine.
Alot of issues are them from improper prep, not the bushings themselves.
In your case a mix on poly and rubber would work best to get better control without killing your ride.
Sand any area a bushing is going to contact smooth.
Don't use the stuff that pack with the bushings, they don't give you enough anyway.
Do take the bushings all the way apart, I mean out of thier metal cases, and lube the hell out of them with Synthetic Brake grease and slide them back in thier case/shell.
Lube inside the bushing and slide the pin in.
Next, I almost fill the pin/bolt hole with grease.
Take the grease brush and lube the outside of the bushing as well as the area you sanded.
You guessed it, lube the bolt and slide it in until there is enough sticking out the other side to thread on the nut.
Hold the nut with a wrench and tighten the bolt in, this pulls the grease in and then seals it inside when the bolt gets tight.
Torque them down tight, then back off a turn.
I then drop the car on 4 ramps, cycle the suspension by riding the bumper.
Now you can do final torque on the bolts.
I have done tons of cars this way with not one complaint of a squeak from my customers.
I did a gear swap on one customers car after 2 years.
I pulled the bolts out of the LCA arms, pushed them down and they swung under the car, no binding here.
Don't use the stuff that pack with the bushings, they don't give you enough anyway.
Do take the bushings all the way apart, I mean out of thier metal cases, and lube the hell out of them with Synthetic Brake grease and slide them back in thier case/shell.
Lube inside the bushing and slide the pin in.
Next, I almost fill the pin/bolt hole with grease.
Take the grease brush and lube the outside of the bushing as well as the area you sanded.
You guessed it, lube the bolt and slide it in until there is enough sticking out the other side to thread on the nut.
Hold the nut with a wrench and tighten the bolt in, this pulls the grease in and then seals it inside when the bolt gets tight.
Torque them down tight, then back off a turn.
I then drop the car on 4 ramps, cycle the suspension by riding the bumper.
Now you can do final torque on the bolts.
I have done tons of cars this way with not one complaint of a squeak from my customers.
I did a gear swap on one customers car after 2 years.
I pulled the bolts out of the LCA arms, pushed them down and they swung under the car, no binding here.
My car has ES poly bushings and no problems after 12 years (has it really been that long? :shock: ). I did the body mounts and front suspension with them. The Delrin/aluminum bushings are better, but not really worth the price on a street car that sees daily use. I have them in my new UCA's, but as I have yet to install them I can't comment on how they actually are in practice rather than just theory.
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