Factory bushing set questions

[dyrt]

Howdy Folks,

I was wondering if anyone had done a complete set of new factory body bushings. I purchased and installed a set of polys a while back and i think i hate them. If they are indeed the culprit, they send way too much chassis vibration into the body and it just isn't a great feeling for cruising. I purchased a set of factory bushings as a kit from gbodyparts to replace them and i am a bit confused about where some of the pieces go.

I contacted the seller asking a few SPECIFIC questions and they simply emailed me the chart we have all seen a million times and then didn't answer any subsequent questions so i guess i am on my own here.

Here are my questions:
If you look at the first picture, you will see all of the parts i received. I am trying to figure out if i was sent an extra top mount set, missing a bottom mount set, or if there is a spot where you use a top and no bottom. The second picture shows the 3 different tops that are apparently equivalent. I am guessing that you could use all of the same part number in all positions but it confuses me why I ended up getting 3 different bushings that can all be used in different locations unless, of course, you just get enough equivalent bushings to do all positions, with which i am fine. It still confuses me that the tube in the small diameter top bushing is longer.

Last, i was sent 8 of one type of bottom and 2 of another. I think i have figured them out already though maybe they are actually equivalent to the rest.

Any input about my situation would be most appreciated.

Thanks,

Mike

 

[565bbchevy]

I've never heard of anyone having a problem with polyurethane bushings and chassis vibrations are you sure that's the problem, I can see if you had put solid body mounts in but I have all poly bushings throughout and have always ran solid engine and trans mounts and never had a vibration and now there is a roll bar in there tied to the frame but that didn't change anything either.
It just seems like you are going backwards with a rubber bushing.

 

[Longroof79]

I also have installed the Energy Suspension urethane bushings in my car, and absolutely have no negative feedback to report about vibrations, etc. I have noticed however, that the car has a firmer feel to it and there's no pitch or body roll whatsoever.
All in all, I have no regrets about installing them. They are certainly an improvement over the raggedy bushings that I took out of there.
And again, people want different aspects of road feel, ride comfort, handling, out of their vehicles.

 

[dyrt]

Compared to the factory setup in which half of the bushings were left out i am sure all new rubbers will be just fine. I have heard of plenty of people not liking urethane bushings. This is not an all out race car or anything, i cruise this thing and i am looking to quiet the car down more. This weekend i am swapping out mufflers and that may do it for me. When i was a kid it was one thing, exhaust and chassis harmonics were not a problem. I am trying to narrow down my cab noise and smooth out the ride. Either way, these things are all semantics. The problem i am having is trying to figure out where they all go. If i don't like the rubber i will put the urethane back in.

 

[pontiacgp]

the difference between new factory bushings and poly bushings is that much. The big difference is the OEM bushings break down and become softer while the poly bushings don't. You have to remember the bushings you removed were decades old and you won't get the same mushy ride with any new bushings you install

 

[Longroof79]

I like the firmer ride and positive road feel. My car isn't a race car by any means. However, I like a car that has decent handling and not like driving my living room couch down the road. If I wanted something with type of ride, I would have bought a Caddy, Lexus, or something of that nature.
I'm sure the rubber bushings will be an improvement, but I went with the urethane bushings for longevity, as my friend(Steve) Pontiacgp stated. Also the fact that they don't break down, get mushy, and deflect like rubber bushings.

 

[pontiacgp]

the reason I am suggesting there isn't much difference is if you take a set of OEM bushing and set them up with a metal plate for the frame and body torque them down as per the specs and you'll see how little room they have to compress. I drove a A body with new OEM bushings and I was surprised at the ride..

 

[dyrt]

Has anyone else bought this kit? How does what i received compare to what you received?

 

[ssbrewskyaz]

Mike,

Thought I'd weigh in on your body cushion dilemma, this is my opinion so I prefer not to get a bunch of opinions from others regarding my opinion. We all know the saying. … Just saying.

For what it’s worth, I would never use all urethane cushions on anything I build. Firm is one thing, now maybe this could be considered semantics, but one persons firm is another persons harsh. Urethane cushions definitely have more road input to a drivers seat of the pants. Some folks are happy with that; I personally don’t need to feel every bump and crack in the road.

Hey, I’m no expert but I’ve build a lot of cars. What I do is mix the factory rubber cushions with strategic placement of urethane cushions. I like urethane cushions at the radiator support. I like rubber cushions at the driver compartment corners, essentially the number two, four and seven positions. I typically use urethane in the one, three and six positions. Number five isn’t a big contributor to seat of the pants input (although the people in the back seat may say otherwise) so either or works here for me.

On the car I’m currently building, Malibu wagon, viewtopic.php?f=38&t=33896, I searched the dealer network all over creation to find all OE body cushions. A couple were discontinued so I used urethane cushions in their place. The thing about this is that it isn’t permanent. You can swap cushions around until you find the mix that works best for your ride preference. Yes, it’s a little work, but if you enjoy working on your car then it isn’t really work now is it.

I don’t have photos with me but there are some in my thread. The best I can do as far as the map is concerned, is to measure the OE stuff I have, in the positions General Motors says they go in, take some clear specific cushion photos, and you can deduce from there. BTW, who is the manufacturer of the rubber (OE Type) cushions you purchased? Who was the manufacturer of the urethane cushions you purchased?

And finally I'll say this; There's a reason most manufacturers don't use urethane cushions on production vehicles and it ain't because of the cost. Production quantities of urethane cushions are far less expensive than the chosen composite rubber cushions. It's all about the ride. ...…

Hope this helps. …

 

[dyrt]

Mike,

Thought I'd weigh in on your body cushion dilemma, this is my opinion so I prefer not to get a bunch of opinions from others regarding my opinion. We all know the saying. … Just saying.

For what it’s worth, I would never use all urethane cushions on anything I build. Firm is one thing, now maybe this could be considered semantics, but one persons firm is another persons harsh. Urethane cushions definitely have more road input to a drivers seat of the pants. Some folks are happy with that; I personally don’t need to feel every bump and crack in the road.

Hey, I’m no expert but I’ve build a lot of cars. What I do is mix the factory rubber cushions with strategic placement of urethane cushions. I like urethane cushions at the <a class="vglnk" title="Link added by VigLink" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=radiator"><span>radiator</span></a> support. I like rubber cushions at the driver compartment corners, essentially the number two, four and seven positions. I typically use urethane in the one, three and six positions. Number five isn’t a big contributor to seat of the pants input (although the people in the back seat may say otherwise) so either or works here for me.

On the car I’m currently building, Malibu wagon, <a class="vglnk" title="Link added by VigLink" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://gbodyforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=33896"><span>http</span><span>://</span><span>gbodyforum</span><span>.</span><span>com</span><span>/</span><span>viewtopic</span><span>.</span><span>php</span><span>?</span><span>f</span><span>=</span><span>38</span><span>&</span><span>t</span><span>=</span><span>33896</span></a>, I searched the dealer network all over creation to find all OE body cushions. A couple were discontinued so I used urethane cushions in their place. The thing about this is that it isn’t permanent. You can swap cushions around until you find the mix that works best for your ride preference. Yes, it’s a little work, but if you enjoy working on your car then it isn’t really work now is it.

I don’t have photos with me but there are some in my thread. The best I can do as far as the map is concerned, is to measure the OE stuff I have, in the positions General Motors says they go in, take some clear specific cushion photos, and you can deduce from there. BTW, who is the manufacturer of the rubber (OE Type) cushions you purchased? Who was the manufacturer of the urethane cushions you purchased?

And finally I'll say this; There's a reason most manufacturers don't use urethane cushions on production vehicles and it ain't because of the cost. Production quantities of urethane cushions are far less expensive than the chosen composite rubber cushions. It's all about the ride. ...…

Hope this helps. …

These are all real gm bushings. The set i put in my car a few years ago is from energy suspension if i recall correctly. If you look at the pics you can actually see the colors and part numbers on some of them. Without getting too into detail, let me just say i am no stranger to pain and i already did the urethanes as well as some repair work on the frame in numbers 7 and 2 position. As a matter of fact i built the whole car from many sources if you read my signature. I have no problem changing them back out but i certainly appreciate your opinion.

I actually have toyed with the notion of mixing the urethanes and rubbers myself. My idea was that i would use urethanes on 1 and 7 and use rubber everywhere else including the gnx bushings. I like the idea of urethane on the rad support since these cars flex a ton as i have noticed when lifting the car with the lift. That being said, my worries were the following and no one has chimed in with a response to these questions:
1. I am trying to figure out if i got screwed out of a set of bottoms or if they sent me too many tops.
2. I rechecked the chart and my confusion was not with the tops like i thought it was. That is my fault. After looking at it again i was confused about the bottoms. I don't think there is any problem using any of the tops or any of the bottoms in any of the locations, the exception being the number 7 top, which is the 1242754 in the picture above. I don't remember the energy set having a different one for 7 but it has been a few years.

Thanks everyone for chiming in. I think i am going to try changing out just certain ones to see if it reduces any of my cab feel. In the end i will end up having a few extra bushings to swap out in case the rubbers ever take a dump on me.