Hi Joe, Ya, it's a 3 piece design. I was playing around with parts last night and noticed that the steel tube in some misc control arm bushings I have are 1 and 13/16 and a perfect fit between the ear, and also have the right 3/4 inch OD for the plastic parts. I can use the 1 7/16 plastic parts with the 1 13/16 tubes and use 3/4 inch washers to center the bushings. Then I can fit the washers to snugly, not tightly, fill the gaps with the metal tube held tightly between the ears. I like this approach and I think this lets the parts work the way they are intended. Ken From: "Joseph F. Byrd, Jr." <byrdjf@embarqmail.com> To: 'Ken Green' <kenn_green@yahoo.com> Cc: detomaso@server.detomasolist.com Sent: Saturday, June 11, 2016 4:35 PM Subject: RE: [DeTomaso] Shimms to make narrower shock absorber bushings fit between ears? Are the bushings a 3 piece design, That is an inner sleeve and rubbers for each side? I would think the shock would be similar to the arm bushings in that the "sleeve" would allow you to solidly clamp down on the bolt without compressing the rubber. Will the shock width allow the use of the 1.44" bushings? Is so, using plain steel washers to make the length of the sleeve to fit the 1.81" ears. Joe/5177 -----Original Message----- From: DeTomaso [mailto:detomaso-bounces@server.detomasolist.com] On Behalf Of Ken Green via DeTomaso Sent: Saturday, June 11, 2016 17:55 PM To: DeTomaso List Subject: [DeTomaso] Shimms to make narrower shock absorber bushings fit between ears? I have new shock absorbers that came with bushings to wide to easily fit between the mount ears. I received a drawing from Joe Byre (thanks) that showed the ears to be 46 +- .5 mm, or about 1 and 13/16. The shock bushings are 1 and 7/8, 1/16 wider. While I could muscle them in and then tighten the bolts, the result is likely to cause early shock failure because the shocks cannot be so tight that they cannot slightly pivot, and being pinched between the ears may cause early failure (confirmed by the manufacturer). I also have a set of 1 and 7/16 bushings, so I could use 3/8 inches of washer, etc. and properly fill the gap. McMaster has oil embedded thrust bearings in 1/8 and 1/16 for a little over a buck, so only about $7 per shock, only about $30 total. This seems like a good solution, any comments? Ken Hi Joe, Ya, it's a 3 piece design. I was playing around with parts last night and noticed that the steel tube in some misc control arm bushings I have are 1 and 13/16 and a perfect fit between the ear, and also have the right 3/4 inch OD for the plastic parts. I can use the 1 7/16 plastic parts with the 1 13/16 tubes and use 3/4 inch washers to center the bushings. Then I can fit the washers to snugly, not tightly, fill the gaps with the metal tube held tightly between the ears. I like this approach and I think this lets the parts work the way they are intended. Ken __________________________________________________________________ From: "Joseph F. Byrd, Jr." <byrdjf@embarqmail.com> To: 'Ken Green' <kenn_green@yahoo.com> Cc: detomaso@server.detomasolist.com Sent: Saturday, June 11, 2016 4:35 PM Subject: RE: [DeTomaso] Shimms to make narrower shock absorber bushings fit between ears? Are the bushings a 3 piece design, That is an inner sleeve and rubbers for each side? I would think the shock would be similar to the arm bushings in that the "sleeve" would allow you to solidly clamp down on the bolt without compressing the rubber. Will the shock width allow the use of the 1.44" bushings? Is so, using plain steel washers to make the length of the sleeve to fit the 1.81" ears. Joe/5177 -----Original Message----- From: DeTomaso [mailto:[1]detomaso-bounces@server.detomasolist.com] On Behalf Of Ken Green via DeTomaso Sent: Saturday, June 11, 2016 17:55 PM To: DeTomaso List Subject: [DeTomaso] Shimms to make narrower shock absorber bushings fit between ears? I have new shock absorbers that came with bushings to wide to easily fit between the mount ears. I received a drawing from Joe Byre (thanks) that showed the ears to be 46 +- .5 mm, or about 1 and 13/16. The shock bushings are 1 and 7/8, 1/16 wider. While I could muscle them in and then tighten the bolts, the result is likely to cause early shock failure because the shocks cannot be so tight that they cannot slightly pivot, and being pinched between the ears may cause early failure (confirmed by the manufacturer). I also have a set of 1 and 7/16 bushings, so I could use 3/8 inches of washer, etc. and properly fill the gap. McMaster has oil embedded thrust bearings in 1/8 and 1/16 for a little over a buck, so only about $7 per shock, only about $30 total. This seems like a good solution, any comments? Ken References 1. mailto:detomaso-bounces@server.detomasolist.com