[DeTomaso] Rear bushing woes, the saga continues

[Charles Engles]

Dear Asa,


                I have an answer to only one of your anguished questions: 
use the poly bushings.

                One can argue various merits of the soft rubber bushings 
versus the firm poly bushings ad nauseum.   I will point out that for a very 
first time suspension assembler (me), they went in easy.  They were easy to 
modify for extra positive caster.   They're in both my cars and I have not 
detected any degradation in ride quality.


                For what it is worth,  Chuck Engles



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Asa Jay Laughton" <asajay at asajay.com>
To: <unlisted-recipients:>; <no To-header on input>
Cc: <detomaso at realbig.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 10:11 PM
Subject: [DeTomaso] Rear bushing woes, the saga continues


> Nothing like chaos to  put a damper on your goal of being race ready in
> time for a track day.
>
> In our last episode, we learned that I mushroomed the ends of a few
> a-arm bushings while pressing them in.  So I order a few more from
> Wilkinson and figure I'll try again.  I also ask if he'd send me a tool
> to help press the darn things in so I'm not using my large six-point
> socket (which most likely contributed to the folly in the first place).
>
> So today, I take all the new bushing and the new tool to the garage.  I
> first figure I'll try this slick new tool on a bushing already installed
> and see if I can maybe straighten things out a bit.  But the silly thing
> doesn't rest on the shoulder of the bushing.  WTF?  I paid how much for
> a silly piece of aluminum machined to fit the bushing properly and it
> doesn't fit?
>
> So I check it against one of the new bushings Steve sent me.  Fits -
> like - a - glove.  WTF  (only LOUDER).
>
> I put the new bushing up against the (older already installed) new
> bushing.  Appears to be a difference here.
>
> For the gory detailed photos, go here:
> http://www.teampanteraracing.com/gallery2/v/asajay/pantera/rearsusp/
>
> The short story is;
> - I bought the first set of bushings along with the ball joints last
> year from Wilkinson.
> - The replacements I got just this month.
> - The ones from last summer are a full eighth inch longer than those I
> recently received.
> - The ones from last summer extend a good sixteenth to eighth inch
> farther on the outboard side.
> - I'm not putting these in my car.
>
> Questions:
> - Are there differences in a-arm bushings based on the year of build?
> - Has anyone else run into this?
> - Should I extract the front a-arm bushings and re-do them since they
> suffered the same problem but I muscled them in anyway?
> - Should I have gone with aftermarket poly bushings instead?
>
> I'll be giving Steve a call tomorrow to ask him what he knows as well.
> This certainly won't do.  I'm guessing he didn't know about the
> difference.  Both parts were labeled the same, but one is definitely not
> going to work.
>
> Comments?
> Asa Jay
>
> Asa Jay Laughton, MSgt, USAFR, Retired
>
> & Shelley Marie
> Spokane, WA
>
> 1973 Pantera L 5533
> [ASASCAT]
>
> ******************************
> http://www.asajay.com
> http://www.351c.info
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> Detomaso Forum Managed by POCA
>
> Archive Search Engine Now Available at http://www.realbig.com/detomaso/
>
> DeTomaso mailing list
> DeTomaso at list.realbig.com
> http://list.realbig.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso
>