[DeTomaso] Mechanics of after marker suspension bushings?

[Will Kooiman]

I think I've said this before.

I replaced the rubber leaf spring bushings in my 67 Mustang (years ago).

I bought a kit from Global West.  They are known for their work with early
Mustangs.

The kit consisted of aluminum bushings and hard white plastic (delrin?)
sleeves.  The aluminum bushings pressed into the middle of the leaf
"eyes".  There was a large plastic sleeve/tube that went in the middle of
the bushing - between the bolt and the bushing, plus there were two
plastic pieces that resembled large washers that went on either end.  You
had to drill a small zerk to grease it. I was reluctant to use hard
bushings because I didn't want a lot of road noise, but...

The aluminum bushings allowed the spring to move freely where they were
supposed to move, and they held the springs tight to prevent side-to-side
movement.

Wheel hop was non-existent.

I didn't notice road noise, but to be honest, the 428 was pretty loud, so
I probably wouldn't have heard it.

Global West said with this mod they don't use panhard bars, nor do they
recommend traction bars.

I have always wondered about using aluminum bushings (or some other
solid/non-bushing mount) with the Pantera A-Arms.  I would probably pursue
it, but I have been happy with the very hard bushings that I currently
have (from Quella).

On 8/18/12 11:59 AM, "Tomas Gunnarsson" <guson at home.se> wrote:

>The new factory bushings I used were not bonded to both sleeves.
>
>Tomas
>  -----Original Message-----
>  From: Pantdino [mailto:pantdino at aol.com]
>  Sent: den 18 augusti 2012 08:37
>  To: guson at home.se; fisher95020 at yahoo.com; kenn_green at yahoo.com;
>detomaso at realbig.com
>  Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Mechanics of after marker suspension bushings?
>
>
>  Stock rubber bushings are supposed to be bonded to the inner and outer
>sleeves.  So, yes, you do have to tighten the bolt/nut at the normal ride
>height or the rubber will be under constant tension and thus fail sooner.
>
>
>  Aftermarket bushings are usually nylon, delrin, or some other kind of
>harder material and are NOT bonded to the metal sleeve(s).  This is
>because
>that material will not stretch like rubber does and if there were no
>motion
>between the sleeves and bushing material between them the suspension could
>not move. It has been too long since I did my bushings for me to remember
>where that motion occurs, but I installed Zerk fittings in the outer
>sleeves
>so I could lube them when they started to squeak, so I would think at
>least
>some of it must be between the bushing material and the outer sleeve.
>
>
>  Jim
>
>
>  -----Original Message-----
>  From: Tomas Gunnarsson <guson at home.se>
>  To: David D Fisher <fisher95020 at yahoo.com>; Ken Green
><kenn_green at yahoo.com>; Pantera List Serve <detomaso at realbig.com>
>  Sent: Thu, Aug 16, 2012 10:44 am
>  Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Mechanics of after marker suspension bushings?
>
>
>I found that the rubber is not stuck to both the inside and outside tube
>of
>the bushing. Initially they flex but if you make a 90 degree movement the
>bushing stays where you set it. So tightening at ride height is not really
>necessary IMO.
>
>Tomas
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: detomaso-bounces at realbig.com
>[mailto:detomaso-bounces at realbig.com]On Behalf Of David D Fisher
>Sent: den 16 augusti 2012 18:24
>To: Ken Green; Pantera List Serve
>Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Mechanics of after marker suspension bushings?
>
>
>Ken,
>
>(For the stock bushings at least), the only suspension movement once the
>A-Arm bolts are tight comes from the flex in the rubber inside the
>bushing.   This is why you want to have the car on its wheels (at normal
>ride height) before tightening up the bushing bolts.     The bushings are
>pressed into the A-Arms and dont move, and the bolts clamp down on the
>inner
>steel bush once you tighten them up.   Once that is done, the only thing
>that can move is the rubber flexing.
>
>I would imagine that the assumption in this design is that you dont expect
>to have a lot of suspension travel under normal use.
>
>David
>
>
>
>________________________________
> From: Ken Green <kenn_green at yahoo.com>
>To: Pantera List Serve <detomaso at realbig.com>
>Sent: Thursday, August 16, 2012 8:48 AM
>Subject: [DeTomaso] Mechanics of after marker suspension bushings?
>
>I took the suspension apart for powder coating and the control arms (A
>arms)
>all have after marker bushings.  The control arms were pretty stuff and
>took
>a fairly strong push to move up or down.  The bushings were very tight in
>the control arms so I assume they moved with the arms.  I'm wondering how
>all of this should work?  Should the control arms move freely with respect
>to the body or be stiff like this?
>
>Ken
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