[DeTomaso] [POCA Forum] A-ARM BUSHINGS (Pantera Technical)
MikeLDrew at aol.com
MikeLDrew at aol.com
Wed Apr 29 17:11:32 EDT 2015
In a message dated 4/29/15 12 34 27, demongusta at me.com writes:
> What is the main advantage of the Poly A-arm bushings? If they are
> > replaced with the stock rubber, I assume you would not have the
> > squeaking, correct.
>
>>>Interesting--I never saw this original message, or John Donahue's
response, or Dennis' response to that; the only thing that came through is John's
subsequent reply. Is this something that bled over from a web-based forum
perhaps?
As to the question above--the principal selling point of poly bushings is
that they offer less compliance (which is what bushings are for in the first
place). They are favored by racers and autocrossers (back in the day, race
Cobras came with solid metal bushings, yow!). The main advantage they
used to have over factory bushings was greatly reduced cost.
Drawbacks are many, however. As you mentioned, they can squeak something
awful if they aren't properly (and routinely) lubricated. (People often
fail to lube the outside ends of the bushings, which is where most of the
squeaking happens). Too, they can deliver a somewhat harsher ride, and fail to
absorb road shocks as well, transmitting them through the body instead.
Now MaseratiSource sells stock-style bushings at a very affordable price,
making them competitive with poly bushings. I vastly prefer stock-style
bushings for a variety of reasons.
Getting the old ones out is time-consuming and labor-intensive, but not
especially difficult. Using a sawzall (you can use a hacksaw but it would
take forever), you cut the large end off the bushing. Then you use a
just-large-enough deep well socket on one side, and a just-small-enough socket on
the other, put the whole affair in a vice and compress it; the small socket
should be small enough to fit inside the A-arm tube, and the large one large
enough to accept the bushing as it is pressed out of the A-arm.
My wife Lori changed all 16 of her bushings herself, once the process was
demonstrated, so you can definitely do it too! :>)
Mike
-------------- next part --------------
In a message dated 4/29/15 12 34 27, demongusta at me.com writes:
What is the main advantage of the Poly A-arm bushings? If they
are
> replaced with the stock rubber, I assume you would not have
the
> squeaking, correct.
>>>Interesting--I never saw this original message, or John Donahue's
response, or Dennis' response to that; the only thing that came through
is John's subsequent reply. Is this something that bled over from a
web-based forum perhaps?
As to the question above--the principal selling point of poly bushings
is that they offer less compliance (which is what bushings are for in
the first place). They are favored by racers and autocrossers (back in
the day, race Cobras came with solid metal bushings, yow!). The main
advantage they used to have over factory bushings was greatly reduced
cost.
Drawbacks are many, however. As you mentioned, they can squeak
something awful if they aren't properly (and routinely) lubricated.
(People often fail to lube the outside ends of the bushings, which is
where most of the squeaking happens). Too, they can deliver a somewhat
harsher ride, and fail to absorb road shocks as well, transmitting them
through the body instead.
Now MaseratiSource sells stock-style bushings at a very affordable
price, making them competitive with poly bushings. I vastly prefer
stock-style bushings for a variety of reasons.
Getting the old ones out is time-consuming and labor-intensive, but not
especially difficult. Using a sawzall (you can use a hacksaw but it
would take forever), you cut the large end off the bushing. Then you
use a just-large-enough deep well socket on one side, and a
just-small-enough socket on the other, put the whole affair in a vice
and compress it; the small socket should be small enough to fit inside
the A-arm tube, and the large one large enough to accept the bushing as
it is pressed out of the A-arm.
My wife Lori changed all 16 of her bushings herself, once the process
was demonstrated, so you can definitely do it too! :>)
Mike
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