Bush replacement

[Mostie]

Happy wednesday,

I have a weekend of grazed knuckles and spanner throwing tantrums ahead- I have to do all the bushes on the front end and drop arm ball joint, track rod ball joints.

My friend and colleague thinks that I should be able to do this with a significant amount of time and patience. So now to the question: I know I should go for poly bushes but im pretty hard up at the moment, are the rubber ones that bad? and any hints on the track rod/panard rod bit?

Sorry to be vague, i think im after moral support more than anything!!

Cheers guys,

Ross.

[davidlandy]

the bushes in the panhard rod, and the ends of the radius arms you may need a press.  I beleive that they may be beyond a normal vice and socket setup.

A mate of mine had to cut his ones out of the panhard rod , but then again they had been in there for 18 years so were always going to be a bit sticky!

I do not know the cost of a set of normal bushes, but a set of red or blue PolyBushes are about 70-80quid, and if i where you i would go for these - i have them on mine and they made a world of difference over the standard items.

regards dave

[Guy90]

Dave's right. I would go for the polybushes. The normal ones are fine but the polys are much better. I found the panhard rod was the hardest to do so I set fire to it. That worked. The polys are easier to get in as well. You may find that put the normal ones in will be difficult and need a press.

Go to Famous Four for the polys and you can get a full nut and bolt kit to go with it.

Don't do what I did to save time and decide to remove both rear radius arms at the same time. The axle ends up in a very odd position!!

Guy

[muddyweb]

Standard rubber bushes are fine when they are new.   Polybushes always seem to be a vast improvement because you are replacing a set of perished, old rubbers.

If you can afford them the polybush types will see an improvement in ride, and will certainly be easier to fit, but as I say.. there is nothing inherantly wrong with the rubber.... they seem to be fine in new Land Rovers ;-)

Getting the old bushes out will probably be a pain in the bum...  even if they are only 5 or 6 years old.  If you don't have access to a press, and you can't push them out using a vice, you may need to burn out the centres using a blow torch, then using a hacksaw cut through the outer shell of the bush (don't cut the casing of the suspension arm !)   You should then be able to mangle it out.

Hope this helps... give yourself plenty of time

[Mostie]

Cheers guys,

Im off to good ol' swansea 4x4 at lunch time to buy the bits, still havnt decided poly or rubber, but im thinking polys....just wont tell the bank manager!!

I dont think I'll be having too much trouble getting the old ones out of the panhard rod as theyre not exactly.....er...there! They've been rubbish since I bought the knackered old girl so I just assumed thats how an old landy drives, I am so looking forward to finishing the job sometime sunday and being able to steer in a straight line without the wheels wobbling!

We have a press in work so if all else fails I will have to wait until monday but will try the vice/socket set technique for now. Apparently the holes in the panhard rod are so worn they need a washer welding over the bottom- all fun and games!

Thanks for the words of wisdom, im off to buy a me blow torch....fire :twisted: !

Ross.

ps might get her a valentines pressie while im out.....and the girl friend!

[Mostie]

Just found a good article about bushes:

http://www.difflock.com/buyersguide/newproducts/polybush.shtml

Ok im convinced, polys it is!

[davidlandy]

I have blues on mine - i wanted my vehicle to be supple, like a gymnast, like its owner!!  

wise words from Tim about replacing knackered old bushes and inevitably a new set of bushes would feel better wether they were standard rubber or poly - a good view.


dave

[Mostie]

ooooh mumma!

£153.90 later Im fully tooled up with purple BM poly bushes, wheel bearings and an assortment of ball joints for the steering box, and track rod.

Will let you all know how it goes from a novices point of view on monday!

.....now where did i leave my AA card....

[Bob]

I have blues on mine - i wanted my vehicle to be supple, like a gymnast, like its owner!!

Dave,

you ...


supple .....  :?:  :?:  :?:  :?:  :?:


 :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

[Mostie]

Thats got it bob!

Man, what a ball ache! Turned out the more bits i took off, the more bits i found were be poly-bushed already!  :oops: A gross misdiagnosis by my garage guy i feel.

All the slack in the stearing and wobbling wheels was due to the 4 ball joints on the track rods and drop arm. On the positive side, though- she feels like shes fresh off the forecourt now! ...ok, not quite but its tightened up the ride no end.  :D Ended up buying a new track rod as well as the old one turned out to be S shaped under its reinforcing box section.

Wheel bearings this weekend, whooo!

Cheers for you comments boys.