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Also known as ASR; ie traction control.

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j3studio [Wack j3studio Question #63] Why No Rubber Suspension Bushings?
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Western Philadelphia Burbs
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Some visual inspection and some assumptions lead me to believe that, at 78,000 miles, most of the rubber suspension bushings on my 1985 need to be replaced. There are replacements that are easily available, but they are urethane.

Multiple sources have advised me that urethane bushings ride firmer. I have heard from two folks that it would make my 1985 Z51 ride like a 1984 Z51—not the direction I'm looking for. There's also some risk of taking a point deduction in judging, but that isn't my primary concern.

So the question is: why doesn't anybody sell rubber bushings? Is there somewhere I'm not thinking of looking that I should?

Posted on: 2017/9/28 23:30
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Matatk Re: [Wack j3studio Question #63] Why No Rubber Suspension Bushings?
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When I did my suspension years ago poly was the only option. As far as I know, no one else has started reproducing rubber yet.

With poly it will probably ride slightly stiffer, but might handle better as a trade off.
Posted on: 2017/9/29 0:48
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bogus Re: [Wack j3studio Question #63] Why No Rubber Suspension Bushings?
Grand Imperial Pooh-Bah
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OK... C4 suspension 101... or how I learned to tolerate bad planning.

The rubber bushes are poured into the arms, they are not serviceable. You have to replace the entire arm.

And be careful with poly... they can cause binding, especially in the rear.

more later, gotta run some errands.

Posted on: 2017/9/29 2:05
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bogus Re: [Wack j3studio Question #63] Why No Rubber Suspension Bushings?
Grand Imperial Pooh-Bah
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Ok! I am back.

The problem is that poly ain't the end all be all of fixes. It is hard, but it's strength is debatable.

I had a poly bushing fail a couple of years ago. It was on the rear spring perch and when it went, the spring went with it. I have talked to Jack @ McJacks Corvettes and he has seen a number of failed poly bushings over the years.

The other issue is the way the rear suspension is laid out. The lower control arm is under tension, and that adds insult to injury. It also causes the rear to potentially bind when using poly, It was this reason I did the Banski kit. I know, it will fail an NCRS test but I don't care!

The only known fix is to find NOS suspension arms. The rubber parts are poured in, as I said above. They are not inserted.

The front is better, but I still donno if I trust poly on the control arms, at least if they fail, the entire suspension won't fall on the ground.

Posted on: 2017/9/29 3:45
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j3studio Re: [Wack j3studio Question #63] Why No Rubber Suspension Bushings?
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Quote:
bogus wrote:

The problem is that poly ain't the end all be all of fixes. It is hard, but it's strength is debatable.

I had a poly bushing fail a couple of years ago. It was on the rear spring perch and when it went, the spring went with it. I have talked to Jack @ McJacks Corvettes and he has seen a number of failed poly bushings over the years.

The other issue is the way the rear suspension is laid out. The lower control arm is under tension, and that adds insult to injury. It also causes the rear to potentially bind when using poly, It was this reason I did the Banski kit. I know, it will fail an NCRS test but I don't care!

The only known fix is to find NOS suspension arms. The rubber parts are poured in, as I said above. They are not inserted.

The front is better, but I still donno if I trust poly on the control arms, at least if they fail, the entire suspension won't fall on the ground.


Thank you, Andy.
Posted on: 2017/9/29 16:23
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bogus Re: [Wack j3studio Question #63] Why No Rubber Suspension Bushings?
Grand Imperial Pooh-Bah
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yer welcome.
Posted on: 2017/9/30 0:23
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hcbph Re: [Wack j3studio Question #63] Why No Rubber Suspension Bushings?
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I wanted to refresh my suspension last winter. I'd spent a fair amount of time researching and looking for parts, I could not find anything to replace the old bushings other than poly. I found that the bushings in my car had been previously replaced with poly and the ones on the upper end of the camber rods were very worn.

After much reflection, I decided to replace the camber rods, camber rods and toe rods with the Banski Suspension package. They are complete replacement of these parts with new ones that incorporate Teflon lined heim joints with full adjustability. I replaced them, the bushings were replaced with new poly ones as were the bushings on the spring to knuckles.

Far as I can tell, you basically have two options: replace your bushings with new poly ones or go with something like I did (the Banski Suspension kit). I will say that I really like the Banski kit, it really handles well on those curvy windy country roads. I won't say the softness of ride is neither better nor worse than it was as those should be controlled by the spring and shocks, which were unchanged at that time.

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Posted on: 2017/10/1 11:29
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bogus Re: [Wack j3studio Question #63] Why No Rubber Suspension Bushings?
Grand Imperial Pooh-Bah
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I was thinking...

if you can find a tire recapper... take the control arms, clear out the old bushes, and pour in new ones.

Is that feasible? The other option is to spend big money on remans or something...
Posted on: 2017/10/5 19:13
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j3studio Re: [Wack j3studio Question #63] Why No Rubber Suspension Bushings?
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Quote:

bogus wrote:

I was thinking ... if you can find a tire recapper... take the control arms, clear out the old bushes, and pour in new ones. Is that feasible? The other option is to spend big money on remans or something...

I think I'm going to approach it like I do so much with this completely innessential vehicle—do it in multiple phases, over a couple of years, starting with the worst stuff first.

Posted on: 2017/10/6 12:33
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hcbph Re: [Wack j3studio Question #63] Why No Rubber Suspension Bushings?
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Quote:

bogus wrote:
I was thinking...

if you can find a tire recapper... take the control arms, clear out the old bushes, and pour in new ones.

Is that feasible? The other option is to spend big money on remans or something...


The biggest issue I can think of would be getting the inserts in the rubber exactly where they need to be. If wrong it would affect the alignment in a bad way.
Posted on: 2017/10/7 23:11
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bogus Re: [Wack j3studio Question #63] Why No Rubber Suspension Bushings?
Grand Imperial Pooh-Bah
San Pedro, CA
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You are absolutely right.

This is the logical option.

http://www.mamotorworks.com/Corvette/ ... ory/c4-front-control-arms

Posted on: 2017/10/9 16:16
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