Is it possible to still get Rubber Suspension Bushings ?

All I can find seems to be poly

no. GM only offered rubber with new arms.

Cha-ching,, I should have known.

I'm curious to understand your preference, as I need to replace mine.

Thanks!

I want those kick ass spherical bearings for mine... now if they only made something for the front!

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This is what I'm thinking of:

http://www.guldstrand.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=181

but they make these too:
Roller bearing, but with the stock a-arms

http://www.guldstrand.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=146

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Ah hell, and I thought they'd be expensive! Damn, those would be sweet though.

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"Nuestro precio: $1,695.00

Artículo en Existencia!"

Is that in pesos?

Matthew

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Poly is easy to install but rubber provides a somewhat less rigid ride.

you might find someone to machine rubber for you... just a thought.

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No, try the "English" setting.

Unless you prefer spanish, but that's up to you.

I am drooling for them there a-arms...

$1600? Is that some sort of joke?

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It will make a 14 second car cooler!

If it fit a trans-am it would be $99 a side.

-- Joe

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You selling the car still or ? Haven't talked to you in a few weeks.

-- Joe

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Not sure, I felt that finishing the Coilovers would make more sense than having a half breed setup...

Gonna just drive it till spring and see what happens,,, I can afford to keep it and get another car, but I'm leaning towards keeping the Vette and doing a frame off 65,66,67 Pontiac GTO frame off project and need more space.

So let's see, we went from replacement rubbers to $1600 kits.....

No news on actual replacements?

GM catalog shows replacement bushings were available for:

Upper shock mounts, batwing, swaybar and endlinks, rear spring bolts, rear camber rods, steering housing.

Fat chance finding them though.


These ones require buying the suspension part:

Dog bones, upper and lower control arms.

Fat chance finding those either.


I'm not sure about motor mounts.

I guess if everyone assumes polyurethane is better, then there's no demand for rubber anymore, whether it was spec'd for a good reason or not. Maybe they should discontinue solid rotors while they're at it and only sell drilled replacements.

Does any OEM put poly bushings on their cars? Even the exotics?

well the reason I am interested in originals is solely based on your opinions on poly bushings

I wouldn't mind the polys so much if they actually fit correctly.

Wow, I did a search, and had a hard time finding any sort of scientific comparison to polyurethane vs. rubber.

This explains it pretty well though:

"Why isn't Polyurethane a good bushing material?

"...virtually no deflection..." (cut and pasted from their web page). As mentioned above, the engineers that design these cars employ rubber bushings because deflection is required in most locations.
"But I lubed them well, or I used Polygraphite® bushings": You are asking the poly material to act like metal bushings, and it can't. Lubing will temporarily reduce the squeaking and stiction. The graphite-impregnated versions are just 'pre-lubed', and once the graphite has worked its way out, the bushings will squeak and require regular lubing like the others. Lubing does nothing for the binding problem.
"They get quieter over time": Poly will cold-flow, meaning it will deform under pressure and not return to normal, as it lacks the elasticity of the rubber bushings. Over time, they will loosen and then rattle. Check out the shape of your swaybar's poly end-link bushings after only a few months. This cold-flow issue can also lead to alignment problems on the front control arms, as the bushings deform.
"But everyone sells them". Well, yes, and the manufacturers of Slick 50 and the makers of 'ultra/super white' bulbs could line up a long list of satisfied customers, but what would that mean?
"Testimonials are everywhere!" but they don't convey the facts. Don't' believe everything you read in a glossy brochure or web page. Ever watch those late night infomercials? Like those other automotive miracles, wouldn't the large manufacturers pick up on this stuff if it really lived up to all it's claims?
"But lots of other people use them!" As mentioned above, trailing arm suspension requires deflection in order to work, and when poly bushings are used, the required deflection is still there -- in the bending of the arms, mounting points, and flex of the rear tires. This is why these bushings appear to work fine for street applications. "




I think polyurethane is great on anything rotating about an axis, like the front control arms or swaybar bushings. But I think it's a compromise in anything else. The entire rear suspension of the C4 for example, pivots in two directions, and a polyurethane bushing will never do that as well as a rubber bushing.

And, for them to work properly on the front end, the inner sleeves have to be long enough to prevent the bolt from clamping the sides of the bushing into place and siezing it up.

It looks like a big reason rubber doesn't last very long is because it's bonded to the metal on both sides, and the rubber is constantly put in shear until it hardens and tears, whereas the poly just slides on a sleeve and has to withstand a radial load. So the polys will last longer than rubber, improve parts of your suspension, and bind up other parts of it.

shit...........so what do you do?

Put spherical rod ends in the rear end and on the sway bar end links, and at least delrin or polyurethane up front.

Or else you compromise with something less. Most people either won't notice or care enough to justify the cost difference.

Then there's del-aluminum

an aluminum bushing with a delrin insert.

Which more than likely I'm putting in my lower fronts.