Uprated Anti-Roll Bar Bushes

I'm just getting the coupe ready for her MOT and noticed whilst changing the front pads that the drop link bushes on the anti-roll bar are toast.
I run the Eibach anti-roll bar and I'm wondering if the extra stiffness has caused this ?

Is there a set of polyurathane bushes available off the shelf to fit in place of the soft rubber standard jobs, has anyone gone down the road of upgrading these ?

Haven't tried this but I am sure that with the specs of the Coupe, Superflex or Powerflex can supply adequate parts... Superflex has hundreds of those Link Pin bushes: http://www.superflex.co.uk/products.php?cat=394

Try to contact Christine @ superflex, nice and helpful..

Hope this helps..
Jochen

I got some for my sloppy 16vt many moons ago. They weren't listed but i sent them an OE one and i got something very similar back.
It wasn't an exact copy but fitted with no issues.

I've never got round to doing the same with the others but i think its worthwhile invesigating, esp for people running with Eibachs etc, definite improvement and will last far longer.

Possible group buy?

Good find there Jochen, thank you.

All I need now is the spec of the standard item, does anyone have lying around a standard rubber bush and can put the dimentions on here.

http://www.superflex.co.uk/datasheets/SuperflexLinkpinbushes.pdf

There must be a similar bush in that little lot that will do the job.

Don't forget the wishbone end of the drop link - this also has rubber bushes

It's the bushes that sandwich the wishbone that have failed Nigel, the actual bush on the bar end is fine.

I see - however, if you're replacing the two bushes that sandwich the wishbone, surely you'd want to uprate the circular bush at the ARB end too?

It doesn't really work on lowered coupes because the angles end up wrong and everything gets loaded up before it's supposed to.

My last set had a lifespan of about 2000 miles before they were toast.

the 2 that sandwich the wishbone last no time at all,it would be good if we could `supaflex` them,as well as the ones on the top of drop links too

Well if someone has a rubber bush knocking around and doesn't mind doing some measuring, I'll see if I can find a suitable polyurathane replacement.

You'd really need to take measurements off the wishbone. The rubber ones squidge into the recess which wouldn't happen with PU - you'd need to find some that were a bit tapered and pretty much the correct depth without needing squished.

The rubber ones getting squashed into the wishbone is just them being a rubbish soft rubber, when they are new they are pretty solid.
Some poly versions the same size will be fine, if they are slightly too long I can cut them down a little.

I`ll check my `parts bin` in the garage,usually keep loads of crap, sorry old bits, lying around, if not totally knackered

That would be great Paul, it's just a rough idea so I can order some of a similar size.

and please let us know the dimensions, surely Jimbo is not alone with his problem...

Greetz, Jochen

These bushes arent the best in design,
they sit low and are in a high water area.
So perishing is seen usually afer 2 years even on new ones.

Nothing to do with the stiffness i wouldnt think.

Mine have been on 6 months John and the rubber has split on one, on the other side the metal cup supporting the rubber has penetrated inside the rubber bush !?
I can only assume the standard rubber bush can't support the extra roll stiffness of the uprated roll bar ?

I'll call alternative autos, Steve will have some he can measure up for me and I need some servicing parts anyway.

I'd be interested in a set - mine seem to get destroyed after a few months.

Let us all know the measurements Jimbo, would be good to see if we can replace them with a harder material...

Will do.

Where in Lancaster are you Davie, I was brought up there, parents still live there.

Hi Jimbo, originally i was from the Garstang area then moved towards Bowerham, now near St Martins College if you know that?

Davie

Sure do, my folks are still up in Burrowbeck near the Uni. I only manage to get up that way 2 or 3 times a year.
Every time I come up a new building or shopping centre has sprouted from the ruins, it's looking quite good now around the old Lancaster swimming pool.

sorry, I aint got any of the bloomin` things !!! well I know I have,but dunno where

I would be up for a set of these too.

Mine are buggered!

For the sake of a few quid I would
happily buy a new drop link and send it to you Jimbo...

Don't worry about that, I'll buy some if it comes to that, thanks for the offer though

Ok, I've got a set of new standard bushes on the way (thanks Joe) so I'll take some measurements and see what I can find in the list of uprated bushes.

How important is the metal centre to the integrity of the bush, it's only a compressive load on the bush so there shouldn't be any lateral movement to them ?

maybe to spread the load more, so as not to split the rubber

I'm not sure Paul, if the rubber was going to split, it would just pull away from the metal centre and do so anyway.

I can understand bushes that act on a hinge using a metal insert, wishbones, etc, but these drop link bushes don't have any rotational stresses on them.

Is it just so that you don't massively overtighten/compress them?

Okay, Ive just ordered a set of these:

http://www.superflex.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=SF394-2755S

I'll report back when they are fitted and running.

They're cheap! I ordered some wishbones bolts from fiat yesterday and asked about the replacement ARB bushes. They were £13 + VAT each.

How much thicker is the Eibach ARB than the standard item? I'm assuming your linked bushes would not fit the standard ARB.

These are drop link bushes, not the anti-roll bar mounting bushes, these sandwich the wishbone and cost £4 each from fiat, yup £4 for a rubber ring that used to be 99p about 4 years ago !

Ah I see, I was confused from the title. Should have read the whole thread!

I would get bushes that are the the same diameter but not quite as deep or fitting them might be a real struggle.

Thats exactly what I've done These are 4mm shorter.

Interested in the outcome of this Jimbo. My drop link bushes are gone after 3 months on my car. They seem to be a regular consumable.

Ah I was talking about the top bush in the drop link, sorry, not the `sandwich` bush at the bottom over/under the wishbone,the ones you`ve gone for look ok to me looking forward to results

Which ones have you purchased Jimbo, care to share the sizes and/or part number of the universal bush?

Many thanks

Davie

if we can get the size of the bush i can set up a group buy of just the bush's!

should be an easy upgrade!

In looking at the 10mm pin sizes on the link you provided, all the bushes seem to come with the metal insert, which protrudes at one end. Jimbo were you planning on removing this metal tube or cutting it down? From memory the standard "clamps" dip in the centre and at the edges, so my thinking is they'd catch on the metal tubing, even if it was flush with the bush.

There isn't a metal tube inside the pin bush, look carefully at the photo when it's enlarged, it's just a raised section of polyurathane, this can either be fitted inwards towards the wishbone, or you can cut it off with a Stanley knife blade if you really don't want it there.

Hold your fire on group buys, let me trial these first and give some feedback.
You'll all know what they are like as soon as I do.

Ah I see. I'll await your feedback as I need to redo mine at some point soon.

Have you had a chance to fit these Jimbo? Any chance of the part numbers you ordered?

Hi, yes they have arrived and are sat here in my workshop. I've not had chance to fit them yet though as I've not been here for the past few days.

I've got some new brake hoses on the way this week so they go in at the same time as those.
The part number of the bushes I have is SPF2755S at £16.75 for the 4 bushes and postage.
Please give me a little time to try these out though, I'd hate for you to order them and they split or don't fit correctly.

I'll fit them and take some pictures this week.

Thanks Jimbo.

I have a new set of wishbones waiting to go on (to get rid of a clonk) and want to replace the ARB bushes too. Will wait for your review

look forward to this Jimbo!!

Any joy with these Jimbo?

Yeh Jimbo, I'm on the edge of my seat 'ere!

Yes they are fitted.

I was doing some mileage on them first to see if any split appear as I'm a bit worried about the fitment.

Let me get the laptop rigged up later and I'll post some pics but I'll briefly explain.

These bushes although they look harder than rubber are actually softer, this means the torque of the bolt retaining them needs to be quite a bit less.
I tried the usual torque but it was squashing the bush around the outside of the washer that retains them.
I slackened them off and adjusted them visually to what looked like a good compromise between fitted correctly and too tight. That's the story so far, there are no clunks or clonks and I swear it feels less harsh due to the softer compound of the polyurathane but that could just be me.

So, I'm running them to make sure they don't fail, I'm going to look through the catalogue to see if there are any other designs that won't squash out as you tighten them up and as for torque settings, well I'm going to work on that to see what's good.

I will probably tighten these up so they fail, just to see at what point it does all go wrong.
Remember, the idea behind these was to be a replacement bush that will last, polyurathane is supposed to be tougher than rubber, I'm just surprised at how soft it is !

Thanks for the update. I thought I'd leave it a week before asking again!

Thanks Jimbo

Superflex do different grades of PU bushes if I remember correctly?

*bump*

any updates? just had one of my bushes disappear - literally - so thought i'd swap em to polys while i was there

Decided to just get a new drop link from the local motor factor - it actually looks alot tougher than the std Fiat one. The ARB bushes included that sandwich the wishbone have metal collars inserted, which not only stops you over tightening them but also should firm things up further

The drop link was is by First Line, part number FDL6339. I got it less VAT at trade cost for £7.73

any news on this?

im about to do all of my suspension on the coupe so im itching to to see if its worth the upgrade or just use standard!!

just noticed alot of the Alfa guys have done the same!

Is there any way you can copy the GTV setup with the drop link attaching to the strut via a steel rod, as opposed to the wishbone? No idea whether it would be more robust though.

Ben

I'm getting a knocking from the side with the polly bushes so it's not looking good at the monent.
When I get a spare day, I'll remove them, fit the original bushes and see how the polly bushes look. My guess is the bushes have split as they didn't have the metal insert through the centre so any movement will have had metal on polyurathane action eventually cause a split.

im going with standard then.

or work out a way to get a metal centre pushed into them.

Jimbo, can you send me the diementions of the drop link rubber?

Also...

what if we had a solid metal bush??

does any one think that would work?

Solid would be a little too harsh and where are you moving all that energy to? You'd end up with worn inner bushes or wishbone bushes.
I'd rather pay £10 every year for replacement standard bushes than £100+ for new wishbones!

You have a point!
Standard have been ordered!