Let's talk about bushes ( no sniggering please)

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Alpinewoodsman

Alpinewoodsman

Well-Known Member
Posts
146
Location
French Alps
I find myself in need of at least one new bush, and they're generally best done in pairs or sets.

But bushes come in all sorts of brands, shapes, sizes and colours. What do you find works best for you?

El Cheapo Britpart ones? Or a better price ( and quality??) one?

Is getting better ones, and spending less time on you back fiddling with the damn things a good idea?

Ladies and Gentlement, your experience and advice is most appreciated.
 
Rear shock top bushes are aften part-n-parcel of the shock (not always).

Terrafirma do a complete lower shock bush kit (TFSBK01) for around £10 which comes with the washers etc.
Britpart do a kit for around the same which includes the top bushes but no washers...

I've got a mix of the Britpart yellow polybush's and they seem OK to be fair.

I've just fitted a set of (front) radius arm bushing for a mate and they seemed really good.
Part # STC618. I got new washers and nuts but the originals were OK.
Ther there are the fronts NTC7307 and then the rear (NTC9027) and the trailing arms bush and bolts (some sell as a kit) NTC1772 - you need a press for those.

Here's the complete kit for the rear arm..

The bolts, in most cases, are a fine threaded HT (10.9) so not off the shelf standards.
There are lots of options but you need to be a bit more specific about what you 'need'...
 
miktdish said:
Rear shock top bushes are aften part-n-parcel of the shock (not always).

Terrafirma do a complete lower shock bush kit (TFSBK01) for around £10 which comes with the washers etc.
Britpart do a kit for around the same which includes the top bushes but no washers...

I've got a mix of the Britpart yellow polybush's and they seem OK to be fair.

I've just fitted a set of (front) radius arm bushing for a mate and they seemed really good.
Part # STC618. I got new washers and nuts but the originals were OK.
Ther there are the fronts NTC7307 and then the rear (NTC9027) and the trailing arms bush and bolts (some sell as a kit) NTC1772 - you need a press for those.

Here's the complete kit for the rear arm..

The bolts, in most cases, are a fine threaded HT (10.9) so not off the shelf standards.
There are lots of options but you need to be a bit more specific about what you 'need'...
Click to expand...
I’ve just fitted new bolts on my trailing and radius arms. I didn’t bother getting OEM with the fine thread, just standard M20 high tensile bolts. I get them from a dedicated bolt supplier though. Not the cheap Chinese crap from Screwfix etc.
 
For me it depends on the bush location for what I fit. I have oem bushed for radius and trailering arm into the chassis as I think they are better than poly in that location.

I have poly anywhere where they were originally the metalstic type as they are easier and quicker to change even if they do not last as long. So have poly in the radius arm to axle etc.
If it is very easy to access then cheap britpart e.g. lower shock bushes.


tottot said:
The one place not to use polly is the panhard rod. Fit original type.
Click to expand...

That i disagree with. I understand the sentiment as poly fail fully rather than slowly giving warning. But by having poly in there it makes swapping the bushes a 10min job rather than a two hour ordeal burning the rubber centres out.
 
Alpinewoodsman said:
( Early 90) Radius arms, perhaps rear shocks as well, I need to take everything off there and see how F****they are..
Click to expand...
Which bit of the radius arms or do you mean all of them on both axles? What do you want to achieve?

OEM style rubber ones are a PITA to fit, but a good compromise all round for general use. Although I'd say, even OEM/Genuine branded ones don't seem to last as well as factory originals used too.

Poly has various merits, often easier to fit at home. But can also make the vehicle more firm or more comfy. Is the vehicle used off road or on? Are you fitting yourself or someone else?

Lots of choice with poly as there are lots of brands. And some brands offer different grades.
 
300bhp/ton said:
Which bit of the radius arms or do you mean all of them on both axles? What do you want to achieve?

OEM style rubber ones are a PITA to fit, but a good compromise all round for general use. Although I'd say, even OEM/Genuine branded ones don't seem to last as well as factory originals used too.

Poly has various merits, often easier to fit at home. But can also make the vehicle more firm or more comfy. Is the vehicle used off road or on? Are you fitting yourself or someone else?

Lots of choice with poly as there are lots of brands. And some brands offer different grades.
Click to expand...
Just the front ones. Main aim is passing the control technique ( MOT equivalent).
I'll do all four at the front. It's only the rear two that seem to be too worn, but given I'll have the arms off anyway, I might as well do all four. The other two are probably near failure anyway

I'll be doing them at home if at all possible.
I do spend quite a bit of time off road. It's a working vehicle, and pulling a trailer or such like in the woods is a weekly activity. 20-30 degree slopes are not unusual. Comfort is not a concern!
 
Alpinewoodsman said:
Just the front ones. Main aim is passing the control technique ( MOT equivalent).
I'll do all four at the front. It's only the rear two that seem to be too worn, but given I'll have the arms off anyway, I might as well do all four. The other two are probably near failure anyway

I'll be doing them at home if at all possible.
I do spend quite a bit of time off road. It's a working vehicle, and pulling a trailer or such like in the woods is a weekly activity. 20-30 degree slopes are not unusual. Comfort is not a concern!
Click to expand...
When you say all 4, do you mean just the axle end or the ones on the chassis end too?

The front axle uses a C cup style radius arm, with 2 bushes on each arm. The C cup controls axle rotation (twisting effect) as well as longitudinal location.

Removing rubber bushes is a pain, but possible at home. Just need to take time to drill/cut them out if you don't have a press that is.

You will need a press if you plan to refit rubber OEM style bushes. For general use these are perfectly fine.

Most poly ones you can fit yourself at home with relative ease. As a rule most poly bushes are harder than rubber, so tend to give a firmer ride/control. The actual Polybush brand offer 3 different grades. I'd be tempted to go with the soft 'comfort' grade ones. As they will flex better off road. The C cup design is the main restriction on how the front suspension flexes off road.

Set 1B at the bottom of the page: http://www.polybush.co.uk/polyureth...land-rover/defender-90-and-110-1994-end-2001/

That said, pretty much any poly type bush will be fine. And I suspect most people would not be able to tell the differences between different brands from the drivers seat for road driving. So it then comes down to how much you want to spend...
 
Some makes of polly are not good enough for the panhard rod and quickly allow movement that results in wandering steering.
Often it is not just the bush itself that's the problem but poor fitting soft metal tubes which are just not long enough to be a firm fit in the bracket by the steering box and the axle bracket. Both of these are stiff firm items as you may expect. Result the tube, bolt and bush soon wear.
I used Bearmach blue and they were ok but now there are many different polly's on the market.
Perhaps we need a list of what is good and what is rubbish.
 
300bhp/ton said:
Ummm... sounds like there is probably a different issue going on there. What brand of bushes exactly where used?
Click to expand...
not sure but they failed whilst we were in Morocco so much so that his bird wouldn't go in it and got in mine
bushes were all new before we set off
i fitted a bearmach trailing arm bush last mot and when i stripped the4 landy to rebuild it 12month's later it was fubar'd the 12yr old bush on the other side was fine
 
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