Front LCA, Prothane bushing metal sleeve seems to short.
#1
Pit Crew
Thread Starter
Front LCA, Prothane bushing metal sleeve seems to short.
Burned the old bushings out, cleaned the bores very well and greased them liberally. Had a little trouble getting the new bushing into the front ear, had to beat it pretty hard with a hammer and wooden block. The rear ear bushing went in a little easier. Anyway, if you look at the photos, the metal sleeves in the center of the bushings look too short. Maybe i'm wrong, but I would think the metal sleeve should be slightly longer so the poly bushing doesn't get pinched when the bolt is tightened. Any insight would be appreciated.
#2
Instructor
iTrader: (2)
Burned the old bushings out, cleaned the bores very well and greased them liberally. Had a little trouble getting the new bushing into the front ear, had to beat it pretty hard with a hammer and wooden block. The rear ear bushing went in a little easier. Anyway, if you look at the photos, the metal sleeves in the center of the bushings look too short. Maybe i'm wrong, but I would think the metal sleeve should be slightly longer so the poly bushing doesn't get pinched when the bolt is tightened. Any insight would be appreciated.
#3
Driver School Candidate
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Good question. I also think it is fine. In fact, you want some side to side compression on the urethane when it's tight. And you want to raise your control arm to a normal ride-height when you to the final torquing.
#4
Pole Position
I had a shop do mine with the Prothane kit right after they put in a replacement steering rack but the results were stellar. Car never handled so well...... The wheels and wider tires came later and still a joy to drive.... No noise or vibrations.....
#5
just did mine yesterday and it looked the same. youll notice that before you install them, they are the same length. but in the process of putting it IN the control arm, the bushing itself seems to have elongated somewhat.
The following users liked this post:
emLEX (09-29-17)
#6
Intermediate
the metal inner bushing sleeve is supposed to rotate inside the urethane, pinching the urethane will prevent this. Not good
The following users liked this post:
emLEX (09-29-17)
#7
Pit Crew
Thread Starter
Yes, that's what I noticed.
Trending Topics
#8
Intermediate
Urethane must be free to rotate, pinch the urethane flange and you'll shear it off, after which it will probably rotate about the inner sleeve and then become sloppy when the sheared flange wears thin.
Urethane squeaks precisely because it rotates on the inner sleeve. Personally, I'd add grease fittings to the arms. Once the grease applied during initial assembly migrates out it'll squeak unless regularly greased.
I have Delrin bushings in my aftermarket suspension for my Mustang. The natural lubricity of delrin over poly should make the delrin not need grease, however even the delrin makes noise if not greased. I added fittings to all the bushing locations and lube at every oil change. The greased bushings rotate much more freely yet hold dimension allowing the suspension to articulate freely making the springs/shocks more effective while holding geometry which makes for much more precise cornering.
adding fittings and getting correct sleeve size the first time is easier and cheaper than doing the job twice.
Urethane squeaks precisely because it rotates on the inner sleeve. Personally, I'd add grease fittings to the arms. Once the grease applied during initial assembly migrates out it'll squeak unless regularly greased.
I have Delrin bushings in my aftermarket suspension for my Mustang. The natural lubricity of delrin over poly should make the delrin not need grease, however even the delrin makes noise if not greased. I added fittings to all the bushing locations and lube at every oil change. The greased bushings rotate much more freely yet hold dimension allowing the suspension to articulate freely making the springs/shocks more effective while holding geometry which makes for much more precise cornering.
adding fittings and getting correct sleeve size the first time is easier and cheaper than doing the job twice.
#9
Pit Crew
Thread Starter
Yes, I've already added grease fittings, they're just not visible in the photos. No need for the "doing it twice" stuff...I get it, it's why I'm asking before I put them back on the car and destroy them.
I've read many threads where people have installed the same bushing kits on their SCs, and no one has mentioned the sleeve being shorter than the actual poly bushing. In my mind, the sleeve should be slightly longer to prevent the bushing from binding.
I've read many threads where people have installed the same bushing kits on their SCs, and no one has mentioned the sleeve being shorter than the actual poly bushing. In my mind, the sleeve should be slightly longer to prevent the bushing from binding.
#10
Instructor
iTrader: (2)
Yes, I've already added grease fittings, they're just not visible in the photos. No need for the "doing it twice" stuff...I get it, it's why I'm asking before I put them back on the car and destroy them.
I've read many threads where people have installed the same bushing kits on their SCs, and no one has mentioned the sleeve being shorter than the actual poly bushing. In my mind, the sleeve should be slightly longer to prevent the bushing from binding.
I've read many threads where people have installed the same bushing kits on their SCs, and no one has mentioned the sleeve being shorter than the actual poly bushing. In my mind, the sleeve should be slightly longer to prevent the bushing from binding.
#11
Driver School Candidate
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Just got finished installing a set of these and it went very well. The tight fit required that I coordinate jacking both front and rear bushings into their respective slots at the same time, but it worked very well. Suspension is tight now.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
kamikaze04
Suspension and Brakes
17
06-30-13 06:25 PM
BayAreaLex
GS - 2nd Gen (1998-2005)
12
11-05-12 03:59 PM
rwdanthony
Suspension and Brakes
39
08-03-10 01:13 PM