SPRING BUSHINGS (1 Viewer)

[coonassjohn]

I'm planning to replace my leaf spring bushings with poly. Are there any pitfalls I should be aware of?
What is the best way to remove them without giving myself a heart attack?

Thanks,
CAJ

 

[pjohnson]

They can be squeaky.

 

[Steamer]

I’m sold on the poly ones with greasable pins. Had them for a decade or more until I recently put some OME springs in the rear. Bigger eyes so I had to replace the bushings. The pins and bushings came out with no effort at all. The hardest part was getting the right size. OD, ID, length and flange width. I found SOR to have a good selection. My shackles are homemade with 5/8” bolts so my sizes were not ordinary.

 

[3_puppies]

plan on getting new pins and shackles also. the old rubber bushings weld themselves to the pins and are tough to get clean so they would rotate smoothly in the new bushings.
also access to some sort of heat will help in dis-assembly

 

[71FJ40]

Good c-clamps and heat will be essential to getting the old ones out.
Like others have said understand the OD, ID, length and flange width. You may also want to consider upgrading the shackles.

Also, flap discing the inside of the spring hangers and painting them helped with rust and squeaking of the new bushings.

I like the OME anti-inversion shackles and greasable pins

 

[4x4veteran]

I have poly bushings on all three of my cars.
I really notice the difference on my curve straightener X19.
Put new rear springs on the Land Cruiser and they had larger eyes but came with bushings.
They were tight getting them on and have them slicked up with synthetic lube but they still squeak.
Redoing them is on my To do list.

 

[franklin40]

another question i have on this note is should one use the metal sleeve that comes with some bushings? or should i use a larger greasable bolt that fits the poly and get rid of the sleeve?

...said sleeve...

 

[Steamer]

I think the bushings may last longer using the sleeves but I'd rather have the strength of the larger bolt. When it comes time to change'em, I'd rather replace bushings and not bent bolts.

 

[franklin40]

it’ll be a 9/16 bolt through the sleeve. that’s pretty beefy. i just wondered if the metal sleeve will cause wear and weaken the bolt. they’ll be greasable bolts so it won’t be dry metal on metal

 

[65swb45]

I think the bushings may last longer using the sleeves but I'd rather have the strength of the larger bolt. When it comes time to change'em, I'd rather replace bushings and not bent bolts.

/this\

9/16 bolts are for Jeeps.

 

[franklin40]

if you think you need more that 13500lbs of shear strength per bolt good on you but i think that’s plenty. i don’t need more strength. i want to know if it will wear the bolts more having a metal sleeve around them.

 

[Steamer]

I can't see the sleeves putting wear on the greasable bolts. But! When I got my rig the P.O. had 9/16" bolts (no sleeves) on the homemade shackles. They were bent. I made my own shackles and used 5/8 grade 8 bolts that I drilled myself to make them greasable. I've been through several bushing changes and one spring change and the bolts are as good as new. As far as shear strength goes, my 9/16" didn't shear. They bent.

 

[franklin40]

that would take a super hard hit i’d think to bend one of these grade 8 bolts. maybe i’m wrong and over time they’ll yield to multiple stresses but it seems like my spring would break before that bolt does. was it a grade 8 bolt of a grade 5 do you know? my springs are alcan springs made for fj60 and they have a 9/16 bushing. call it a jeep bolt if you like but that’s what i’ve got to work with on my spring side. i could go bigger on the shackle hanger but my weak link is set with the other 9/16s.

 

[Steamer]

Your right. Those bent 9/16 bolts could of been any grade. I have no idea. I made up 5/8 greaseables for the fixed end of the spring but it's a bit of trouble modifying the mounts so I'm running the store bought greasables that fit the stock mount. If they don't hold up I guess I'll modify the mounts & put in my 5/8 bolts.
I pound on them pretty good where I wheel so that was my incentive. I was making new shackles and bolts so the 5/8 was an easy call at the time.

 

[franklin40]

if i can find a bushing for my alcans that’ll fit a 5/8 i’ll do it but that might make the poly kind of thin. i am overbuilding everything else on this truck so i might as well look into it i guess!

was it hard drilling out a grade 8 bolt? i might give it a try

 

[Steamer]

SOR was had the best selection of poly bushings that I could find although searching through all the sizes can be confusing There's like four dimensions to a bushing. Inner diam, outer diam, width and then flange thickness.

I had access to a lathe before I retired so I drilled my bolts with that. I got an extra long 1/8" aircraft drill bit from Grainger. I used Tap-Magic cutting fluid and cleared the bit often. Out of 12 bolts I snapped off only one bit trying to hurry and go to far without clearing. I drilled in far enough so I could drill two cross holes to line up with the center of each bushing. It's good to mark or center punch the bolt head so you know where the side holes are located when installed. You can rotate the bolt so the side holes point downward and the grease will pump in easier. Pic is before I figured out the center punch thing.

 

[franklin40]

sweet. that’s kind of what i have in mind trying. if i could find the exact size i wanted i’d just buy them but can’t seem to find exactly what i need. it’ll take me a whole evening probably to make them with the tools i have. but i might have to try. ill start looking for different bushings

 

[Steamer]

sweet. that’s kind of what i have in mind trying. if i could find the exact size i wanted i’d just buy them but can’t seem to find exactly what i need. it’ll take me a whole evening probably to make them with the tools i have. but i might have to try. ill start looking for different bushings

Even with the lathe it was time consuming. Luckily I did it on county time. I was getting paid to make them lol. While on the lathe I thought I was busted when I noticed the yard director standing behind me watching and then he asked what I was doing. I quickly came up with, "I'm was making greasable pins for our heavy duty dollies that we use for moving boilers and chillers to make them more efficient to roll since our crew is short handed and we're having trouble pushing them around". "Amazing" he said. "I didn't know we could do stuff like that. "Keep up the good work" and gave me a pat on the back. My coworkers just shook their heads.