I'm restoring the rear suspension and want a stock ride (rubber) bushings.

However....I recall reading on the forum(can't find now)that when replacing stock rear bushings you will do yourself well if you use poly on one particular application.......which one? Strut rods, spring mounts, sway bar(I have Gymkhana).....which one area benefits from poly but doesn't create a harsh ride?

Thanks!

 

Also, is there a vendor that sells rubber bushings only(no fastener/hardware). A complete kit would be nice.....

 

I do not know of any vendor that sells a complete kit for the rear suspension.

They are normally sold for the individual part...such as strut rod bushings.

I have basically gotten away form using urethane any longer due to the known problems of them often times disintegrating over time.

The only major improvement that I do is to install adjustable greaseable heim jointed strut rods. This takes the chance that the bushing go bad out of the equation and they work really well and really does not cause for very much...if at all...ride quality difference.

AS you know. If you are putting in the rubber trailing arm bushings...it does require a staking fixture tool to accomplish this correctly.

AS for the front rubber snubber bushing a the front of your rear differential. I stick with rubber also here due to I have seen the urethane ones her go bad.

DUB

 

I used Energy Suspension poly bushings and motor/transmission mounts throughout. I didn't notice any change in ride quality except the car tracks better because its tighter now. Also, pb are easier to install e.g. no flaring tools required. Don't be afraid to use poly but buy quality bushings like Energy Suspension sells.

 

Thank you fellas.

I believe I will go Mikes route...had no idea there was install difficulties with stock units. And I want easy as possible when I'm up under that thing....an I'm using a lift!!

Don't want junk though....

 

I was told not to use poly for the strut rod bushings specifically.
Use only rubber or heim joints. The rest can be poly if you like.

 

You lost me here...what does 'pb' mean and what does not need a flaring tool???

I hope the work you do does go as easy as you hope for.

All of the poly bushings that I have seen that fail... fail on the strut rods where the strut rods attach to the bracket under the differential.

DUB

 

I don't race my car or anything, just some spirited street driving. I just removed the poly strut bushings I installed 11+ years and about 15k miles ago, chasing a camber adjustment issue. They looked like the day I installed them. Prothane.
If I were to redo bushings again today, the only ones I would do rubber with is the transmission cushion (to minimize vibration from that source) and the differential snubber. I hear that the minimal flexibility of poly there can fail the steel bracket at that location.

 

Glad that your strut rod bushings are as good as the day you installed them.

I did not write that ALL poly bushings fail....I wrote that ALL of the poly bushings that I have seen that failed...failed at the point under the differential.

It will be a matter of time when it fails. Because that strut rod by design...moves/rotates on three axis'.

You more than likely will not have to ever worry about it due to the low mileage you put on your Corvette.

DUB

 

pb=poly bushing

The OP wants to replace the bushings in the rear suspension. He wasn't specific and trailing arm bushings are part of the rear suspension. Pb's will work just fine throughout the suspension, front and rear, and are far easier to install than rubber bushings. A flare tool and or press is needed to install some rubber bushings eg. the trailing arm. Not so for the poly bushings. Hence, pb's are a far easier installation, less tools required for installation and perform better than rubber. My poly strut rods have been in use for about 20 years now. No issues. Not all poly bushings are crap. If they were, they wouldn't exist anymore. And lets be honest, there are crap rubber bushings out there too.

 

Thanks.

I agree to a point. I had installed numerous polyurethane bushings in Corvettes over the past 30 years and many are still doing fine. Many of these bushing were from VB&P, Prothane and Energy Suspensions.

Also many of these have failed....rubber ones included.

So...YES...there are good polybushings and bad ones. There are good rubber bushing an also bad ones. I get that also due to seeing it.

So as like you had mentioned...getting bushings from a good reliable company that have good parts is do-able...regardless if they are polyurethane or rubber.

And with me being the guy who has to put these in. I am also the guy people come to when they fail. And when these bushings ( rubber and polyurethane) fail...no matter what...I get a look like it was my fault because I was the guy who installed them. And in some rare cases I can get new parts under warranty...that still does not cover my time having to do it all over again. Because the company that made the rubber or polyurethane bushings generally do not pay out on labor claims.

So a person working on their own car is one thing...but then take that to 50 to 100 cars that I have to worry about and see what happens. That is something entirely different. So my opinion and experiences are quite different. And my comments reflect that. If that seems to be something that some people do not what to read...oh well. Because when things were all well and good and then out of the blue...parts start to fall apart. I guess you can see who I feel about that. Because those parts made 20 years ago still holding up...is not like some of the be parts that we have recently seen on the forum that are going bad.

So the question remains...what company can you really trust today?

DUB

 

Energy Suspension. Or, the OP can go on the 4X4 forums and see what they use. Probably ES.

 

https://www.riksvet.com/

RIK'S CORVETTE PARTS
3783 NC HWY. 18 South
Morganton, N.C. 28655


Moday thru Thursday 8:30am till 5pm est.


1-888-745-7838

1-828-433-7166

 

Thanks Art....these folks are right down the road from me and I believe I'll give 'em a try.

 

I went with Poly everything 30 years ago with the VB&P street and slalom kit. I also used poly when I redid my a-arms. maybe someone was selling crappy poly for cheap.

Over the years I restored quite a few C-2's and 3's and used poly every where without a problems.

Rubber on the other hand gets smashed, beat up, crusty and cracked. Some old vettes were down to metal on metal and I had to replace the parts because of the oem rubber and years of neglected maintenance.

 

I'm thinking about replacing mine as well and looking into these.

https://www.corvettepartscenter.com/...on-bushing-kit

 

AFAIK ... MOOG still makes rubber C3 replacement rsuspension & steering parts ... probably every wear part ... been doing so for decades. Online or at your local parts house.

https://www.fmmotorparts.com/brands/moog.html

 

FWIW;
I just read in the 63 Corvette book by Duntov, that 81% of the handling forces are handled by the rear strut rods, and not the half-shafts. I could see where that would beat either the rubber or the poly to death, So I think I'll put the heim joints there on mine.

There is almost no vertical force there so I don't think it would impact the ride.

 

I was looking into poly bushings for the rear sway bar on my car. I was curious your experience installing them. The urethane bushings are flanged at both ends, meaning you can't get them thru the opening on the swaybar or link. If you bolt them in per the instructions above (right side) you have a metal-on-metal contact from the bar to the link and from the link the seat.
If you use the stock bushings (left side) you have rubber contacts at both side.
Am I reading the installation instructions wrong?

 

I liked the video but I didn't see where he sells bushings for C3s... Did I miss it?


Adam