So I have an issue. I tore apart an entire front and rear suspension out of a 85 Fiero. I had it all sandblasted and now its all por-15 and painted. I went to put in my new poly bushings and I noticed that they just slid right in the hole. Well after some research I found out that I was supposed to keep the old metal sleeves from the rubber bushings.
So my question is, can I press out another set of rubber bushings out of the suspension on my car,and then burn the rubber out once the whole thing is out of the control arms. then press just the poly into the metal sleeve, and then press all that back into the control arms?
So I have an issue. I tore apart an entire front and rear suspension out of a 85 Fiero. I had it all sandblasted and now its all por-15 and painted. I went to put in my new poly bushings and I noticed that they just slid right in the hole. Well after some research I found out that I was supposed to keep the old metal sleeves from the rubber bushings.
So my question is, can I press out another set of rubber bushings out of the suspension on my car,and then burn the rubber out once the whole thing is out of the control arms. then press just the poly into the metal sleeve, and then press all that back into the control arms?
You could remove the rubber from a new set of bushings to install poly but I would recommend these bushings only for a show or hobby car. They make the ride firmer and if they are not regularly lubricated they will wear faster.
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Powerlog manifold, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Flotech Afterburner Exhaust, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
I've done the whole poly thing on front ends, and the problem is that they just squeak like a son of a gun. I've never had a front end with them that didn't. I tried grease fittings, and it was just a maintenance nightmare with very short lived results. And frankly, the performance improvement was negligible, On my present build I'm using Moog rubber bushings.
Edit- so after passing along my sage advice, the answer to your question is "yes". You can simply burn out the sleeves from another set of bushings. If you're not in a huge hurry, and can wait a few days, I'll actually be removing the bushings from my 85 this week, and you can have the housings for shipping costs. They had poly in them, so they've already had the rubber burned out and been cleaned.
[This message has been edited by Taijiguy (edited 08-02-2014).]
Probably next weekend I'll pull the old housings out, so it's possible I can send them out the following week. I'll keep you posted. If I recall, they do have small holes drilled in them for the purposes of a zerk fitting, but that shouldn't be an issue even if you don't use them.
I have poly on all suspension and roll bars. I use anti-seize grease on them and this keeps them quite. I have to re-apply/rework the grease once a year to keep them quite. I have had them on the car for approx 15 years and don't have any wear issues. Note; engine mounts are rubber except for the dog bone mount (didn't want the ride to be too rough).This is for my 88GT.
I have to re-apply/rework the grease once a year to keep them quite.
Did you take everything apart and spread it all over the bushings? I just put poly bushings on my front end and I notice it does squeak on the bumps. I put that clear lube on my bushings and grease on the bolts.
No I don't take the suspension apart. I just spread it wherever the plastic meets the metal. The cap on the bottle of anti-sieze grease has a brush attached to it. This is what I use to apply the grease. It will always squeak on large bumps, but is quite otherwise. If this didn't work I probably would have changed back to the rubber along time ago, but with the grease is OK. It's just a trade off for a stiffer suspension.
I think the squeaking issue and ride quality issue with poly bushings is worse on the 84-87 front suspension because the two bushings on the lower control arm are not co-linear (you can't pass a piece of rod through both bolt holes). What this means is the bushings must defect as the suspension is cycled up/down and this is harder to do with poly. So when you add poly to the front lower control arm, the bushings themselves contribute to some binding in the suspension as it cycles and makes it harder for the poly to slide on the metal sleeve and against the side support tabs.
The 84-87 upper a-arm, rear A-arm and all 88 A-arms have the bushings co-linear so with poly they can still cycle full droop to full compression w/o any binding so the poly can slide on the steel sleeve and against the side supports w/o any additional force from binding.
X2 on the use us anti-seize for the poly bushing lubrication. It works well and sticks/stays in place better than grease. Put some on your hand and try to clean it off. Don't get it on your clothes as it won't come off.
I've done the whole poly thing on front ends, and the problem is that they just squeak like a son of a gun. I've never had a front end with them that didn't. I tried grease fittings, and it was just a maintenance nightmare with very short lived results. And frankly, the performance improvement was negligible, On my present build I'm using Moog rubber bushings.
Edit- so after passing along my sage advice, the answer to your question is "yes". You can simply burn out the sleeves from another set of bushings. If you're not in a huge hurry, and can wait a few days, I'll actually be removing the bushings from my 85 this week, and you can have the housings for shipping costs. They had poly in them, so they've already had the rubber burned out and been cleaned.
I added gease fittings. So far so good. I added channels to mine and installed grease fittings. Now I can grease them up to keep them in shape and avoid squeeks. I wish i could link in some DIY info, but cardomain crashed my site with all the pics and write ups. Still waiting on them to fix it. I will see if I can pull some pics to add into the post though!
No squeeks and they have been in since 2011. Granted the car does not do daily driving. The ride is stiff but the bushing were not the only thing I did. I lowered it with a coil over conversion in the rear and a spring trim in the front. I can feel the tar lines covering the cracks in the road now... lol! But for an 84... I wanted it super tight. This little car has always been a wanderer. I got poly for the cradle, but never did the job. I think I want to go solid to stop the side to side I have at speed with this little one!
------------------ Please forgive my typos, I'm typically posting via cell.
1984 Indy Fiero SE Pace Car Replica #770 "SE" Stormtrooper Edition Rescued, resuscitated and reversibly modified! (I'm so not done yet!) Poly all round & Black Drag DR-34s Frt: 225/45 on 18x8 (47 offset w/ 8-9mm spacer) 1.5 coils cut off 1984 WS6 springs Rear: 265/35 on 18x8.5 (45 offset) Coil-overs w/ 10 inch 300lb springs & 7 inch sleeve
Sounds good man. U can just pm me when u get them out and we can settle on a price
I got the sleeves out of one side yesterday, I'll get the other side done today. PM me your address and I'll just send them out in the morning and let you know what it costs. I can't imagine it would be more than 10 bucks or so. They don't weight a lot and will go in a pretty small box I think.
Right now just the front upper and lower, but I'm probably going to be doing the back eventually, but that's a ways off. Have all 8 sleeves out now, cleaned 'em up a bit. A couple will need to be re-shaped a little, getting them out without deforming 'em was a PITA and didn't work on all of them, but they're all completely reusable with a little love.
I would suggest removing your address from the thread, and send me your name and address in a PM.
[This message has been edited by Taijiguy (edited 08-10-2014).]
My car is so noisy anyway, that little bit of squeaking isn't that bad. I hear it most when almost coming to a full stop with the windows down. It's probably more noticeable to people outside the car.
So far so good. I added channels to mine and installed grease fittings. Now I can grease them up to keep them in shape and avoid squeeks. I wish i could link in some DIY info, but cardomain crashed my site with all the pics and write ups. Still waiting on them to fix it. I will see if I can pull some pics to add into the post though!
